The Mermaid's Cry by Kate Rhodes #VirtualBookTour #TheMermaidsCry @k_rhodeswriter @orendabooks #bookreview #dibenkitto #mystery

 

DI BEN KITTO RETURNS…

A COAST IN CELEBRATION

When DI Ben Kitto sees a baby thrown into Penzance harbour, he prays it’s a trick of the light. But the threat is real. The child survives – barely – and soon a chilling pattern emerges. As the Dark Sky Festival brings dancers, dreamers and stargazers to Cornwall’s coast, children begin to vanish.

A KILLER IN THE CROWD

A small mermaid figurine is found beside each scene, echoing the legend of the Mermaid of Zennor, who lured a man to his death beneath the waves. Still reeling from a devastating bereavement and determined to protect his young son, Ben is pulled back into the field and into a deadly investigation. When the killer’s messages begin arriving at his home, the threat becomes terrifyingly personal.

A FINAL RECKONING

Suspicions fall on familiar faces. When the summer solstice approaches, Ben must confront the boundaries of love, loss and obsession. In a final, desperate chase along the headland, only his bond with Noah – and the loyalty of his dog, Shadow – can prevent tragedy from repeating itself.

The Mermaid's Cry by Kate Rhodes was published on 16 July 2026 by Orenda Books and is Book 9 in the DI Ben Kitto series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Virtual Book Tour

DI Ben Kitto is back! Whilst I would always advise reading from the beginning in any crime series, The Mermaid's Cry can easily be read as a stand alone story. So if you are not familiar with Kitto, you will be fine to read this one. 

I always think that Kate Rhodes has such a wonderful ability to combine crime and setting and The Mermaids Cry is another wonderful addition to the Ben Kitto series. Although this story takes us and Ben away from the familiar Isles of Scilly and onto the Cornish mainland, it still has that rich atmosphere and real emotional depth that we readers have come to expect.

Set against the backdrop of Cornwall's Dark Sky Festival, the novel opens with a shocking incident, and then the disappearance of local children which sends fear through the community. The discovery of small mermaid charms at each scene links the investigation to the haunting legend of the Mermaid of Zennor, and this adds such an eerie layer to the story. The folklore is woven naturally into the plot, and creates an unsettling feeling that the past is never too far away.

Ben Kitto is dealing with immense personal loss, and this adds another dimension to the story without ever overshadowing the investigation. His fierce determination to keep his young son safe makes every development of the novel feel really urgent, while the search for the truth keeps the tension building from beginning to end. Kate Rhodes expertly balances the emotional moments with a cleverly constructed plot that had me questioning everything. 

The Cornish setting is a real highlight. From the dramatic coastline and changing skies to the bustling festival atmosphere, every scene is vividly described. The landscape becomes an integral part of the story, and whilst beautiful, it also has an underlying sense of menace. It is impossible not to become completely immersed in the sights, sounds and legends of Cornwall.

This is a beautifully paced and structured crime novel with memorable characters, a compelling mystery and a fabulous, vivid sense of place. It's is a captivating read, recommended. 

Kate Rhodes is an acclaimed crime novelist and an award-winning poet, selected for Val
McDermid’s New Blood panel at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival for her debut, Crossbones Yard. 

She has been nominated twice for the prestigious CWA Dagger in the Library award, and is one of the founders of the Killer Women writing group. 

She lives in Cambridge with her husband, the writer and film-maker Dave Pescod, and visited the Scilly Isles every year as a child, which gave her the ideafor the critically acclaimed Isles of Scilly Mysteries series.