Extreme wealth (I’m talking the ostentatious kind that seemingly knows no limits) is something many in our world idly dream of. A veritable stroke of good fortune that is to be envied (or is it?).

In a sun-kissed and environmentally sublime utopia such as Australia (where I live) the overt (and sometimes hidden) disparities between the luxuriously wealthy and those from the lower end of the economic spectrum in society are stark and sobering. 

The Australian Council of Service tells us that the top ten percent of wealthiest households in Australia own some 46 percent of Australia’s wealth. And in a country where nearly 128 000 people are classified as homeless this year, a house in the prestige suburb of Toorak, in Melbourne, sold for $150 million this year. Such a contrast between people’s finances.

Adding the tantalisingly tasty ingredients of opulent wealth and luxury into a psychological thriller/crime novel is always going to have a multitude of readers intrigued. Add to that the sublime locale of an island paradise, in the nation of Fiji in the azure waters of the Pacific Ocean, and murder jn play and the results are intoxicatingly dazzling for any reader of thrillers.

Such expansive examinations of the world we live in, human nature and all it’s ensuing permutations, encapsulating the lengths humans will go to in their quest to get what they want in this life, are expertly examined in stellar English (she now lives on the northern beaches of Sydney with her family) author, Ali Lowe, in her latest psychological thriller/crime novel, The Private Island.

The fictional Loloma Island Resort and Spa in Fiji sits proudly in the pristine turquoise waters of the South Pacific Ocean. A six star resort, it’s lavish rooms and service are only for those at the very top of the economic spectrum of wealth in our world. As we begin to read, we are told that “Those guests have gone now (from Christmas revelries), and soon the New Year’s Eve revellers will arrive, bringing with them sequinned gowns and their lavish Venetian masks for the biggest event on the resort’s calendar, the New Year’s Eve ‘Love’ Ball. Una (a member of the staff who cleans the bures (cabins) is fascinated by it: the frocks, the glamour, the drunkenness, the drama”.

Una, in her early forties, lives a life far remote from the high flyers who frequent Loloma Island Resort as paying guests. She sleeps in the decidedly less ritzy (actually quite plain and low-key) staff quarters. Despite her low paying job (“a week’s stay at Loloma is more than Una earns in a whole year”. “Like most of the staff at Loloma, Una relies on tips to supplement her income”), she takes great pride in her work and pays great attention to detail. She is also acutely observant, and perhaps notices and knows about what is going on in the resort more than anyone. Even the forthright resort manager, Mr Roko.

Guests for the New Year’s festivities include Luella and Benedict St John-Gray from England, who have been married a short time. Luella is a stuck-up (to put it kindly) and snobby heiress who is the financial mainstay of her and Benedict’s marriage. Benedict sometimes “funds start-ups”, only working when he feels like it. Luella proudly tells guests that “I have more money than I know what to do with. I could swim in the stuff if I wanted to – in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, you understand. I could certainly buy the island we are all about to stay on if I felt so inclined, along with every single boat in the marina”.

Another English couple, the portly and blustery Fergus (who looks for backers for businesses) and the demure and down-trodden Kitty Miller, are delighted to be on the island. As we soon learn, however, they don’t possess the wealth that those who usually frequent the island do. They have in fact paid for this trip on credit cards. So why did they come to an island for the mega-rich when they have trouble paying their everyday bills back home? 

Fergus and Benedict used to work together in London back in the day, and it is just a coincidence that they have bumped into each other in paradise, isn’t it? 

A guest who is travelling solo, the beautiful and softly-spoken, French woman, Dr Sofie Barthelemy, who works at Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris (“where Princess Diana died”) embraces island life away from the cold confines of Paris.

Thomasina Delana, hailing from Byron Bay (a beachside locale in Australia) is also travelling solo. Given her modest life in Australia, what is she doing holidaying in such an exclusive resort?

Mother and teenage daughter, Alice and Ellie Chen, are also staying on the island, yet take a peripheral role in the story.

Even in paradise, things sometimes go wrong. Sometimes major incidents. 

Did someone sabotage the oxygen tank of one of the island guests to cause a calamity for someone while out at sea? Or is it an accidental occurrence?

Whose is the body found on the beach? Who (either a person or persons) had a motive for killing them?

Who is threatening to have Una’s young nephew, Sailasa (on staff and a diving instructor), fired? A somebody who knows the CEO of Neptunian Resorts worldwide.

What clandestine trouble has Sailasa got himself into? Is there a way out for him?

Can anyone blame Alice and Ellie Chen for departing the island in a frenzied exit before their holiday is due to finish?

Who ends up dying and who stays alive in this ‘Miss Marple in Paradise’ (because Uno is ‘on the case’) like scenario?

Who is in possession of a diamond worth a quarter of a million American dollars? Who takes it and why?

Ali has written a superb thriller that resonates with intelligence and sharply accurate insights into the human psyche and motivations.

Themes of grief, class, socio-economic differences, culture, friendship and romance (and sometimes lack-there-of) are examined extremely well.

This book had me turning the pages faster and faster as I was hooked into this divine read (from page one), encompassing fearsomely-good plotting and exquisite character development (both the baddies and the goodies were well written).

Additionally, there are a number of twists that you won’t see coming and that will have you gasping.

Bravo Ali! I loved every minute of reading The Private Island. It’s 5 stars from me and I’ll be waiting in line to read whatever Ali writes next.