Synopsis (from
the publisher):
Storm Kayama's old high school friend, Tanner Williams, wants a favor.
He's asked her to come to Moloka'i to make sure his ex-wife is taking
good care of his adolescent son, a newly diagnosed diabetic. In the
meantime, Storm's law partner and lover, Ian Hamlin, is investigating
the possibility that a Moloka'i kayaking company's negligence played a
part in the disappearance of Brock Liu, the son of an O'ahu shipping
magnate. It looks like a great excuse for Storm and Hamlin to get away
from Honolulu for the weekend.
But Storm soon finds that Tanner has bigger problems than he let on,
including his bitter wife Jenny Williams, a history of mental illness,
and ties to a local protest group linked to an unsolved ten-year-old
homicide. A few hours after Storm's visit to Jenny's home,
twelve-year-old Luke Williams finds his mother dead on their living
room floor. Luke calls the police, then he disappears.
Storm believes Luke may have seen his mother's killer and is in grave
danger from both the murderer and his fluctuating blood glucose levels.
Her chase after Luke-and answers-leads through the dense rainforests,
pristine beaches, and untamed wilds of Moloka'i. Are Brock Liu's
disappearance and Jenny Williams' death linked to the old homicide?
— ◊ —
— ◊ —
Fire Prayer
A Storm
Kayama Mystery
Deborah Turrrell Atkinson
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-402-3 (1590584023)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-402-6 (9781590584026)
Publication Date: August 2007
List Price: $24.95
— ◊ —
Review: Deborah
Turrell Atkinson's third mystery featuring Storm Kayama, Fire Prayer, has the Honolulu
lawyer honoring a favor and becoming involved with a murder that may be
related to a 10-year-old fire that resulted in an unsolved homicide.
Much of the story takes place in a small town on the Hawaiian island of
Molokai. The people there, mostly native Hawaiians, want to retain the
character of their town: unpaved streets, no traffic lights, and no
large condominiums. They have their traditions, their lore and history,
which supports their beliefs. One of the strengths of Fire Prayer is in Atkinson's vivid
descriptions of the island and its people. This beautifully written
mystery isn't just set in Hawaii; Hawaii is an integral part of the
mystery.
Storm and her partner Ian Hamlin travel to Molokai for different
reasons: Ian to locate the missing son of a shipping executive, Storm
to check up on Luke, a 12-year-old boy and the son of a high school
friend who's now living with his ex-wife Jenny on the island. Soon
after arriving, Storm and Ian ride horses along the beach and into the
forests but they are forced to turn back after an accident dislocates
Ian's shoulder. Upon their return, they find Jenny has been murdered,
her son Luke finding the body. Luke himself soon disappears, apparently
in hiding from his mother's killer. The police soon find another murder
victim, the missing man Ian was hired to locate. Are these murders
related? And if so, do they have anything to do with an unsolved murder
from 10 years ago?
Though the primary plot in Fire
Prayer is quite intriguing and the disparate pieces of the
mystery puzzle all come together, it's a little disappointing that the
subplot involving Luke wasn't expanded a bit more. Luke is a very
appealing character that the reader greatly cares about yet in the end
his story seems incomplete. But it is a minor disappointment; this is a
fine mystery and is highly recommended.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Fire Prayer and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Fire Prayer? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Primitive
Secrets
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), September 2002
ISBN-10: 1-59058-017-6 (1590580176)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-017-2 (9781590580172)
The
Green Room
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), October 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-198-9 (1590581989)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-198-8 (9781590581988)
Fire Prayer
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), August 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-402-3 (1590584023)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-402-6 (9781590584026)
Pleasing
the Dead
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), February 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-597-6 (1590585976)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-597-9 (9781590585979)
Omnimystery keywords for Fire Prayer ...
Location(s) referenced: Molokai, Hawaii.
