Take a world weary cop turning the big 50, add a little murder and paradise and you have a read that’s part murder mystery and a lot of island fun . Roscoe Conklin has retired to paradise , the murder of two friends in Illinois brings him back to his worst aspect of his job. It’s is fun, full of island intrigue and just enough danger to keep you through the end.

Enjoyed this one, was fast paced with some expected turns. A good cop story that you will enjoy. All packed together. Quite enjoyable. Once you start reading, you don't want to stop.

Synopsis/blurb ....

After 25 years on the job, Detective Roscoe Conklin trades his badge for a pair of shorts and sandals and moves to Bonaire, a small island nestled in the southern Caribbean. But the warm water, palm trees, and sunsets are derailed when his long-time police-buddy and friend back home is murdered. Conklin dusts off a few markers and calls his old department, trolling for information. It's slow going, but no surprise there; after all, it's an active investigation, and his compadres back home aren't saying a damn thing. He's 2,000 miles away, living in paradise. Does he really think he can help? They suggest he go to the beach and catch some rays. For Conklin, it's not that simple.When a suspicious mishap lands his significant other, Arabella, in the hospital, the island police conduct, at best, a sluggish investigation, stonewalling progress. Conklin questions the evidence and challenges the department's methods. Something isn't right...Arabella wasn't the intended target. He was.
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My take ....

A mostly enjoyable mystery set in the exotic location of Bonaire. I think it was a first for me reading a book set in the Caribbean.

We have a retired detective - Roscoe Conklin, upset about the murder of his former partner and his wife. Despite the distance and his current status ie thousands of miles away and no longer a serving officer, he tries to get information on the case. One of his former colleagues does some sharing upto a point.

Moving on, trouble eventually rocks up on the island and Conklin and those close to him are in danger. It's a situation where the case and the murderer come to Conklin as opposed to the other way around. I think it's one of those books where it seems as if the reader has more of a scooby what is going on than the main character, and not necessarily because we've been shown more by the author.

Conklin, likable bloke that he is seems a little bit slow on the uptake regarding a few things that seemed obvious to me. Retirement has dulled his detective's instincts maybe. Someone on the island is targeting him and those he cares about and it is so obviously related to his former partner's death, that I kind of got frustrated by the main character's savvy or lack of.

There's some pretty odious characters involved here. The murder of the partner is horrible to witness, as is the elimination of an innocent women later in the book. I don't mean that in the sense that I had to turn away from the page because of any graphic detail. It's more of a testament to the power of the author's writing, that he created such a horrible villain.

Events as they unfold are all connected to a historic case that was previously worked by Conklin and his colleague. They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

I liked the setting. The case and raison d'etre was interesting, but not particulalrly original. I enjoyed the setting. The characters were well drawn and held my interest, even though I could have happily slapped the main guy a few times. WAKE UP, MAN!

Overall - 3.5/5

Enough present to want to read the next one in the series - Paradise Cove.

Read - June, 2021
Published - 2020
Page count - 306
Source - purchased copy, as well as a review copy via Net Galley
Format - Kindle

https://col2910.blogspot.com/2021/07/davin-goodwin-divers-paradise-2020.html

i really enjoyed reading this book, it had a great suspenseful atmosphere and I really enjoyed the characters,

As a debut novel, I must say this book is too good to be true.
I loved the fact that we readers are kept in suspense until the very end.
The first half is a little slow but the second half of the book makes up for it. The mystery behind the murders was well-hidden until the end. The suspicious character(s) surely made the story interesting.
I am looking forward to reading more of David Goodwin's works.
I recommend this book to all mystery and suspense lovers.

Decent debut novel.
Easy read with likeable main character
Look forward to reading more by this author
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

An excellent mystery with an intriguing retired detective all set to begin living the good life in the beautiful Caribbean. "R" becomes involved in untangling the suspicious circumstances that landed his significant other, Arabelle, in the hospital he manages to annoy the local constables. I like his style and enjoyed this transfer from big city detective to reluctant investigator. Very well written, I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

I enjoyed the characters in this book and the beginning with the double murders got me hooked. I did feel that it was a bit sluggish in the mid-range but ended well tying everything together.

I continue to dabble in smaller mysteries, based in places I have never heard of before. The setting here is Bonaire, a Caribbean island which is a municipality of Netherlands! Our hero is a retired cop who is well into middle age and running a guesthouse. In the very beginning, we are given an introduction to the evil killer but soon after we are sent to the island to meet its inhabitants.

