Easily one of my favorite reads of 2024. So many characters to love and narratives that need to be told!

When Japanese pan player Sora Tanaka is murdered at the end of the Carnival celebration on the Caribbean island St. Colibri, it is the last straw for the women of the island. They are absolutely fed up with women dying at the hands of men and their government and law enforcement doing nothing about it.

This murder sparks a national protest, which draws international attention. What started as a few dozen women camping out turns into hundreds of women marching, protesting, and participating in a sex strike.

Told from the perspectives of feminist leaders, sex workers, the prime minister and his wife, the cop in charge of the investigation -- you can see how differently each one reacts to the movement and the repercussions. It will inspire and infuriate you at the same time!

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy of this immensely enjoyable novel. in all honesty, I'm not done reading it just yet, but I can tell it's on track to be among my favorite reads of 2024. it's got elements that draw me in every time - overt feminist themes, sassy, obstinate and headstrong female characters, and it's just damn well-written. The vernacular is charming and adds a great deal to the depth of the story without ever coming across as pejorative. I can't wait to see who killed Sora. I suspect I'll know in a day or two, because I really can't put this book down.

A layered and important read.

I had no expectations going into this book but the writing gripped me right away. One thing I truly loved about this book was how Roffey painted such a vivid and colourful picture of the island. The story itself is inspiring in its bleakness. When a Japanese steel pan player is found murdered at the end of Carnival, a movement of women starts with just a handful of women and we get to see how one woman's death brings attention to the bigger problem at large.

This is a story that will stay with me for years to come.

A tough layered look at the issue of femicide. Roffey sets her tale, which is based on a real incident (incidents to be fair ) on a fictional island in the Caribbean. Know that it might take a minute to get into the rhythm of the dialogue but it's worth it because this is both realistic and adds to the atmospherics. This moves between very different women who share outrage and determination. It might seem polemic at times but it's always on message. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good, topical read.

Passiontide by Trinidadian 🇹🇹 author Monique Roffey is a powerful commentary on the plight of women and girls around the world. Very real statistics note that 85,000 women and girls are killed annually; 45,000 of those murdered by lovers or family. My God. Just think: girls forced to marry as babies, mutilation, not allowed an education, abuse, rape, femicide. It’s overwhelming.

The story begins with the murder of Sora Tanaka found at the base of a cannonball tree. This novel was sparked by the very real 2017 murder of a Japanese tourist found in Trinidad.

The setting is the fictional St. Colobri which is very Trinidadlike with the description of the setting, creole dialogue and people of African and Indian mixed ethnicity. The author goes back and forth between characters connected to the murder: a detective, the dead woman’s friends, the prime minister and his wife, the forensic pathologist, a reporter/activist and even a legal prostitute turned activist. There’s friendship, love, self-examination. You are taken through the beginning stages of a movement like #metoo all the way to a full blown occupation of the town square by the islands women. There is a sex boycott, marches and a tent city. Women doing something as Caribbean revolutionaries before them like Nanny of the Maroons and Grenada’s Jaqueline Creft. I had to stop to look up some of the other women mentioned. I was engaged in learning along the way.

I struggled through the first half of the book because it was not a feel good kind of story. At all. I wanted to find out who the murderer was and him punished. But the author takes you through context and the culture that allows femicide to thrive and mostly unpunished. There’s layers! I can’t spoil the ending for you. I will say that I felt a way by the end as a women in the world. Sometimes unprotected, unappreciated for my power, sometimes vulnerable but knowing that I do have education, strength, opportunity and a VOICE! In reality, women and girls in the world suffer daily. Even as Kamala surges toward the White House. You must read! It’s amazing!

Thank you @penguinrandomhouse @aaknopf for my beautiful copy and the NetGalley!

Passiontide is a story set on the fictional small Caribbean island of St. Colibri, taking its tragic inspiration from a real-life event: the murder of Asami Nagakiya, a Japanese woman found murdered in the Queen’s Park Savannah (Trinidad and Tobago) in 2016.

