Search This Blog







2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (6)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (3)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (2)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico
- New York (7)
- North Carolina (3)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (3)
- England (14)
- France (2)
- Italy (1)
- Japan (1)
- Norway (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)


2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge



2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge









Friday, August 06, 2021
Hawaiian Murder Mystery Tries Way Too Hard and Falls Far Too Short
10:57 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
At first glance, the death of a teenage surfer in a small Maui town looks like a routine drowning. A closer inspection by police captain Walter Alaka'i, however, reveals hints of a far more sinister cause of death. Wanting an expert opinion, Walter calls in his niece, Kali Māhoe, who is both a detective and an anthropologist specializing in Hawaiian culture and tradition. Kali is also alarmed by what she finds on the corpse, especially considering the spate of noperra-bō sightings that have been reported. She doesn't really believe that a mythological malevolent spirit is wreaking havoc on her community, but there's no doubt that someone is up to no good. Who killed the young wave rider? Kali is determined to find out.
As strange things continue to occur in Hana, followed by another body washed ashore, the pressure mounts. Can Kali figure out what is going on in her town before she becomes the next victim?
I'm always drawn to books that bring the richness of Hawaii to life, drawing on its native beauty, culture, and traditions to create an intriguing, atmospheric setting. Debra Bokur attempts to do this with The Fire Thief, her debut novel, even if it feels like she's trying way too hard and falling far too short. Even still, the exotic Hawaiian backdrop is the best thing about this murder mystery. The characters, unfortunately, are just not a very likable bunch. Even Kali and Walter come off as cold, crochety, and uncaring. Kali has the potential to be an appealing heroine, but Bokur tries so hard to make her tough (how many times can she possibly mention Kali's warrior tattoos?) and independent that the detective ends up feeling unapproachable, unsympathetic, and invulnerable. Not to mention completely unconvincing as either a cop or an anthropologist. As far as plot goes, The Fire Thief moves on "island time"—it takes forever to get anywhere. The murder mystery quickly becomes a secondary plot that is overtaken by a much less interesting hunt for stolen solar panels. Besides a melodramatic fight sequence in the finale, there's little conflict or action to keep the tale exciting. In the end, then, I found The Fire Thief to be a dull read marked by clumsy plotting, flat characters, and uneven storytelling. I only finished it because I'm trying to read a book set in every state and I needed Hawaii!
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. You?)
Grade:
3 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)


Reading
Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon

Listening
The Morning House by Maureen Johnson


Followin' with Bloglovin'

-
The Double Play2 hours ago
-
Sunday Post/Sunday Salon2 hours ago
-
Witchkiller3 hours ago
-
You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Sutanto6 hours ago
-
July Linkity Needed That Long Weekend7 hours ago
-
Sunday Salon: July 6, 20257 hours ago
-
-
A Week of Summer Dinners for July12 hours ago
-
Monthly Wrap Up June 202515 hours ago
-
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!!1 day ago
-
Week in Review #271 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Clean teen books for Summer5 days ago
-
Books read in June5 days ago
-
-
-
-
No Roundup this month2 months ago
-
-
Sunday Post #5682 months ago
-
-
February 2025 Reading Wrap Up3 months ago
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery4 months ago
-
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October7 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I10 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus11 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!


Blog Archive
- ▼ 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)


2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

Oh I'm so disappointed! This looked like it had so much potential but I will take a pass on it. By the way I saw your comment about getting the Connolly book from the library. It's good but it's definitely not my favorite cozy series. It has a couple of interesting story arcs I'm hoping get resolved but I don't think it fully lives up to its potential. They're still fun reads but you may want to keep your expectations lower.
ReplyDeleteI love books set in beautiful locations, but the story HAS to be good too! Thanks for your honest review
ReplyDeleteThe setting won me over, but I’m so disappointed it wasn’t a good read!
ReplyDelete