The plot of the story was quite simple while keeping certain crucial bits secret until the very end. Without those parts, we cannot make an educated guess, and I would not recommend anyone try. People of different nationalities live together on the island and how they all rub along together forms a large part of the narrative. It was quite entertaining to meet such a diverse cast of people. There were moments of humour in between, but for the most part, there was a continues atmosphere of ‘wrongness’. There were some characters who were hard to like (and some with good reason). I will not divulge much more than this, mostly because there is a sequence of introductions of the cast and knowing them beforehand will rob a bit of the read. Overall, it is a good start to a new series (if there are to be more books with the same central characters).

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based only on my own reading experience.

This is my first book by this author I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely look for more books by this author in the future.

This book included mystery, intriguing / mysterious relationships among friends, crime and death, and lots of wonderful beachy scenes. I liked the way the plot was laid out - I didn't figure the book out until close to the end - it was very clever.

R is a retired detective from the Chicago area that has cashed in his pension to move to a Caribbean island and operate a motel. He has been on the island for a few years and is getting accustomed to "island life" until people from his past begin to be murdered. Could this be tied to one of his previous cases? Is he in danger? Will the murderer come find him in his tropical oasis? Read this book to go on a delightful journey and discover the answers to those questions (and many more).

I was provided this book ahead of time in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated above is mine without biases.

As indicated in the publisher's introduction, this was to be a merge of Travis McGee and Doc Ford with the Bonnaire setting being "frosting on the cake." To me, the Bonnaire setting was the cake and Roscoe was not quite up to the same standard as Travis or Doc. Not too bad for a first novel with the main characters drawn well. For me, some of the details of plot resolution came too late; they could have been introduced earlier and let the reader deduce possible outcomes.

Sorry but I could not get into this book at all. I kept reading but I could not get used to the writing style and did not feel engaged with the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Lovely debut novel, full with great atmosphere, humour and really great touch in characters.. absolutely colorful psychological thriller.

Thank you NetGalley 🤗

Diver’s Paradise, A Roscoe Conklin Mystery is a very good story. Roscoe, better known to most as R, is a retired detective. He took his savings and most of his retirement money to buy an old resort on Bonair, a Carribean Island originally settled by the Dutch, lying just off the coast of Venezuela. Good weather and great reefs make it an ideal stop for divers. At the start of the story, R learns that his former police chief in Rockford, Illinois, along with the chief’s wife, Bill and Marybeth Ryberg, were shot to death in their home. They were also people who R loved. This occurred simultaneously with another friend from Rockford, Tiffany, who is on her way to the island for her own vacation. Tiffany is a younger woman with a 2-year-old son who was best friends with the Rybergs and R when they all lived in Rockford. Tiffany was on the plane when the murders occurred, so she arrives in Bonair and is unaware of their deaths. At the same time, R has a current love, a local woman from Bonair, Arabella, who is a detective in the police force on Bonair. R, who has a phobia of commitments, is truly smitten by Arabella.

Suddenly, murders start happening on Bonair. Tiffany dies in an apparent drowning while she is on a solo diver. Then, some other locals to whom R has been talking, also end up dead. Bonair is an island where there is almost no crime, until now.

The author takes us through a well-developed mystery. Good characters and a good plot, all the way to a satisfying ending. He includes various other character and subplots to fill out a good picture of life on the island and the livers of R, Arabella, and the other main characters.

I'd be happy to read another Conklin mystery.

Easy read, well worth the time. Conklin or better known as “R” is a delightful character. One of those ex-cop, I don’t wanna be tied down, softies types. When you have such a character and an ocean, you already have me hooked. I liked his easy ways; I wanted to be on the ocean but...I didn’t want to dive, and some people shouldn’t have either.

This was my kind of book. A character somewhat like Travis McGee and yet not...Conklin has his own personality. It’s still one of those mysteries that has everything you want, suspense, interaction between people, dead bodies...well, you get the point.

I don’t know how many other books Davin Goodwin has written. I don’t see others but...I hope he’s working on Book 2 of this as a series.

Diver’s Paradise is Davin Goodwin’s debut noir novel. In it, he’s captured Caribbean life quite well. There’s great local color both on land and underwater. I read this because I enjoy a good detective story now and then.

