Last Call for the Bartender
The timing for the second Orchid Isle Mystery from Leslie Karst is perfect, coming out as it does just as winter is giving way to spring. It was great to escape to Hawai’i virtually and enjoy the tropical weather. And Waters of Destruction adds a great mystery to the great location.
In the first book, we met recently retired wives Valerie and Kristen, who enjoyed their vacation in Hilo so much they decided to move there. Now, it’s a few months later and they are trying to settle in and make new friends.
When Sachiko asks Valerie to fill in as a bartender at the restaurant she manages, Valerie figures that’s a great opportunity to get out of the house a little. The bartender she’s replacing has just vanished, and it’s been a couple of days since anyone’s seen him. When his body turns up, the police start looking at Sachiko because the two of them had a fight recently. Since the bartender disappeared right after a retreat for the staff of the restaurant, Valerie thinks her new coworkers might be better suspects. Can she find a killer?
In the first book, I struggled to get behind Valerie and Kristen’s relationship because they were fighting quite a bit. Here, that’s been resolved, and I enjoyed spending time with both of them. It was also nice to see Sachiko and her boyfriend, Isaac, again as well. And we met several other new characters I’m hoping we will see again. Some of those were suspects this time around, so we will see if any wind up returning or not. This also means I found the suspects believable as I was reading.
I thought the book was starting a bit on island time, meaning I thought it was getting sidetracked a few times with extraneous things. It turned all of those came into play as the mystery went along. By the end I was hooked, reading pages quickly to see how Valerie was going to solve the case. I didn’t see the ending coming, but the solution made perfect sense when we got there.
As with the first book, some of the characters use Pigeon English words and phrases as they talk. While it slowed me down, I was always able to understand what they were saying. And I didn’t need to use the glossary at the end of the book to figure anything out.
Speaking of the end, there are five recipes at the end to enjoy once you’ve finished reading the book.
Getting to live in a place like Hawai’i is always a dream, at least when I’m on vacation. I’ve got to say, this book continues to make it sound appealing. We also get a bit of the culture of those who live on the island, which is fun.
Waters of Destruction is another good mystery from the pen of Leslie Karst. If you are wishing for a tropical getaway, this book is the next best thing.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
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