TEN people on holiday on a remote island, without any contact with the outside world, and one of them is a murderer. Nemesis of the Dead (�18.99, Hale) by Dagenham-born author Frances Lloyd is a highly readable, gentle Agatha Christie-esque whodunit set o

TEN people on holiday on a remote island, without any contact with the outside world, and one of them is a murderer.

Nemesis of the Dead (�18.99, Hale) by Dagenham-born author Frances Lloyd is a highly readable, gentle Agatha Christie-esque whodunit set on a tiny Greek island.

Insp Jack Dawes and his wife, Coriander (yes, ridiculous name) go to the island of Katastrophos for a belated honeymoon.

There is only one, small hotel and it is full with mostly British guests - all classic whodunit stereotypes. There's the eccentric elderly professor and his much younger, beautiful American wife, a rough diamond plumber, a moany old misery who finds fault with everything, his mousy wife, a pair of young newlyweds and a mysterious young woman who keeps to herself.

Before long, the idyll of sunshine, turquoise sea, sandy beach, and peace and quiet, is disrupted by a series of poisonings.

And it turns out, Jack is using his honeymoon for a spot of undercover investigation.

He even narrowly escapes being flattened when a massive stone sculpture is pushed off the hotel roof - a highly unreliable method of murder which, again seems to be taken straight from Agatha Christie.

Lloyd's vivid descriptions bring the island to life and that, with her knowledge of ancient Greek mythology, make this more than just a murder mystery.

An ideal beach read - just suspend belief and enjoy.

- LINDSAY JONES