For his first foray into fiction, interior designer Carleton Varney has observed two golden safety rules for the aspiring novelist. Writing about those who people his world and placing them in a locale he knows well, he brings to his first novel that all-important ring of authenticity.

Kiss the Hibiscus Goodnight provides an entertaining read for those who like a touch of the exotic, set as it is on a Caribbean isle and spiced with high, and not so high-society sex by the sea shore, with political intrigue, drug trafficking and murder all adding an element of well maintained suspense. The glamorous world where its arbiters of taste themselves become members of the golden coterie, where rich and poor live in close proximity, where political and sex scandals hum through the apparent tranquility of island life, is skillfully captured by Mr. Varney. For while this book is not, and never aspires to be a serious literary work, it is several cuts above the Mills & Boon department of literature where the avid reader inevitably divines the fate of her heroine within the first chapter.

Indeed, Carleton Varney is a detached, often humorous and tongue-in-cheek observer of the gilded world, with a natural gift for dialogue, where the witty, if bitchy jargon of designing gays and the patois of local islanders is written with fluent ease. And the writer, who already has several best-sellers on the art of home decorating under his belt, laces his novel with vivid descriptions of place. Such lines as "Palm Beach hotel lobbies searching for a play'' and "greedy Bru' Nansi, who lost his hair carrying hot johnny cakes under his hat'' cut an indelible swathe throughout this work, a sure hint that Mr. Varney understands the art of the story-teller.

While his novel is set on the fictitious Caribbean island of Jordralia and bears more than a passing resemblance to St. Croix, where Mr. Varney has a home, Bermuda's readers will identify with many of the vagaries that characterise life in any small island community, be it in the West Indies, or even the Isle of Wight. Many of the sights and sounds could be transported to our own isle, and he captures perfectly the insularity that comes with geographical isolation, offering, in the case of Jordralia, a sharp insight into the realities of perhaps reluctant dependence on mainland powers. This is brought into dramatic focus as the plot is played out against the background of hurricane `Hugo' racing through the final pages, bringing the novel to a powerful and climactic close.

Carleton Varney, whose clients have included leading stars of the entertainment world and occupants of the White House, has long been a frequent visitor to Bermuda and his home decorating columns have been featured for years in The Royal Gazette . His latest venture, which comes after 16 non-fiction works, is rooted in the world he knows best -- a world that is symbolised by the ephemeral flower of the book's title.

This is an ideal novel for idle, holiday reading that has enough suspense to keep its readers hanging on for the neat denouement. And for those who only dream of hijinks in such locations, Kiss the Hibiscus Goodnight should make at least some of them reach for the phone and call their nearest travel agent.

PATRICIA CALNAN DESIGNER NOVELIST -- Mr. Carleton Varney, one of America's leading interior designers and long-time columnist for The Royal Gazette , has just published his first novel, Kiss the Hibiscus Goodnight.