“O brave new world with such people in’t!”

Shakespeare’s Miranda may have said it first, but it’s a quote that kept running through my mind while I read The Island, because Keely Cochrane is a modern day Miranda. Raised on an isolated island full of odd superstitions, Keely has had almost no contact with the outside world. It’s an interesting idea, and the book has a suspense sub-plot that adds a lot to the mix. The question is, will you be able to suspend your disbelief? For me, the answer was no.

Jack Knight is an ex-cop working as a private investigator. He has come to England with his best friend Brad to investigate potential investors for Brad’s firm. One night Jack hears a scream from the vicinity of Brad’s room. He rushes past a hysterical maid and finds a dead woman he has never seen before, and Brad – shot in the head and barely alive. He also finds a piece of paper with a phone number on it, which he pockets. The police arrive shortly, and they think at first that the crime is a murder-suicide because Brad is holding a gun. They are also suspicious of Jack since he was the first to arrive on the scene. When Jack tells them of his background, they reluctantly allow him to assist them in the case.

Jack discovers that the phone number is for an island called Keinadraig, which is off the coast of Cornwall. Curiously, it is the only number for the entire island. Jack decides to go there to investigate, and he is shocked to find a completely isolated people who have had almost no visitors in the last seven hundred years. The first person he encounters is Keely Cochrane. She is terribly afraid of him, but when he shows her a picture of the dead woman from the hotel (who happens to be a friend whom she helped to escape) she tries to help him a little. The rest of the people are fearful of him, and most will not even speak to him. Keely’s uncle Alyn, who is the official leader of Keinadraig, seems completely uninterested in the murdered woman, and he tells Jack to leave the island immediately.

Jack leaves, but he wants more answers to his questions so he returns the next day, hoping to see Keely again. Keely ends up breaking every taboo by leaving with him, and Jack begins to hear more about the island’s’s history and its bizarre moral code. When Keinadraig was devastated by the Black Plague in the thirteenth century, the town’s healer set up a code of rules forbidding the islanders to leave or associate with strangers. Since that time they have had only minimal contact with the coastal villages, trading fish and handicrafts for the things they need. Songs and legends enforce obedience to the town’s laws through fear; it is said that anyone who dares to leave will be killed by “the dragon.” So why did Keely dare to leave? Her uncle had restricted her freedom and was about to arrange an unwanted marriage for her.

This is a romance, and Keely falls hard for Jack while she learns about the outside world. He returns her feelings, but they have a number of obstacles to overcome. Keely lives in constant fear that she will be killed. She and Jack must figure out who killed Keely’s friend and shot Brad. They must also outwit the powerful forces on the island who don’t want Keely to leave. Finally, they must uncover all of Keinadraig’s dark secrets once and for all.

The plot of this one is kind of “out there,” but I couldn’t help but be interested in it. The island’s secrets unfold gradually, and there is quite a lot of suspense. The whole idea of such an isolated society is intriguing to begin with. And while the characters don’t really have a lot of depth to them , they are likable.

The problem was that I just couldn’t make myself believe a society could be this isolated in modern times. In a nineteenth century historical such a community would have been a little more credible. Keinadraig is actually an odd hybrid. The people have electricity, and Alyn buys clothes for them in the coastal villages, but they seem to make everything else. The British government is aware of the island’s existence and sends education inspectors, but Keely has never heard of – brace yourself – America. Apparently the education inspectors do not do a very thorough job. The whole scenario just doesn’t seem well thought out. If Alyn can buy clothes and electricity for the people, why can’t he also pick up modern conveniences like feminine hygiene products (another thing with which Keely is unfamiliar). And since the islanders have no objection to technology per se, why don’t they buy everything mail order?

Even if you are willing to buy into the whole isolation idea, there are other problems. One of the villains is very young and completely over the top. And the relationship between Keely and Jack is somewhat problematic. They fall in love with lightening speed, even though they have little in common, and Keely hops into bed with Jack in a matter of days – which seems odd given her background.

The Island often reads like a fish-out-of-water time-travel romance, as Keely discovers nice clothes, dancing, and ice cream. If you enjoy this type of story, you may want to try this one. It certainly has some interesting ideas. Just be aware that you’ll have to suspend your disbelief – and perhaps even bury it underground.