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Book Review of The Musubi Murder

The Musubi Murder
dollycas avatar reviewed on + 704 more book reviews


Dollycas's Thoughts

In The Musubi Murder we meet Molly Barda, and her friends, Emma Nakamura and Patrick Flanagan. They are college professors in Mahina, Hawaii. The College of Commerce has budget issues and is literally falling apart around them. I am reading this book just after the Governor of my fine state of Wisconsin has cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of out college system. I hope and pray it doesn't end of like the college in this story. Jimmy Tanaka, founder of Merrie Musubis, and a man with a shady background, has promised a huge donation to the school but he fails to show up at a breakfast in his honor. Or a least that is what everyone thought. He is there in a way, a way that leads to a murder investigation and Mollie finds herself heavily involved. She is also just starting a relationship with Donnie Gonsalves, but he seems to be a man with many secrets.

Not knowing anything about musubi (pronounced moo-soo-BEE) the title was a big draw and when I found they were sandwiches that could be made with SPAM, a childhood favorite, I knew I had to read this story.

Frankie Bow has laid the groundwork for a promising mysteries series in addition to giving a very intriguing whodunit that includes not only a bit of revenge but corruption too. I found the characters to be very well developed and the backdrop of college politics very interesting. The humor interspersed throughout the story made it even more enjoyable. How can you go wrong with a setting in Hawaii? A great place I have always wanted to visit.

The author has many more installments planned and I am looking forward to them.

Book 2: Molly Barda and the Cursed Canoe
Book 3: Molly Barda and the Black Thumb
Book 4: Molly Barda and the Invasive Species
Book 5: Molly Barda and the Blessed Event
Book 0: The Defunct Adjunct