Title: The West Indian Manner
Author: Gene Desrochers
Date: 2023
Quote: "The Manner had been my home ever since Evelyn, my wife, had died...I had told Lucy once that the name of the guesthouse was spelled wrong. She had laughed and said, 'T'ink about it.'"
West Indian charm--specifically the kind found on St Thomas island--is a main feature of this pair of short detective stories. They feature private detective Boise Montague, the protagonist of some longer stories this e-book is meant to encourage people to buy. Boise solves two relatively simple murder cases without having to kill anyone himself, uses the standard slang words of "hard-boiled" detective fiction but seems like a decent fellow, and just might appeal to mystery lovers enough to sell a series.
The US Virgin Islands, even taken together, even taken together with the British Virgin Islands, are a small place consisting mostly of beautiful sun-warmed ocean. Not many writers come from there and I believe this is the first book from the USVI that I've ever read. (Even at that, it came as a bit of a disappointment--I spent a long time hearing "West Indian" used with reference to other islands.)
In fact some readers may feel moved to go to St Thomas in real life. Birth certificate and driver's license are sufficient documentation, no need to get a passport, and English is spoken--though, as these stories suggest, it doesn't sound quite the same as English does in the contiguous States. Some specially Caribbean words like "ites (red)" are explained in the stories; some, like "Irie," are just used, and some remain to be discovered.
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