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A Prison In The Sun: A Riveting Historical Mystery (Canary Islands Mysteries Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Isobel Blackthorn (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 87 ratings

Book 3 of 5: Canary Islands Mysteries

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After ghostwriter Trevor Moore rents an old farmhouse in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, he moves in to find his muse.

But instead of creative inspiration, he discovers a rucksack filled with cash. Who does it belong to, and what should he do with it?

Struggling to make up his mind, Trevor gradually finds more clues, and unravels the harrowing true story of a little-known concentration camp that incarcerated gay men in the 1950s and 60s.

Blackthorn has created a perfect blend of mystery and historical realism in what amounts to an exceptionally compelling read. A Prison in the Sun is a beautiful and vivid novel that captures the struggle writers face when they confront stories that must be told.

Praise from critics:

★★★★★ - Readers' Favorite Awards

“Storytelling at its best.” - The Bookwormery

Praise from readers:

★★★★★ - "The book takes you on a journey that fully immerses you in the history and atmosphere of the island where the action takes place, an experience that is simultaneously beautiful but dark... Beautiful and evocative."

★★★★★ - "With great skill and consummate ease, Blackthorn pulls it all together to produce a real page-turner which entertains to the very last page."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Prison In The Sun is an excellent work of mystery fiction for those who want to devour a literary sensation over a longer period." 5 Stars - K.C. Finn, Readers' Favorite.

"Once again the author works her trademark talent for describing the surroundings into the story." - Cheryl M-Ms Book Blog

"The author has written about a difficult subject with great compassion and sensitivity." - Ginger Book Geek.

"Isobel Blackthorn's writing is beautiful and unique." - Jessica Belmont

"This read was absolutely beautiful, compelling and deep. Brave to Blackthorn for great storytelling!" - Nurse Bookie

"This author is adept at creating an all-encompassing world for the reader." - Books Are Cool

"A Prison in the Sun is the most brilliant book I have read in a long time. Very beautifully written." - Tessa Talks Books

"This is a skilfully crafted story, weaving historical and contemporary events into a plot filled with angst, turmoil, murder and mystery." - Splashes into Books

"Storytelling at its best." - The Bookwormery

"Great work moves people, for better or worse, and this did that. For a novel taking a dark, horrific premise, and utilizing that to highlight the bitter cervices of the human mind, this is everything it needed to be." - Vain Radical

Engrossing and unique, I highly recommend A Prison in the Sun - The Book Decoder

From the Author

A Prison in the Sun won the Finalist Award in the LGBTQ category of the Readers' Favorite Book Awards 2020 and Finalist Award in the LGBTQ category of the 2021 International Book Awards.
I wrote A Prison in the Sun to honour and remember all those men imprisoned under General Franco's regime because they were gay. On Fuerteventura, where this story is set, prison conditions were brutal and likened to a concentration camp. To the best of my knowledge, nothing substantial about this prison has been written in English. All of my research I conducted in Spanish. In 2008 the story of the prison broke after professor Miguel Ángel Sosa Machín interviewed prison survivor, Octavia Garcia. I have known of the prison's existence since 1989, when I lived in Lanzarote and my close friends from the island told me what went on there.

I have purposefully juxtaposed life in the prison with that of the present day, counterpointing the gravity of the prisoners' situation with a touch of bathos in the main narrative, striving not only for balance, but also to entice reflection on who we were, who we are, and where we want to be.

A Prison in the Sun is my fourth Canary Islands' novel and was written in keeping with that narrative style.

I offer the following story in all sincerity.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07YX32LTJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Magnum Opus - A Next Chapter Imprint; 1st edition (November 19, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5682 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 341 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B088N673GD

Best Sellers Rank: #1,744,814 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,279 in LGBTQ+ Literary Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #1,833 in LGBTQ+ Mystery (Books)
- #2,480 in Historical European Fiction

Customer Reviews:
3.9 87 ratings

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Isobel Blackthorn

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Isobel Blackthorn is a prolific novelist of unique and engaging fiction. She writes across a range of genres, including gripping mysteries and dark psychological thrillers.

