Primitive Secrets
A Storm Kayama Mystery
Deborah Turrrell Atkinson
Review: Deborah Turrell Atkinson introduces attorney Storm Kayama in a mystery set in Hawaii, Primitive Secrets.
Atkinson's Hawaii is fascinating to read, coupling beautiful descriptions of the islands with unusual tales of local legends. But she misses the mark with her character, Storm Kayama, and the mystery in which she finds herself. It's as if there are two books here: a genuinely interesting environment for an atmospheric mystery, blended with a somewhat dull and rather pedestrian plot.
There is clearly potential here for this series, but this debut mystery is at best disappointing.
Acknowledgment: Poisoned Pen Press provided an ARC of Primitive Secrets for this review.
Review Copyright © 2002 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Selected reviews of other mysteries by this author …
Fire Prayer
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), August 2007
ISBN-13: 9781590584026; ISBN-10: 1590584023
Location(s) referenced in Primitive Secrets: Honolulu, Oahu, The Big Island, Hawaii
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Primitive Secrets by Deborah Turrrell Atkinson
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-59058-017-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-017-2
Publication Date: September 2002
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): When Storm Kayama walks into her lucrative Honolulu law firm one morning, she’s shocked -- and grieved -- to find her adopted uncle at his desk, stiff and cold. Years before, Miles Hamasaki had fulfilled a promise to Storm’s father and brought her to be raised with his own family. But, as questions surround Miles’ death and her adopted family begins to close ranks, Storm suspects that he has been murdered.
Heading to the Big Island for a weekend escape from escalating pressures, she narrowly escapes a terrible accident. Storm takes refuge in the home of her Aunt Maile, a traditional Hawaiian healer, and Uncle Keone, a paniolo on the huge Parker Ranch. There she encounters a legend from her youth and a family totem, or ‘aumakua, which Aunt Maile promises will protect her. As Storm struggles to heal her own childhood wounds and bring justice to Hamasaki’s killer, she also comes to grip with the rifts in her own life and culture.
From the winding cane roads of Hamakua to the seedy side of Honolulu’s Chinatown, with a deft juxtaposition of a bustling Honolulu against the island’s legends and wild beauty, Atkinson reveals a Hawaii that few visitors ever see as she unfolds a clever, contemporary plot laced with island lore.
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