Tropical Issue by Dorothy Dunnett

Tropical Issue is a wittily written cosy mystery with stunning maritime locations and intriguing characters. It is the first book in the Dolly series of novels by Dorothy Dunnett, who is better known for her historical fiction. Six of Dunnett's light-hearted novels are being reissued, and I feel very fortunate to have received a review copy from Farrago Books and Random Things Tours.

Johnson Johnson, whose given name happens to be the same as his family name, is a charismatic bifocal wearing portrait painter and spy who sails the seven seas in Dolly, his private yacht. In all the Dolly novels Johnson is a central character, but he is never the protagonist. Each book is narrated by a different strong female amateur sleuth. Johnson backs up their investigations while providing transport and floating five star accommodation on Dolly. The main character of Tropical Issue is Rita Geddes, a diminutive Scottish makeup artist who is determined to bring a colleague's murderer to justice. Her quest takes her from Madeira to Barbados via Martinique and St. Lucia. The scenery is beautifully described, the dialogue is side-splitting and the interiors are gorgeous. Dunnett's prose is so compelling I read it very slowly, for fear of missing a fascinating detail or a hilarious one-liner.

Tropical Issue was first published in 1983. It has not dated much, perhaps because the action takes place among the ultra wealthy. Few readers will have suitable cultural markers to measure against their lifestyle. Personal computers and mobile phones do not feature, because they had not been invented. This adds to the story's excitement and suspense, because when Rita is in a tight corner she has nothing to rely on but the loyalty of her friends and her own intelligence and courage.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tropical Issue from the first page to the last.