The Unlikely Occultist: A biographical novel of Alice A. Bailey received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Reader's Favorite book awards. A Prison in the Sun was shortlisted in the LGBTQ category of the 2021 International Book Awards and the 2020 Readers' Favorite Book Awards. Her short story 'Nothing to Declare' was shortlisted for the Ada Cambridge Prose Prize 2019. Her dark thriller A Legacy of Old Gran Parks won a Raven Award in 2019. The Cabin Sessions was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award 2018 and the Ditmar Awards 2018.

Isobel holds a PhD in Western Esotericism from the University of Western Sydney for her ground-breaking study of the texts of Theosophist Alice A. Bailey. Her engagement with Alice Bailey’s life and works has culminated in the biographical novel The Unlikely Occultist and the full biography Alice A. Bailey: Life and Legacy.

Isobel carries a lifelong passion for the Canary Islands, Spain, her former home. Six of her novels are set on the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. These standalone mystery novels are setting rich and fall into the broad genre of travel fiction.

Isobel has led a rich and interesting life and her stories are as diverse as her experiences, the highs and lows, and the dramas. A life-long campaigner for social justice, Isobel has written, protested and leant her weight to a range of issues including asylum seekers and family violence. A Londoner originally, Isobel currently lives in the Canary Islands, Spain.

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3.9 out of 5

87 global ratings

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L. Carmichael

3rd in Series, Beautiful & Poignant, Lovely Setting

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020

A Prison in the Sun is the third book I've read, also the third book in author Isobel Blackthorn's series, Canary Island Mysteries. One of the aspects I most like about her writing is the way Blackthorn embeds such beautifully descriptive scenery among multiple story-lines, weaving together a tale that can be fully immersive and quite the vivid experience.

In this novel, Trevor, a mid-thirties divorced writer, has taken a trip to the Canary Islands to pen his own book; he's tired of writing for other authors or blogs. It's time he had his own success. His bestie, Angela, helps from afar, and when Trevor discovers a sack of money near the beach, he feels compelled to learn where it came from... except, a body washes up ashore, and it appears a drug deal might've gone poorly. At the same time, he's met a lovely couple who are helping him acclimate to the island. During his explorations, Trevor learns about the building he's staying in, particularly how it once housed gay men in a plot by the government to fix them for their deviant behavior. Alternating between contemporary times and historical events, readers learn just what happened in this awful place, who was murdered, and what Trevor does and doesn't know about it!

If you've never been to these islands (I haven't) and you can't easily get there, just read this series. It'll feel like you are surrounded by everything they have to offer. I still think you should go, but this is what might convince you to make the trip... barring the murders and deaths in the books, as that's just all wonderful story. Blackthorn's writing talents clearly jump off the pages with beautiful narrative, calming or alarming descriptions, and well-drawn characters. Though the plot in this one is rather straightforward and minimalist, it is a good thing... readers navigate her pages while getting sucked into the lovely background and before you know it, the story explodes into something quite clever.

There is a scene with chickens that is quite frightening, and it evokes anger over what some people do to others because of their beliefs. Blackthorn delicately handles the homosexuality theme in many scenes, shares poignant passages between several friends, showcases the growing lust one man begins to feel, and helps create a fine line between reality and imagination. The balance is very strong in terms of delivering a punch and a softness in all the right moments, letting readers feel the pain without being told all the details. I am curious to learn more of Jose and Trevor's stories, as I feel like there's a lot still unsaid. It's great when an author makes you want to read more of her work. Looking forward to a 4th in the series (if there is one) and if not, reading another one of her works.

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2020

A Prison in the Sun is the most brilliant book I have read in a long time. Getting through it was unbelievable hard, I had no idea where the ending came from, and to put it simply – I was not too fond of the story the whole way through. I felt that perhaps the style of writing was not for me. But, after I finished it and was reflecting, I had an epiphany, and everything about the prose and the story made sense. It was at this point that I realized how brilliant the novel is. So this review will be a bit different. I am going to try and provide the two pieces I feel are necessary to understand and appreciate the story from page 1, and I am going to try and do it without any spoilers because this story is worth it.

