Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Pleasing the Dead by Deborah Turrell Atkinson. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Pleasing the Dead by Deborah Turrell Atkinson
A Storm Kayama Mystery
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-597-6 (1590585976)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-597-9 (9781590585979)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: $24.95
Review: Deborah Turrell Atkinson continues following the life of Honolulu lawyer Storm Kayama who is on Maui doing the legal work required to set up a new business but drawn into the dangerous world of the yakuza in Pleasing the Dead, the fourth mystery in this series.
Setting up the dive shop for her friend Lara Farrell seems routine until two seemingly unrelated tragedies occur, a restaurant bombing and a destitute Japanese laborer killing himself and his daughter, wounding another. Storm begins to ask questions and is quickly caught up in a world unfamiliar to her, the Japanese crime organization known as the yakuza. Knowing the long arm of the yakuza may extend into legitimate business, and even the police department, Storm must tread carefully. But soon her own life is in danger, and she doesn't know who she can trust.
As she has with the previous mysteries in this series, Atkinson paints a gorgeous Hawaii, lush and beautiful, rich in its community and history. Her characters come alive with distinctive personalities, relatable to the reader, both good and evil. Storm's personal background also plays an important role in the story, allowing her to connect with the people she's trying to help, and ultimately rescue. The only drawback here is the somewhat confusing, at times hard to follow, plot. Though an exciting read, the appeal of this mystery is ultimately in its characters and setting. Pleasing the Dead is an agreeable addition to the series, just not a strong one.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Pleasing the Dead and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
If you are interested in purchasing Pleasing the Dead from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.
Synopsis (from the publisher): Some nasty predators dwell in paradise, and they aren’t all hiding in the azure waters. The day attorney Storm Kayama arrives in Kahului to help Lara Farrell set up her new dive shop, someone bombs a restaurant. When one of Lara’s employees, a recent Japanese immigrant, kills himself and one of his young daughters, Storm begins to ask questions.
The tentacles of the Yakuza, the dangerous, Japanese organized crime group, grip local businesses, real estate, and politics. Cunning and deadly, the clan leaders exploit underage women and eliminate anyone who dares face up to them.
Storm finds herself up against a lethal and faceless enemy, in a place where disposing of a victim is easy as dumping her in shark-infested waters.
But who is hunting whom? In a struggle to the death, Storm begins to realize that surviving doesn’t always mean living. For some, the ghosts of the past may be more painful than the anguish of the present.
Hawaii lawyer Storm Kayama must battle against the yakuza's presence and an ancient adherence to tradition to save more young girls from a terrible fate.
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