From USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns comes the next deadly delicious Carrie Jorgenson adventure in paradise…Carrie Jorgenson is living the dream in Hawaii. She has a steady job as a waitress at the Loco Moco Café, a hot new love interest in her manager, and the curtain¿s about to rise on her role in a local theater production. But when she’s asked to deliver food to a guest at the … the Aloha Lagoon resort¿who then drops dead!¿her dreams quickly become the stuff of nightmares. World renowned food critic Randolph Cremshaw has no shortage of enemies. He’s rude, patronizing, and famous for his one-star reviews. After the coffee Carrie delivers is discovered to have been poisoned, she and the café quickly rise to the top of the suspects list. A jealous co-worker, thefts at the restaurant, and a performance that threatens to blow up in Carrie’s face only make things worse. With an already full plate, Carrie is also forced into making a decision that may change everything for her. But this all pales in comparison when she comes face to face with Randolph’s killer and what might be the final curtain call¿of her life. Recipes included!
more
Any books by this author is sure to be a winner. This one is no exception!
In this installment of the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries, we find Carrie finally able to enjoy her life in Aloha Lagoon. She has a fantastic boyfriend, a job as a waitress at the Loco Moco Café, and has a role in the local theater. Everything is going great until she finds the restaurant critic dead in his hotel room while making a delivery to his room. I was hooked from page one! Join Carrie, Keanu, and the rest of the crew as they find a way to figure out who the real killer is. I can’t wait for the next one!!
This is the 9th book in the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries. Each book is written by a different author but is set in the same place. I love this way of writing, you get to know different authors and the story stays fresh.
I was gifted this audiobook with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.
This is book #9 in the Aloha Lagoon Mysteries by Catherine Bruns and the first in the series I have read. The book was okay and might have been a lot better if I had read the books before this one. Amy Deuchler is the narrator and she does a good job of narrating this audiobook. I enjoyed the book just was a little lost at times.
This review is for the audio book.
I enjoyed this book. This book is book nine in the Alpha Lagoon series and this is the second book by Catherine Bruns with the rest of the books written by different authors. I enjoyed the first book by Catherine so jumped at the chance to listen to next book, glad I did. It was more a romance between Carrie and Keanu but having met them in the first book it was fun catching up with again. The mystery was good, just got a bit lost. I did work out who the killer was but enjoyed the way Carrie got there. The characters are fun which makes the story a fun listen.
When a food critic arrives at the Loco Moco Cafe things don’t go well and to avoid getting a bad review Keanu’s dad, the keener of the cafe asks Carrie to take a new order of food to his hotel room. Things get even worse for Carrie and the cafe as when she arrives she finds him at deaths door. When it turns out he died from poisoning the police look closer at Carrie and the owners of the cafe that provided him with the poisoned coffee. Another reason for Keanu’s dad not to like her. The food critic also had ties to the people who are putting on the show that Carrie is also performing in. Carrie starts to dig into his past but can she find out the real reason someone wanted him dead?
Amy Deuchler is a great choice for the narrator, as she does an excellent job bringing the characters to life and is a pleasure to listen too.
“Death of the Kona Man” earns 5/5 Cups of Kona Coffee Sans the Poison!
I really enjoy traveling back to the Islands reading Gemma Halliday Publishing’s Aloha Lagoon Mystery series penned by several favorite authors. A big personal favorite Catherine Bruns is back with “Death of the Kona Man.” This second adventure starts off with Carrie involved in dress rehearsals for a local production of “Little Women, the Musical.” She is nervous, flubbing a few lines, and the rumor that a Hollywood director would be attending the opening night performance has everyone on high alert. She learns from said director that a cut-throat food critic has arrived on the island and is staying at the Aloha Lagoon Resort. She fears he might pop in at the Loco Moco Café causing havoc too soon after the murder a couple of months ago had brought awkward press to the restaurant (“Death of the Big Kahuna”). Her worst fears are realized when Randolph Cremshaw, dubbed “The Kona Man” because of his well-known 10-cup a day coffee addiction, shows up in true obnoxious and demanding form. There’s the new somewhat inept waitress who seems to have eyes for Keanu, and with a lunch fiasco turning into a 1-1/2 star review, customers are staying away and Keanu’s dad, the new owner, is furious. Why can’t life just be easy for once! But, I loved it, and at least the obnoxious guy gets his ‘real kope’ (koh-peh; coffee) sweetened with a bit of cyanide!
I was totally engaged in this page-turner as Carrie and Keanu uncover a treasure trove of suspects for my inner ‘Sherlock’ to consider: more than a few disgruntled relatives, Keanu’s own parents, Carrie who found the body…again, and even hints of other victims of the man’s restaurant reviews all have motive to spike the man’s coffee. Carrie with her ‘Dr. Watson’ Keanu partner together to corroborate opportunity and means to find the killer and put there lives back on track. Exciting…I loved it! Catherine epitomizes the ‘cozy’ genre as she treats murder lightly focusing more on the clever mystery, strong characters, and lots of twists and turns that lead to a nail biting end that puts Carrie in personal jeopardy. Included to add a bit of realism we deal with the conflicts between Keanu and his parents, thefts at the café, performances at the theater, and the not-yet fully tested relationship between Carrie and Keanu. Catherine also treats us to some delightful Island delicacies with recipes from Chef Poncho’s kitchen at the Loco Moco Café: Loco Moco (Yeah!), Aloha Mix-Up Cookies, Ahi Tuna, and Pineapple Cookies.
You will love it! Don’t forget to check out book one “Death of the Big Kahuna” to complete your experience. Just add a cup of freshly ground Kona coffee, a plate of Pineapple cookies, and you are set for an Aloha adventure only Catherine Bruns can provide!
Updated 1/7/20
Audiobooks aren’t for everyone, but I always challenge readers to become listeners. I have always loved being read to by my parents, my teachers, my students, my husband, and now many narrators who go beyond the traditional reading to include accents, dialects, gender tones, and a wide range of emotions that keep me mesmerized. That’s what I love, and that’s what I get from Amy Deuchler in Catherine Bruns’s “Death of the Kona Man.” She has a delightful tone in her voice and performs well the emotions and different personalities. The biggest challenge for any female narrator is getting those male voices correct, and in this book there are several. Amy, however, does a great job from Poncho’s Mexican/Hawaiian accent to the detective’s and Keanu’s straightforward tone. The whole experience was very entertaining!
And the recipes are included! Catherine treats us to some Island delicacies straight from Chef Poncho’s kitchen at the Loco Moco Café: Loco Moco (Yeah!), Aloha Mix-Up Cookies, Ahi Tuna, and Pineapple Cookies!
I highly recommend this multi-author Gemma Halliday Publishing series, and with two thumbs up, I give high praise for Catherine Bruns’s books and Amy Deuchler’s narration.