Passiontide takes place during the last two weeks of Lent and begins with the death of Sora Tanaka, a Japanese panplayer. It continues with the power of standing up to ignored murders, misogyny, and domestic violence and ends with strong women coming together regardless of religion or race. Passiontide is told from multiple points of view, including now dead Sora as well as her murderer (whose likely identity gradually becomes clear - although this is not a crime novel but a polemical critique of colonialism, patriarchy, and sexism). This is the story when enough women stand up and say no.

The story is bleak and uplifting, with sharp, clever humor and a genuine stand-up-and-cheer feel about some of the scenes. I highly recommend this book by Costa Award-winning author Monique Roffey.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

A Japanese pan player is murdered during Carnival which sets off an anti femicide movement in this slightly different murder mystery. I wanted to like it but it just didn’t work for me. Character sections were short and choppy and the story never really seemed gel for me. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

Although this novel started slow, it was worth pushing through for the opportunity to see a movement develop in all its glory and confusion. When a Japanese steel pan player is found murdered at the end of Carnaval, it serves as a catalyst for all the women in mourning and in fear of their own lives. A movement that starts with a handful of women coming together over food and ideas ends up drawing huge crowds and international attention. Although the murdered woman, Sora, has a voice throughout the book, it really isn't about her. There are many other characters that the author successfully fleshes out and I appreciate the skill it took to give so many of them depth. I liked reading about the imperfections, lucky breaks, spontaneous moments, organized chaos, and the coming together of women from all over the island who were simply fed up with the rampant disregard for their wellbeing. The men are not portrayed very kindly here, with perhaps one exception. They are horny, condescending, self-serving, while also being incredibly dependent on the women around them. Even when they "do the right thing," it's with an eye on what they can get from it. The ugliness of the circumstances did not deter from the power that came from the movement, though. Even soldiers couldn't crush an uprising that consisted of religious and spiritual women resembling their aunties and grandmas!

Although I loved the dialect and dialog I got bogged down in the story itself. The premise is good and it certainly sets the scene for what follows. I found it difficult to relate to the location. Maybe it was just too far out of my usual reading zone? So, I would say give it a try if the location and description intrigues you. It's different! Different is good.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I know many will enjoy it.

This mystery works on a lot of different levels. Terrifically depicted fictional Caribbean island setting and some unforgettable characters.

The basic plot is the investigation into the murder of a young foreign musician tourist during the Carnaval. But her death spotlights the horrifying statistics of the many murdered women on this island and in this region. Locals, tourists, abused women -- and apparently they rarely get solved. They even form a local task force to try and deal with the high incidence of femicide, but it feels like this is only for show and no one expects results.

The characters are great and layered. The local police chief, busy with not only a wife but a girlfriend on the side. Sometimes he appears unmotivated and burned out, but at other times he has keen insights and investigative chops. Then there is the island political structure, the mayor and his superiors who are breathing down his neck. The local White coroner, vastly overworked and suffering from increasing PTSD.

But the real strength is the female characters. And they decide they have had enough of empty promises and being ignored. They start a grass roots movement in response to the latest death that grows through social media, international press and word of mouth to something beyond their wildest dreams. They have a local sex workers union, musicians, activists, housewives, students, political wives -- quite the conglomeration of different backgrounds but it seems to work.

A dark and troubling ending which the author in an afterword said she left in after she read about some real life additional murders. If you are looking for something different and thought-providing, I recommend this. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

PASSIONTIDE by Monique Roffey

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC ebook to read.


The title, Passiontide, is the last two weeks of Lent. On the small tropical island of St. Colibri, carnival is just over and Sora Tanaka, a young Japanese steel-pan player is found brutally murdered lying under a cannonball tree. Because the island is known for women being murdered, there is a special unit within the police called OMWEN, the Office for Murdered Women. There have been five hundred women on the island killed. It took a foreign woman to be killed before an inept group consisting of a police inspector and local government cared to have the person found; only because of it looking bad for tourism.

