Devil-Devil

Set in the Solomon Islands in 1960 when the country was a British protectorate, Kent's intriguing if uneven debut introduces Sgt. Ben Kella, whose position as aofia, or tribal spiritual peacekeeper, tends to bring him into conflict with his superiors in the British-run police force. Fresh from a case that earned him an official reprimand, Kella stirs up a new hornet's nest with his discovery of a skull with a bullet hole in it—which young American nun Sister Conchita is surreptitiously trying to bury. No sooner has he identified the victim as a long-missing Australian beachcomber than someone starts taking pot shots at Kella and the equally headstrong nun. As rumblings of a tribal uprising increase along with the body count, some readers might wish that Kent—who served eight years in the Solomons as head of BBC Schools broadcasting—had put more effort into maximizing suspense than exploring the islands' exotic indigenous culture. (Feb.)