Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey

The Dark Island of the title is Orkney, which in reality is an archipelago of islands just off the northeast coast of Scotland. Here in the UK we are familiar with TV detective series (based on the books written by Ann Cleaves) set on the Sheltland Islands in the North Sea to the north of Orkney, and in this book we have a similar backdrop but the main character is a journalist not a detective.

The author Daniel Aubrey wanted to write a book about autism, so the young reporter Freya Sinclair has autistic traits, although she doesn't have a firm diagnosis as she is waiting for the outcome of her assessment.

All through the story-line Freya's behaviour is very challenging for everyone around her as she is driven by her own issues and her colleagues see her as unreliable, unpredictable and self absorbed. She doesn't follow instructions, she disappears without warning and she ignores her phone when everyone is worried sick about her. The author doesn't give Freya much in the way of redeeming features, and there are times when you wonder why on earth her husband married her as she seems to give him nothing but grief and then blames him for everything.

The plotline of the book is well thought out, although it will probably give quite a grim picture of Orkney and its inhabitants if you have never been there. I also found myself questioning the likelyhood of certain things such as a hospital nurse giving the name and home adress of a key witness to a reporter, but if you just roll with that sort of thing then the tension builds well and there are a few surprises at the end.

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