Roscoe Conklin is a retired police detective and diver who’s moved to the island of Bonaire and bought a rundown motel with his retirement account. At the beginning of the novel, he receives news of the deaths of his former partner and his wife back in the States. From there, people around Conklin are murdered, so he embarks on the trail of their killer while trying to solve—long distance—the murders of his friends. Unfortunately, he must have lost his edge during retirement because he frequently misses clues that are obvious to the reader. While “island time” may be vague, the police department there seems to work on “island mind” and are frequently dismissed as bumbling and lazy.

Bodies are piling up in paradise, also known as the island of Bonaire. Former Rockford, IL police detective Roscoe Conklin and current owner of the almost resort, Yellowrock, needs to discover who the murderer is soon because it looks increasingly clear that he will be the next victim.

Diver's Paradise is a good read. I enjoyed being in Bonaire despite the rather frequent murders. Since they were all related to that motel guy, R, I figured I was safe. The diving tours were great, as were the seaside bars and restaurants. The characters I met in Diver's Paradise were, for the most part, interesting. R himself had an interesting background. (But, I felt so bad for Tiffany.)
I was disappointed that we were left uninformed about the character Lesley. Why he so antagonistic and what was his connection the the tenant in Room 5?
The development of the plot was occasionally awkward. A couple of times I even felt that the author had gone overboard in killing off peripheral characters. But, all in all, I did enjoy the read and would be happy to read a sequel!
Thanks, NetGalley, and Oceanview Publishing, for the ARC.

Roscoe Conklin is a retired detective living in Bonaire, an island in the Caribbeans where he runs a small motel and spends most of his time drinking beer and hanging out with his Dutch girlfriend Arabella, a cop herself. The story opens with the brutal slayings of some old friends of his in Wisconsin, another retired cop and his wife, by someone they trust who is referred to as The Neighbor. Roscoe wants to help investigate and an old contact sends him the files, but there’s really nothing he can do from 2000 miles away.

Meanwhile, strange things are happening in Bonaire. An old friend named Tiffany has come to visit, dragging with her a total loser of a man who makes enemies all around him. Roscoe’s Jeep Wrangler has the brakes go out when Arabella is driving it, landing her in hospital. It turns out the brakes were sabotaged, but the local police don’t seem to be taking it seriously at all. The old friend, Tiffany, is determined to solo dive, and Roscoe notices that everyone close to him seems to be under some kind of attack. While he’s trying to connect the dots in the murder case in Wisconsin, someone seems to be targeting him.

Divers Paradise could use a really thorough editing. There is too much description, so that we know the outfit choices of every minor character, and the writing is rough and often awkward. However the plot keeps you going, and the author captures well the relaxed attitude of island life.

I don't read too often mystery books, but from time to time I enjoy myself trying to find the culprit before the story reveals it. For this reason, I do not like those authors who jump at the end with some details kept secret from you. I'm happy to say that <i>Diver's Paradise</i> is not one of these.

Not knowing what to expect, I start reading and I hear my phone. <i>First ring.</i> I ignore it and keep reading. After the first pages, already I'm totally in and start thinking of various motives and possible directions in which the plot could go.

<i>Second ring.</i> I'm still ignoring the phone. The description of the main character's retirement life and of Bonaire Island do not disturb the rhythm. The details contribute to the atmosphere and make a great contrast with what has and will happen next. The depiction of the Island is very picturesque adding to the easiness with which the reader can "see" the story.

<i>Third ring.</i> I know I'll ignore it. I have to think of all the pieces of information, memories, red hearings and too easy to be true details and to work on the puzzle. Davin Goodwin is a sincere mystery writer, but a mystery author nonetheless. He plays with you and apparently forgets about the initial murders dealing only with the present.

I have to discern between the good and bad cops who are out to play, skepticism, broken ribs, unglamorous research, and life attempts. The pages fly, the plot thickens, and every written row brings a jigsaw piece for which I have to find the correct place. I loved that!

<i>Fourth ring.</i> I'm looking at the number and... ignore it. I have to finish this! It is not hard at all to ignore the phone. I like the imperfect-perfect ex-Detective Roscoe Conklin, and how he manages (or not) to be on the other side of the table, facing the mirror. How finding the truth means more than finding a criminal. <i>Objectivity, Logic, and Common Sense</i>... these are the three characteristics that an effective investigator must have. Actually, they are the features around which David Goodwin weaves his mystery.

<i>Fifth ring.</i> Don't want to answer. Satisfied, I close my kindle. It was a good ride.

There is no place for <i>"maybe, maybe not"</i>! Mystery grunts or veterans, I think you will all enjoy <i>Diver's Paradise</i>!
Dank je, Mr. Goodwin!