Part of Gideon Oliver, book 9
First published 1997
A coffee plantation manager lies dead at the bottom of a Tahitian cliff. The victim ran Paradise Coffee plantation, which produces the world's most costly coffee beans called Blue Devils. His body baked under the tropical sun for seven days before anyone found it, then got buried without proper examination. The death looks like an accident, but the circumstances raise questions. Forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver arrives to examine the decomposed remains. He must determine whether the manager fell accidentally or someone pushed him. The investigation leads Oliver into the tangled relationships of a family business where old grudges run deep. Money and betrayal create motives that stretch back through generations. Someone in this tropical paradise harbors deadly secrets about the lucrative coffee operation. Oliver faces the challenge of extracting truth from a sun-damaged corpse and lies told by the living. The beautiful Tahitian setting masks ugly human impulses. As he digs deeper into the family's history, Oliver discovers that murder can simmer for decades before finally boiling over into violence.
Genres: adventure, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: investigation, secrets
Setting: Paradise Coffee, Tahiti
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