Two Important Aspects To Understand

To start with, I would classify A Prison in the Sun as a psychological thriller mystery. I have not seen that label anywhere, but it is an important distinction that sets the way you look at it from the beginning. One of the hardest parts of reading it and understanding the novel is that the story has an unreliable narrator, so, as with any tale that has an unreliable narrator, you need to be looking at character reactions and things that seem coincidental with a stronger microscope.

Next, you need to know something about James Joyce and, particularly, his story entitled Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. In this work, Joyce uses techniques such as stream of consciousness, interior monologue, and references to a character's psychic reality rather than to his external surroundings. Trevor Moore, the main character, also employs these techniques when narrating his story. He, like Joyce, will take events that the reader does not want to know about, and talk about them often and in great detail. That is the aspect I remember most from Portrait. I wouldn't say I liked it back in college when professors tried to convince me it was brilliant, and I was not too fond of it again in this story. Plus, I find stream of consciousness always hard to read. It can be hard enough for me to be in my head, so to be in someone else's – I find very hard to follow.

More of My Thoughts

The story that Trevor is writing based on notes he found is hard for me to read also but for different reasons. There isn't a happy ending where concentration camps are concerned. It's just immeasurably sad and incomprehensibly horrid. It's a lot for my empathetic soul to take in and process.

I enjoyed the mystery of the bag found in the cave most of all. That plotline kept the pages turning for me even as I struggled with other aspects of the narrative.

To Read or Not to Read

As I said before, this story is brilliant, but you do have to do the work to see the brilliance. If you are willing to do that. – A Prison in the Sun is a perfect read for you!

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

2 people found this helpful

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Not what I expected from the title.

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2023

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From the title I thought the book was going to be about the prison in the sun. Sadly that seemed secondary to the main theme which was about an English ghost writer who seems very confused about himself, what he wants in life, and his sexuality. Had I been Ms. Blackthorne's editor I would have encouraged her to minimize the gym scenes. I found reading about the number of reps the protagonist did during his visits to the gym tedious to say the least. I also believe she could have gone on for several more chapters tell her readers what happens to Trevor Moore. We say goodbye to him sitting in a small windowless room in a police station.

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Top reviews from other countries

Milouthedog

If you like Fuerteventura...

Reviewed in Germany on August 6, 2021

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...you'll love this book. Very authentic with an interwoven history of the treatment and imprisonment of gay men during the Franco era.

Mrs Penny Jones

Good read until the end

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2021

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I really enjoyed this right up until the end, not sure what if anything else there is to say but it left be feeling deflated

Lecari

Interesting story - part historical fiction, part mystery, part personal awakening

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

Ghostwriter Trevor Moore decides to getaway to a private retreat to write his first book. He rents an old farmhouse in Tefia in Fuerteventura for three months and hopes to find his muse. One day on the beach, he finds a rucksack with 50,000 Euros in cash. Hidden with the cash is a story of José, imprisoned near where Trevor is staying. Translating the story, Trevor is transported to a concentration camp that incarcerated gay men in the 1950s and 60s.

There is a lot to unpick in this book! A Prison in the Sun is part mystery, part historical fiction and part personal awakening.

My favourite parts of the novel were the historical fiction sections. The story Trevor finds is told in a first-person perspective of José, a prisoner at the concentration camp. Through the story, Trevor learns more about this awful and little known part of history under General Franco. This part was absolutely heartbreaking, but beautifully and sensitively written.

Trevor has recently been through a divorce, after his wife fell in love with a woman. He is currently between homes, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to leave the country for three months to write. This makes for an interesting backdrop to José's story, as he learns more about himself and struggles with the possibility that he might be bisexual. At one point he reflects that he is very lucky to be able to consider his sexuality, when just 40 years previously, this would have been illegal.

