Death Pacificly

Fiji is not just coconut palms, coral reefs, shimmering blue seas, and magnificent singing – it is fast becoming the tropical scene of crime … In conversation with host Leslie Falkiner-Rose, see what lurks beneath the surface of this Pacific idyll with authors Nilima Rao, Ali Lowe, and B.M. Allsopp.

Nilima Rao’s critically acclaimed series featuring Sergeant Akal Singh and set around World War I includes her debut novel, A Disappearance in Fiji, winner of the 2024 American Library Association Reading List for Mystery Fiction, and appeared in multiple US best-of-year roundups, being named as an Amazon Best Debut of the Year and the culture website CrimeReads’ Best Historical Fiction of the Year. The second in the series, A Shipwreck in Fiji, takes Sergeant Singh into the heart of a village community to investigate strange reports of Germans and to chaperone two strong-willed European ladies on a sightseeing tour.

Nilima is a Fijian Indian Australian who has always referred to herself as ‘culturally confused’. Descended from Indian coolies sent to Fiji to work in the sugar plantations, she has since learned that we are all confused in some way. She has been published on the topic as part of the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition.

In Ali Lowe’s The Private Island, the countdown to new year is just beginning at one of the most exclusive island resorts in the Pacific Ocean. And then a body washes up on the shore … With no explanation and no clues, lives – and, more importantly, reputations – are at risk. That is, until whoever is responsible can be stopped. But everyone here has a motive …

Ali has four bestselling novels under her belt: The Trivia Night, The Running Club, The School Run, and The Private Island. Her first three novels explore wealth, privilege, and revenge in fictional beachside Australian suburbs. The Private Island sees Ali venture overseas to take her cast of undesirables to a fictional Fijian Island called Loloma. Both The Trivia Night and The School Run have been optioned for TV.

B.M. Allsopp is the author of the acclaimed Fiji Islands Mysteries series, shortlisted for the Impress Prize for New Writers (UK) and the Davitt Awards. Detective Inspector Joe Horseman – legendary rugby player turned Detective Inspector – and his partner DS Susie Singh investigate challenging crimes that take them from traditional villages to posh resorts and even out to sea. The latest case, Death of a Diplomat (due out 15 October), has them investigating a missing VIP diplomat.

B.M. Allsopp lived in the South Pacific islands for fourteen years, including four in Fiji, where she worked at the University of the South Pacific in Suva.

Host Leslie Falkiner-Rose is an experienced journalist, author of non-fiction books, and a contributor to true crime compilations. She started out as a cadet on The Age newspaper before becoming a radio and then television reporter for the ABC. She left in 1990 to establish Falkiner Media Services. Through her company, Leslie has been contracted as a reporter, feature writer, and producer.

Host Leslie Falkiner-Rose is an experienced journalist, author of non-fiction books, and a contributor to true crime compilations. She started out as a cadet at The Age newspaper before becoming a radio and then television reporter for the ABC. She left in 1990 to establish Falkiner Media Services. Through her company, Leslie has been contracted as a reporter, feature writer, and producer.

Men or ‘brothers-in-law’ welcome.

Sun Bookshop stall: Sisters in Crime members receive a 10% discount.