Deadly Isles, The-Jack Vance mystery novel, book review

Deadly Isles, The-Jack Vance mystery novel

The Deadly Isles is a 154 page mystery novel that was first published in 1969 under the name John Holbrook Vance.  This is the full name of Jack Vance.

The first chapter of the story consists of two 1967 newspaper clippings from the San Francisco Chronicle.  One is an announcement about Lia Wintersea being engaged to the popular socialite and yachtsman Brady Royce.  The other is about a specialty dancer who was found dead in her apartment after being tortured and strangled.

In chapter two we learn that Brady is 48 years old and very wealthy and that Lia is an extravagantly beautiful, effortlessly elegant, supple and slender woman who has poise, charm and dignity and is only 22 years old.  The couple plan to spend their honeymoon on Brady's yacht with a group of friends, sailing first to Hawaii and then to the Marquesas and Tahiti.  Brady writes to his cousin Luke Royce, who is a marine biologist living in Tahiti, and invites Luke to join them after they reach the Marquesas.  Prior to sailing out there is a secret, mysterious meeting in a seedy bar in a disreputable area between two unidentified people, a strange looking woman dressed in black and a dramatically handsome man.  The woman comments on the death of the dancer who was strangled and invites the man on a trip to the South Pacific.

Brady's cousin, Luke, is planning to sail from Tahiti to the Marquesas to meet his cousin and his entourage.  But a murder attempt is made on Luke.  A man driving a Renault runs Luke and his Vespa off a steep cliff overlooking the ocean.  Luke manages to survive the fall when he lands in the water.  Afterward he recalls having seen the driver of the Renault previously.  The same man was observed near the post office when Luke picked up his mail.  He especially remembered the man's remarkably dark black opal eyes.  Luke concludes that this man wanted to kill him but did not know where he lived or what he looked like but did know his post office box number and waited at the post office until Luke retrieved his mail.  After the man saw Luke take his mail from the box the man followed him and then forced him off the cliff with his vehicle.

The following day Luke notices an article in the newspaper that an American Scientist Suffers Fatal Disaster.  He realizes the article is about him and that the authorities found his crashed Vespa and think that his body was washed out to sea.  Rather than reporting to the police that he is still alive Luke decides to pretend he never saw the article.  He does not want to tip off the man who tried to kill him.  Instead Luke cuts his hair, shaves off his beard and purchases tourist clothes to disguise himself to try to track down his would be murder.  He eventually locates the man in a bar, finds that he goes by the name Ben Easley and learns that he is scheduled to sail to the Marquesas on the same ship Luke has booked.  Luke decides to still board the ship but to do so under a fake name.  Once his ship has sailed much of the novel shifts back and forth between the events on Luke's ship and the activities on his cousin's schooner.

The plot is rather straightforward and not overly complex, convoluted or difficult to follow.  The storyline is faced paced, suspenseful and very atmospheric, depicting exotic South Seas cultures.  Vance, of course, loved to sail and travel and this novel highlights his love of the ocean.  The Deadly Isles should appeal to most Vance fans and some mystery readers.  It does not have some of the narrative brilliance, or witty dialogue that characterizes Vance's very finest novels.  But it is a captivating and entertaining novel that is well worth reading.  I've read it twice now and liked it even better the second time, changing my rating from a 3 to a 4.