Overall Rating: 2.5/5 stars.
I typically do not read murder mysteries, but this book caught my attention. Here is the blurb:
A legacy of loss. 1600s: Hawaiian fishermen attempt to carve a life on a small island of rugged beauty. Mid-century, those who’ve survived the tsunamis and floods fore the place forever, dubbing it Kaumaha - Misery Island.
A legacy of lies. 1847: King Kamehameha chuckles at his good fortune when he rides himself of Kaumaha in a sale to Reverend Amyas Lathrop of Massachusetts, who is looking for a fresh start for his congregation. But faith is stretched to its limits when a mysterious illness devastates the island year after year…
A legacy of bones. Present day: Ogden Lathrop hates Kaumaha, and his apathy has ruined all that his ancestors built. He is beyond thrilled when he closes a deal to sell the crumbling tax liability to a local developer for twenty million dollars - villagers and family be damned.
But the Lathrop women feel differently. Family matriarch Eleanor seeks a fair solution for all involved, while her strong-willed granddaughter, Lani, born of two cultures, vows she will protect the island and its people to the last. When violence erupts, more than one casualty is found amidst the rubble, and the family grapples with the sins of both present and past generations. Now they must choose the legacy they’ll leave behind. Can an island named Misery ever hope for a better future?
Honestly, I love learning about other cultures, and I had been in the mood to read some stories based in Hawaii.
Author Doug Burgess does a great job with the Hawaii culture representation. He even stated himself in the author interview in the back of the book that he did a ton of research and even had an expert in Hawaiian history and culture fact-check. I appreciate when an author is open about the research they do for their stories.
However, the book itself falls short. The plot was fantastic - a conflict between Ogden Lathrop and his family about selling their property. We also get a glimpse of Reverend Amyas Lathrop through letters and his sinister religious practices on the natives. We got a murder mystery. We got secrets that were kept for generations. We get a small portion of magic by the “local madman”.
I feel the author could’ve done so much more with the story. One of the main characters, Mrs. Winnie TePapa, tells much of the story rather than Burgess showing the reader what was going on. I wish we got scenes where there was show don’t tell.
From the blurb, I was expecting a book to jump around from the time periods. The reader knew much less than the characters did. At least when I read a mystery book, I want to be the one that knows more than the character or at least find out alongside the character - not be the last one to find out what is going on.
The characters themselves even fall short. They were all interesting in their own unique ways - like David Tanaka being a yakuza leader and Dr. Robert Anderson being a scholar. When situations arise, I they all don’t show much emotion. They’re too busy trying to find out who the murderer was.
So, if you enjoy plot over character, this book is for you. Personally, I love a great character development, but if you’re like me, don’t expect that in this book. There are no character developments and mostly plot focused.
Overall, I give this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars. I rounded up to 3 stars on Goodreads.
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