Sora’s death has finally made women say, “enough is enough” and four women from various walks of life, join forces and find new ways to help one another and soon more and more women join in this rebellion. Sora’s voice of the dead, is used throughout the novel. Femicide is the topic in, Passiontide. Raffey starts this novel off with the impression of a detective story; becoming apparent that “state-approved, and state-sanctioned misogyny” plays out with the prime minister, mayor, inspector, and almost all the male characters.

Overall I enjoyed this book. There is an unfamiliar (to me) island lexicon that hampered my reading till I became more familiar with it. I believe it is the Trinidadian English that gives the narrative authenticity. I enjoyed the larger-than-life characters Roffey created. I look forward to seeing what Monique Roffey has next for us.

The murder of a Japanese tourist during Carnival on the fictional island of St. Colibri sets the women residents into a massive protest to address the high rate of femicide on the island and throughout the Caribbean. Their demands are reasonable to address the abuses of women and misogynistic practices that permeate their culture at all levels of socio-economic classes.

Roffey employs a diverse cast of characters to convey the diverse views and philosophies concerning the patriarchy, role of women in their community, the political motivation behind policies and the lack of concern regarding women's issues. Leaders of the movement include a journalist, sex worker, activist, and the wife of a prominent politician. These women face challenges from the personal, political, and police and the reader is immersed in their adventures as they work their way through tough decisions and relationship drama. Echoes of the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements ring throughout the story.

Although, the story waned for me (I became a bit weary and was a bit disappointed with the conclusion), I think many will find the story compelling and timely. Roffey should be admired for bringing attention to an overlooked problem and the timeless issues surrounding patriarchy and misogyny.

Thanks to the publisher, Penguin-Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

“When murder goes unpunished, then murder becomes tolerated. Then society becomes murderous… By not catching, let alone punishing the killers of women”, Tara continued, ignoring him, “you are in effect making murder legal.”
Five hundred women have been murdered over the years on St. Colibri and the police just don’t seem to care. Not until a foreign woman is murdered. Because that will be bad for tourism and the economy. The investigation is run by an incompetent detective. The politicians are happy to indulge in victim shaming. So, four women, from different backgrounds, take matters into their own hands. A reporter, an activist, the leader of the local sex workers collective and the PM’s wife. What starts as a small protest grows by leaps and bounds.
The story is inspired by the deaths of two women in Port of Spain, Trinidad not to mention the real problem of femicide throughout the world. It made me want to scream, to laugh, to cry. Despite facing long odds, there was a great feeling of optimism with this story. I loved its message of women from across a wide spectrum of class, age and religion coming together in a grassroots effort to enforce change.
The story is told from multiple third person narratives, one being that of the dead woman. That part really didn’t work for me, as I am NOT a fan of the supernatural. Luckily, that part was small. But I became a huge fan of the women, I wanted to see them succeed, to grow, to find their way. I was impressed with Roffey’s ability to create so many characters that felt real - their ambitions, their loves, their hopes and fears were all fleshed out.
I was surprised by the ending. But in her Afterword, Roffey spells out the reason for it.
My thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an advance copy of this book.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Content Warnings: Murder, Domestic Abuse, Police Brutality, Violence Against Women

I have so much to say about this novel, but for those who do not wish to read a long review, I will say simply this: Roffey's novel made me upset because it was so real. While fictional, any woman alive (who doesn't have on a blindfold) can tell you that this is real everyday life. Women are killed and it gets covered up. Especially women of color...their names and faces hidden in the newspaper if mentioned at all.

"Passiontide" is a poignant and provocative novel that begins with the murder of a Japanese woman on a Caribbean island. On Carnival. She was no stranger to the island, and had many friends there, yet she was murdered, lying in filth and pee. And at first it seems like no one cares. Yet when two local women find out, one a reporter and another the leader of a women's activist group, they decide they have had enough of femicide on their tiny island, enough of murder, domestic abuse and incest being seen as commonplace.

