The Sun Is God Lib/E

Product Description


Colonial New Guinea, 1906. A small group of mostly German nudists live an extreme back-to-nature existence on the remote island of Kabakon. Eating only coconuts and bananas, they purport to worship the sun. One of their members, Max Lutzow, has recently died, allegedly from malaria. But an autopsy on his body in the nearby capital of Herbertshohe raises suspicions about foul play.
Retired British military police officer Will Prior is recruited to investigate the circumstances of Lutzow's death. At first, the eccentric group seems friendly and willing to cooperate with the investigation. They all insist that Lutzow died of malaria. Despite lack of evidence for a murder, Prior is convinced the group is hiding something.
Things come to a head during a late-night feast supposedly given as a send-off for the visitors before they return to Herbertshohe. Prior fears the intent of the celebration is not to fete the visitors-but to make them the latest murder victims.


Review


In the early twentieth century, British lieutenant Will Prior is so traumatized by an inadvertent massacre at a South African prison camp, an incident for which he is highly decorated, that he plots his way out of the army and travels to New Guinea. Here, his military police service behind him, he lives contentedly with his servant girl. Then, in 1906, he's asked to investigate a curious death on the nearby island of Kabakon, populated by the Cocoivores, a small group of Western followers of August Engelhardt, who worships the sun by going naked and eating only coconuts...That the story of the Cocoivores is true makes it all the more fascinating and an intriguing frame for this entertaining and unusual historical mystery.-- "Booklist"


McKinty's gift for storytelling is evident as he creates a society that lives entirely on coconuts and bananas and rejects procreation even as their numbers are dwindling. Set in 1906 and based on a true story, his fascinating tale is rich in detail, and there's a most unexpected hero.-- "RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars)"


The characters and setting are phantasmagorical. Prior is one of McKinty's compelling, conflicted heroes: a sane man in an insane world. Gerard Doyle, whose narration of McKinty's magnificent Troubles trilogy set the standard for Irish audiobook mysteries, does a good job with the German, Melanesian, and English people who populate McKinty's departure from Ireland. Doyle's performance is always clear and well-paced...A good ride in a memorable location.-- "AudioFile"


About the Author


Adrian McKinty was born and grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He attended Oxford University on a full scholarship where he studied philosophy. In the mid 1990's he moved to New York and found work in bars, bookstores and building sites, finally becoming a high school English teacher in Denver, Colorado. In 2004 Adrian's debut crime novel, Dead I Well May Be, was shortlisted for the Dagger Award and was optioned by Universal Pictures. Since then his books have sold over half a million copies and been translated into a dozen languages. Adrian won the 2017 Edgar Award and is a two time winner of the Ned Kelly Award and the Barry Award.


Gerard Doyle, a seasoned audio narrator, he has been awarded dozens of AudioFile Earphones Awards, was named a Best Voice in Young Adult Fiction in 2008, and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He was born of Irish parents and raised and educated in England. In Great Britain he has enjoyed an extensive career in both television and repertory theater and toured nationally and internationally with the English Shakespeare Company. He has appeared in London's West End in the gritty musical The Hired Man. In America he has appeared on Broadway in The Weir and on television in New York Undercover and Law & Order. He has taught drama at Ross School for the several years.