Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Hawaii

4****

Blurb: Paradise is shaken when the body of a young woman is dragged onto a university research vessel during a class outing in Hilo Bay. Cleo Cooper is shaken when she finds her favorite student is on the hook for the murder. Danger lurks on land and sea as Cleo and her friends are enticed to search for the true killer. In between paddling, swimming, and arguing with her boyfriend, Cleo discovers all is not what it seems on the Big Island of Hawaii. But will she figure out the truth before she becomes the next victim?

Thoughts: There is a lot going on in this story.
The author wove a tale of mystery and family issues as well as the cultural aspects of living in Hawaii. I loved the imagery and interesting dialogue of the island. It’s obvious that the author must have lived on the big island for a time in order to give us such depth of flavor. There’s no way a mainlander would have done as good a job. I have visited other islands, but not the big on, but with the author’s descriptions, I felt like I was there. I will also say that she pulled on my emotions so much, that I sat here and cried during a couple of scenes (and no, I won’t spoil the story by telling you why). Just know that it was hard to read and I completely understood.

As far as the mystery goes, Cleo (the main character) is looking into the murder of a young woman, Ali. Her boyfriend—a friend of Cleo and her husband’s TA—has been accused of the murder. But everyone who knows him knows he couldn’t have done it. So who did? There are a lot of leads since Ali’s background included drug dealing and her family isn’t exactly the best. But the police don’t want to hear Cleo’s theories. And there are plenty of other suspects as well—a shady professor, a jealous woman, another man in Ali’s life…and more.

While Cleo is trying to solve the mystery, she’s also trying to help her dog Suki, and train Ali’s large puppy (the borzoi). And save her relationship with her husband that has become strained. There is so much going on here, it almost felt like three stories in one—the murder mystery, the dogs, and Cleo’s romantic life. But the author does a decent job of weaving them all together. Unfortunately for me, there wasn’t quite the neat tie-up at the end. Oh, we do find out who the murderer is (and for a change, it wasn’t who I thought!), and the dogs’ story is taken care of, but Cleo’s is not. So I’ll assume that is left for later stories.

Recommended.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book from Zeitgeist (Penguin Random House) with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”