This novel is packed with quotable moments, words that pierce your soul because they are real and relevant in our culture. I say this because it is true of every culture. Another aspect of this novel that I appreciate is the fact that the author includes free form poetry, changing up the narrative style every so often. The multiple POVs also give us a more well-rounded feel of the various characters. From doctors to cops to activists to sex workers. We see how they all think and what they feel about this death and the protest they have staged because of it. When the women choose to occupy the town square and the mayor blames the victim, Sora Tanaka, for her own death, national outrage turns global. And what was once a few handfuls of women turn into thousands, all doing what they can to have their voices heard. Roffey also alludes to Lysistrata, when the women deny sex, in every form, and men who once thought themselves above it all come to terms with the fact that women aren't simply there to be looked at and slept with...women are people too.

The various occupation methods that Roffey cooks up are ingenious and the inclusion of women from all walks of life and religions adds to the poignancy of the piece. When a woman is murdered, regardless of what she wears, she is not asking for it. Nor is it her fault. Regardless of her religion, skin tone, occupation, or class, no woman minding her own business wants a man to grab her from behind. Throughout this novel we see snippets of Sora's ghost voice her thoughts and while Roffey leaves some important questions unanswered...the same can be said in the real world.

One woman's death turns the world of this novel upside down. And it was a striking read. (The only reason I give it four stars is because of the language.) Side note: if you do not like reading in dialects/vernacular accents, this may not be your first choice.

Roffey has such a wonderful writign style that I gravitated towards. She has a wonderful style that balances the plot, characters, and heavy topics that all play important roles in this book. This book has such a powerful message, and I loved reading about it.

There is much to admire in Passiontide, Monique Roffey’s latest, soon-to-be published novel. Set in Port Isabella on the Caribbean island of St. Colibri (a fictionalized Trinidad) during Lent and Passiontide a few years ago, this novel focusses on the events set off on the last night of Carnival by the horrific murder of Sora Tanaka. Sora is a young Japanese, well known to the Port Isabella community from her yearly visits at Carnival time to play steel pan music with the best of the local pan players. Although Sora’s murder is at the heart of the novel, Passiontide is not a murder mystery. It is about the attempt of the women of the island to bring about change, through peaceful protests, to St. Colibri’s extraordinarily high rate of femicide, wife-beating, and other woman abuse. The women’s ultimate antagonists are those in power who are either religious misogynists or indifferent male government officials. What the women experience is the power they can have when large numbers representing all classes, economic levels, and social status unite in their common quest for change from patriarchal power and values.

My memory of this novel will be of voices, layers of voices, mostly women’s voices, but men’s voices as well, voices expressing deep sorrow, rage, anxiety, terror, love, joy, shock, despair, hope, fear. We hear through the victim, the murderer, the detective in charge, the mayor, the prime minister, the pathologist. And then there is the voice of pan music, born on the island, carrying both its greatest sorrow and most powerful joy. The story is mostly carried by the voices of four women who could be said to be the main characters: Tara, already an activist and head of the small group of feminists on the island; Sharleen, a reporter covering women’s issues for the local newspaper; Gigi, a prostitute and leader of a group advocating for the protection of prostitutes; and Daisy, wife of the Prime Minister, whose sister had also been the victim of an unsolved murder. Tara and Gigi begin the protest by planning a peaceful occupation of the public space outside the Prime Minister’s office building. From this decision, the plot builds as the women grow in number and in goals. All is held together loosely within the structural framework of the liturgical season—Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

And then of course, there is Roffey’s own voice, her way with words: her skillful use of imagery, symbolism, and diction. The characters usually speak a highly colloquial dialect, using even obscurely slangy words, making the novel a very intimate experience, even though for many readers, it will also feel foreign. And Roffey’s themes couldn’t be more timely. I really loved Passiontide and look forward to September, when I’ll be able to buy a hardbound copy just in time for a reread.

Read if you like an exotic island setting, with a very hardheaded look at the facts of women’s lives in far too many places in today’s world, and a story of a group of women uniting for change.

My thanks to Penguin-Random House and NetGalley for this arc.