B.M. Allsopp's Blog, page 2

Naililili: Fiji's cathedral on the delta

Not far from Suva, we reach the flat delta lands and board a narrow punt to cross the Rewa River to Naililili Island. For a few minutes, banana and coconut trees hide our destination, one of the most remarkable of Fiji's buildings. Around the bend, two square towers emerge first, then a cross, next a rose window, like a Venetian church revealed through the mist. Shafts of sun pierce the grey clouds to bounce flashes of colour off stained glass.

The Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph the Husba...

The Pacific tsunami of organised crime

Last month I claimed the Fiji's current prime minister Mr Sitiveni Rabuka and his predecessor, Mr Voreque Bainimarama, were bull elephants that couldn't be ignored (read more here and here). But even a charging bull elephant is helpless against a tsunami rolling in from the ocean, wrecking island foreshores. That tsunami is the wave of organised crime smashing so much in Fiji and other south Pacific island nations.

A severed head inside a shark's belly introduced Detective Inspector (DI) Joe H...

Elephants of Fiji politics

I generally avoid politically sensitive topics in my Fiji posts, but I can't avoid the elephant in the room. Even a political elephant. You may recall I devoted two posts in 2022 to the Russian super-yacht, Amadea, arrested in the port of Lautoka by the Fiji government for entry violations and eventually seized by the US government. You can check on this fascinating and twisted tale here and here. Another time, I wrote here about the tussle between two powerful but ageing bull elephants: current...

DEATH OFF CAMERA reviewed by AUSTCRIME

It's not easy for indie authors like me to break into prestigious mainstream book reviewers like AustCrimeFiction (Australia & New Zealand Crime Fiction Reviews), so I'm thrilled by this review of my November 23 release, Death Off Camera: Fiji Islands Mysteries 5 Death Off Camera
Thank you to Karen Chisholm!
Check out Karen's review here: https://www.austcrimefiction.org/node...

Beelines: a Pacific mystery solved

It's not often that scientific discoveries in Fiji make the news headlines, but this month, a flurry of articles has appeared. More than one claimed "Michener's Mystery solved" A new mystery for me! My first thought was James Michener, author of Tales of the South Pacific, who frequently stayed at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.

However, the source of this particular mystery is renowned US entomologist Dr Charles Michener who published Bees of the World in 2007. Back in 1965, Michener described...

A Fiji chief's funeral: customs from the old days

I've spent these last several days planning tomorrow's funeral for a relative who suffered from dementia for nearly a decade. Her death a few days ago was a peaceful release from a cruel disease. However, I feel the burden of responsibility for making everything happen as she would have wished.

So, now could be a good time to tell you about Fiji funerals. The most distinctive are those for chiefs in pre-colonial times. Who better to relate her observations than the inimitable American sea-capt...

Fiji mermaids: a fishy story?

I was idly browsing Fiji news last October when a headline jumped out of the screen. "Radiology experts try to solve the mystery behind Fiji Mermaid" (dailymail.co.uk 24th October 2023) What? Seriously? In the midst of publishing my latest book Death Off Camera: Fiji Islands Mystery 5, I made a note to myself to pursue this later.

When I did, I was astounded to discover that Fiji (or Feejee) mermaids and mermen do indeed exist and not just in fairy tales. Many examples can be found in reputabl...

Death Off Camera: Fiji Islands Mysteries 5

I couldn't be more thrilled by my ARC team's comments on my upcoming release, Death Off Camera. They've already posted ratings and reviews, too! You can read those here:Death Off Camera

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Deceptively whimsical in the style of Alexander McCall Smith, this mystery packs a powerful punch to the underbelly of Mumbai. I loved heroic Inspector Chopra, his wife Poppy, the cops at Sahar police station and especially little Ganesha.



View all my reviews

Heroic Fiji artist Semisi Maya: post script

I was overwhelmed by readers' responses to my Semisi Maya post in 2021. What a thrill to learn some of you who had worked or holidayed in Fiji during Maya's lifetime had bought his paintings and still treasured them. An even greater thrill was that you took the trouble to tell me your stories and even to send photographs of your Maya works. In my replies, I promised I'd share the pics on the blog and with the Fiji Fan Club. Two years later, I've just discovered I can insert a whole gallery in a ...