Review and Giveaway: Murder She Wrote: Aloha Betrayed

Aloha Betrayed (Murder She Wrote - Book 41) by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain

Publication Date: 03/03/2015
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Obsidian Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0451466551
ISBN-13: 978-0451466556

(Received for an honest review from Obsidian Mystery)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

Donald Bain on the WEB: website, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

Murder She Wrote

  1. Gin and Daggers
  2. Manhattans and Murder
  3. Rum and Razors
  4. Brandy and Bullets
  5. Martinis and Mayhem
  6. A Deadly Judgement
  7. A Palette for Murder
  8. The Highland Fling Murders
  9. Murder on the QE2
10. Murder in Moscow
11. A Yuletide Murder
12. Murder at the Powderhorn Ranch
13. Knock'em Dead
14. Trick or Treachery
15. Blood on the Vine
16. Murder in a Minor Key
17. Provence - to Die for
18. You Bet Your Life
19. Majoring in Murder
20. Destination Murder
21. Dying to Retire
22. A Vote for Murder
23. The Maine Mutiny
24. Margaritas and Murder
25. A Question of Murder
26. Three Strikes and You're Dead
27. Coffee, Tea, or Murder
28. Panning for Murder
29. Murder on Parade
30. A Slaying in Savannah
31. Madison Avenue Shoot
32. A Fatal Feast
33. Nashville Noir
34. The Queen's Jewels
35. Skating on Thin Ice
36. The Fine Art of Murder
37. Trouble at High Tide
38. Domestic Malice
39. Prescription For Murder
40. Close-Up on Murder
41. Aloha Betrayed

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from, Aloha Betrayed, courtesy of the author's website

Synopsis:

New in the USA Today bestselling series—Jessica Fletcher finds herself in a tropical paradise where “aloha” means both hello and goodbye. But sometimes, the goodbye is permanent…

Jessica is on the Hawaiian island of Maui, giving a lecture on community involvement in police investigations. Her co-lecturer is legendary retired detective Mike Kane, who shares his love of Hawaiian lore, legends, and culture with Jessica. But the talking stops when the body of a colleague is found at the rocky foot of a cliff.

Mala Kapule, a botanist and popular professor at Maui College, was known for her activism and efforts on behalf of the volcanic crater Haleakala. Plans to place the world’s largest solar telescope there split the locals, with Mala arguing fiercely to preserve the delicate ecology of the area.

Now it’s up to Jessica and Mike to uncover who was driven to silence the scientist…and betray the spirit of aloha.

Thoughts:

Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain are at it again with the forty-first novel in the Murder She Wrote series, Aloha Betrayed. Fans of the old television show will love Jessica's take on Hawaii in this book. With details about everything from plant life to culture this book is a traveler's dream, but it borders on getting lost in the details, instead of the mystery. Perhaps not my favorite of the Murder She Wrote books, but still a solid installment in a long lived series. 

Jessica is at it again, this time in Hawaii. I liked the fact that the author was able to give Jessica a reason to be in the state that was believable. I could just see Jessica giving a lecture on just this topic or something similar. I always loved her forthright and upfront manner when it came to solving mysteries and that is exactly what readers get in this installment of the series. Aloha Betrayed is clue-based and the reader is able to follow the evidence just like the heroine. Unfortunately, this one leaned a little further away from the mystery aspects of the book and centered more on Hawaii itself. 

This would have made a great story about the state of Hawaii, it's landmarks, things to do, places to see, etc. But it was supposed to be a cozy mystery. Don't get me wrong there was a murder and Jessica did solve it, but the bulk of the materiel in the book was not related to that part of the book. So the balance was way off. I think it's great to set a good scene and draw the reader in, but an author can sometimes go a little overboard and I think that's what happened here.

Bottom Line:

This one is just a bit slow and a little underdeveloped. I wanted more character involvement and stronger connections to each clue. I didn't want to know as much about the flora and fauna as I did about 'whodunit'. It wasn't predictable, just not up to the usual standard of this series. I hope for more with the next one, because I'm sure this writing duo has a lot more stories to tell.

Aloha Betrayed is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Jessica Fletcher is a bestselling mystery writer who has a knack for stumbling upon real-life mysteries in her various travels.

Donald Bain, her longtime collaborator, is the writer of more than one hundred other books, many of them bestsellers.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Aloha Betrayed by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, April 2nd.

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