The final part to A Prison in the Sun is the mystery. Who owned the rucksack and where did the money come from? This difficulty is compounded as a dead body washes up on the beach. Most of the mystery is in Trevor's own thoughts. He makes wild and mostly unfounded assumptions about people he meets. His last call with Angela, his friend and a literary agent, confused me — the news she gives him seems significant but it's not explained. This lack of conclusion or explanation was a little frustrating. I also disagreed with a lot of Trevor's decisions and I felt that they were out of character for someone so anxious.

Overall, this is a very interesting book. I was glad to learn about a piece of history that was totally unknown to me. It made me very grateful that we are now able to be true to ourselves without risk of arrest (though of course that's not the case everywhere in the world — but I hope it will be soon). This is the first of Isobel's books that I have read, and it has made me want to read her other two Canary Islands mysteries: A Master of Latitude and Clarissa's Warning.

3 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

This melange of history, modern day, horror, tragedy and mystery, works so wonderfully well…

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2020

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This was an extraordinary book. It was a mix of raw history; a Gay Men’s prison in Spain’s Franco era, set in Fuerteventura, the Canary Islands. Poetic, lyrical, reminiscences; notes from one prisoner. A mysterious drowning and, our central protagonist discovers a concealed ruck sack in a sea cave. It contains a substantial sum of money and a Bible. What is that about? Who does it belong to? Nobody seems to want to claim it? Does he keep it?
Trevor Moore is an English ghost writer whose contributions have made other writers successful. Recovering from a divorce and looking for his muse in order to write his own novel, he takes a three month break. He rents a remote farmhouse on the island of Fuerteventura and it is as if the allure and proximity of the tragic historical concentration camp and his own inner anxieties, combine to create a germ of an idea that he feels compelled to research.
I read the first Fuerteventura Mystery, Clarissa’s Warning, and enjoyed the storyline and excellent writing. However, I was not prepared for this. A Prison in the Sun is not a comfortable read but, it is captivating in so many ways. The book melds what appears at first to be a complex narrative, but the brilliant part is that it is actually, sublimely simple, but you don’t know this until the ending, which I did not see coming.
Consummate writing from Blackthorn makes this melange of history, modern day, horror, tragedy and mystery work so wonderfully well. This is not just a beautifully descriptive read and an unsolved mystery; I felt challenged by this book. I felt compelled to sense and feel how repressed gay men might have felt in a fascist State where even family turned on their ‘odd’ sons.
This is a book that will stay with me. My fear is that it has a resonance of what might be happening again in this world, and that still prays on my mind. So, yes, I recommend this book as a gut wrenching emotional ride, but one not to miss – 5 stars.

One person found this helpful

Diana Jackson

A novel which has a message the world should know

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2020

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Ghost writer Trevor escapes to Fuerteventura to lick his wounds after the breakdown of his marriage, to re-evaluate his life and to seek inspiration for writing a novel. Immediately his senses are alert to a desolate, almost haunted atmosphere surrounding the farmhouse which he is renting. The more he delves into the area's past his horror increases as he discovers that back as late as the 1970's there was a prison almost exclusively for gay men nearby. The treatment of the inmates was closer to a concentration camp than to a modern day prison.
This was not a pleasant story and yet it was compelling ~ an unknown history ~ so many atrocities carried out in recent times on an island which has now become a popular holiday destination. It was a well written, clever plot, where Trevor digs himself into the edge of serious trouble, his instinct leading him even deeper still.
This book has a message which the world should know. Personally I found the masculinity of the characterisation difficult to read at times, but then I'm a bit old fashioned and have never been one to enjoy reading either graphic sex scenes or overt morbid violence, but nevertheless the story line kept me interested ~ gripped in the hope that Trevor would finally do the right thing.
The overriding theme though is tolerance, an abhorrence of discrimination of any sort and for us all to learn from the mistakes of history. I'm a supported for all these values and so I'm very glad I've read this book.

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