Recently divorced Em moves to Kauai, Hawaii to help her Uncle Louie run his tiki bar. Things are going well until their neighbor shows up dead in the tiki bar's barbeque pit. Em, the waitress, and a band of elderly hula dancers known as the Hula Maidens proceed to attempt to solve the crime.
This book's strongest point is definitely its sense of humor. Every character possesses an astounding, biting wit that keeps things light-hearted even in the midst of crime. The characterization varies widely from wonderful (all of the Hula maidens) to forgetful (the main character, Em) to possibly offensive (the newest member of the island, the flamboyant Fernando and his boyfriend). Unfortunately, Landis struggles with the mystery, which frankly is not so mysterious. She tries to misdirect the reader, but is obvious enough about it that it induced eye-rolls on my part.
Another thing is that this book suffers from terrible editing. Although put out by a publishing house, it looks like a first copy with verb confusion, spelling errors, and typos galore. It really distracted from the story, although this clearly was the publishing house's fault, and not the author's.
Overall, this is still an enjoyable cozy for what it is. The setting and Hula Maidens are creative enough that the series holds promise. Hopefully it will continue to improve with each entry. I recommend it to those who know they love cozies, but those new to the genre should probably try something stronger in the genre first.
Check out my full review.
This book's strongest point is definitely its sense of humor. Every character possesses an astounding, biting wit that keeps things light-hearted even in the midst of crime. The characterization varies widely from wonderful (all of the Hula maidens) to forgetful (the main character, Em) to possibly offensive (the newest member of the island, the flamboyant Fernando and his boyfriend). Unfortunately, Landis struggles with the mystery, which frankly is not so mysterious. She tries to misdirect the reader, but is obvious enough about it that it induced eye-rolls on my part.
Another thing is that this book suffers from terrible editing. Although put out by a publishing house, it looks like a first copy with verb confusion, spelling errors, and typos galore. It really distracted from the story, although this clearly was the publishing house's fault, and not the author's.
Overall, this is still an enjoyable cozy for what it is. The setting and Hula Maidens are creative enough that the series holds promise. Hopefully it will continue to improve with each entry. I recommend it to those who know they love cozies, but those new to the genre should probably try something stronger in the genre first.
Check out my full review.
