A BOOK REVIEW
If you have ever been to Hawaii, then like me, you discovered paradise and it has become one of your favorite places on earth. The first time we went, we did a cruise and saw Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island, five stops in all with an additional sail down to Kiribati, a few miles north of the equator. We fell in love with the place, of course, and decided to return to both Maui and Kauai – paradise indeed. Like most, we toyed with finding some way to spend much more time there. You can never spend enough time in paradise. On our first visit, I read James Michener’s, HAWAII, a great read if you haven’t done so.
I have always loved books full of adventure, action and strong characters set in exotic locales. I remember the first series of books I borrowed at the Kitchener library as a young lad that told about the exploits of a bush pilot set in Northern Ontario (my definition of exotic locales has changed over the years). I’ve been hooked ever since.
Fast forward to a series set in Hawaii, a strong female lead character, various sinister ne’er-do-wells, lots of action and danger, and naturally the unparalleled beauty of the islands themselves. Lei is an intelligent, but flawed detective, who gets herself into some tight spots both personally and professionally. With the help of a strong supporting cast, she manages to solve the crimes but at great personal cost. One of the reasons I like her character is that she is highly unconventional which creates issues with her superiors. She always seems to be on the edge of being fired or killed or both.
Since the series of books are set in Hawaii, we might assume that this would be a good “beach read.” We would be right and we might wonder why I am reviewing the first book in the Lei Crime Series, “Blood Orchids,” by Toby Neal at this time of the year. First of all, it was a series of books I could not put down and every time of year is a good one when Hawaii is the background setting. The book gets a 4 1/2 star rating, out of 5, from the over 2,000 reviews on Amazon, so that’s a pretty good indication of its popularity.
Our heroine, Lei, discovers the bodies of two teenage girls, one of whom she had busted recently. The teenagers lifestyles bring back many memories of Lei’s own youth and as she continues to investigate the murders, she can’t shake the feeling of being stalked herself. The book reveals a dark side to paradise but the reader will find it easy to ride along with Lei to hunt the killer who seems to take great pleasure in knowing more about her than he should. Is he playing with her? And, why do we always assume the murderer is a “he?”
You can access the boxed set of the first books in the series here.
By the way, got a Kindle or the Kindle app, you are gonna love the price!