Isle Pages
New releases by Hawaii authors
Reviewed by Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com"Run to the Sun," The author is a psychologist living in Hawaii and the hero of this action-packed shoot-'em-up is a psychologist living in Hawaii. So you'd think there'd be a lot of insight into the psychologist-in-Hawaii biz. Not! The action promptly decamps to the mainland, where the psychologist and his estranged wife are battling for custody of the children.
by Robert Dave (Lost Coast Press, $16.95)A killer draws a bead on the husband and mistakenly kills the wife, and the law labels the hero as the villain. Not only does he have to figure out who the real killer is while he's on the run, the hero has to avoid getting arrested himself. It's a classic noir-thriller scenario. He makes use of his psychology training, which also provides clues to the killer's identity. Don't expect deep here. Dialogue runs along the lines of "Come out with your hands up, scumbag, or we're coming in!" and "Hands on your heads! Down on your knees! Lay on your bellies!" It's certainly zippy.
"Banzai Haul," Nothing succeeds like a crime everyone commits, and this modest, charming thriller deals with gambling in Hawaii.
by Beverly Tanemura (Vantage Press, $19.95)It seems that the brother of a young woman has extraordinary luck -- or skill -- at card playing, which leads him to the Las Vegas underworld. He returns to Hawaii, where card games for high stakes are big business, and he vanishes mysteriously.
Her other brother disappears, too, and the woman learns to rely on a detective who might -- or might not -- be her ally. There's not a lot of slam-bang action here, but Tanemura keeps things moving along and has an ear for dialogue.
Although the Hawaii locations ring true, the book's constant translating of Hawaiian and Japanese is unnecessary and intrusive. It's like being lectured in one ear at the movie theater.
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