Customer Reviews

The Flaming Luau of Death: A Madeline Bean Novel (Madeline Bean Mysteries)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, but "Flaming Luau" was a disappointment. It started out with a great premise - a trip to an exotic locale, a mystery husband - but then it just fizzled. The elements of the mystery did not tie together well, and there were just too many sidelines. The plot reminded me of a hyperactive child, bouncing from one thought to another but not making connections between them.

Perhaps the book was just too overloaded with characters and it was difficult to concentrate on what was happening to each one of them. And, in my opinion, there was just too much information about Hawaii. It was a distraction, rather than an addition.

It's still a fairly fun read, which is why I gave it three stars. However, my advice is to borrow it from a friend, the library, or wait for the paperback.

Madeline and Wes are planning a special party. Their assistant and friend Holly is getting married in two weeks, so they're taking her, her sisters, and her best friend on a surprise bachelorette destination party to the big island of Hawaii. And the best part is, Madeline, Wes, and Holly will finally get to be guests at one of their own parties.

But the trouble starts before the plane leaves the ground. Holly just got a threatening e-mail demanding to know the whereabouts of her husband. Seems she's not as single as she said she was, and her high school prom date might be her husband as well. It's a bit hazy. Even so, she has no idea where this guy might be now.

Thinking they'll put this tiny problem behind them for the weekend, they board their plane. But when they arrive, they find a man waiting in Holly's room. When the man later turns up dead, Madeline can't help but investigate. After all, she's never been too good at relaxing. Can she solve this mystery before they return to the mainland? Will these events ruin the party?

It's no secret that I look forward to each book in this fun series. But when I saw the title, I was extra excited. How could a book with a title like that be anything but fantastic? And it didn't let me down. Even with the change of location, on-going storylines are advanced, just a little slower then normal. As always, the plot is inventive and fun. I dare you to guess where this one leads before the end. And party planner Madeline is a great host, narrating the tale with a breezy style that keeps your attention throughout.

A small word of warning. Because of on going storylines, the last couple books are spoiled. This series is best read in order. Believe me, that will be no chore at all.

I've already booked my next Mad Bean Event. It can't get here fast enough to make me happy.

this series is remarkable for the consistent quality of each book. the plots, the characters, the humor, the clear-eyed observation of life in los angeles (it was never this much fun when i lived there), the cooking, all are first rate. and i really admire them--once i can stop laughing long enough.

in this entry, the madness is transported to hawaii. the parties are still over-the-top, the mystery is still unguessable, the plot twists are even twistier and funnier.

if you haven't read any of the preceeding novels, i'd say read at least one before this one--a certain amount of familiarity with the characters is assumed. also, having read any of the other novels will make humor even better.

Sometimes a book just works, and this is one of them. I can't put my finger on a particular element that dazzled me, but it was simply well-crafted. The characters clearly served narrative purposes, but not annoyingly so. The subject of the mystery wasn't of great interest to me, but Farmer still made it work. And the ending, where all of the characters were gathered in one place and they all went off into the sunset with their own happy endings? Well, yes, that was a bit contrived, but it actually worked for me and gave me that satisfied feeling as I closed the book. My only question, and perhaps it will be answered more explicity as I read the others in the series, (this is my first Jerrilyn Farmer book, but I plan to read more) is when is Wes going to find a nice guy and pair off?

Holly is getting married in two weeks. Madeline and Wes decide to take Holly, her sisters, and her best friend on a surprise bachelorette party to Hawaii. Wes and Madeline have never been able to be guests at one of their parties. Now they are!

Holly confides in Madeline that she received a threatening e-mail demanding the whereabouts of her husband. Apparently Holly married her prom date in high school. But the details are a bit hazy. She hasn't seem him for years and has no idea where he might be.

When they arrive in Hawaii, they expect to have fun before going back home to deal with this problem. Wrong. There's a man waiting in Holly's room when they arrive. He runs out. Later this man ends up dead.

Madeline sets out to figure out what is going on. How is this man connected to Holly? Where is her husband? Can she do this without anyone else getting hurt and finish before they have to leave the big island?

I always enjoy books in this series. Since this one was set in Hawaii, a place I've never visited, I found it to be even more interesting. The exotic place, the great food, and wonderful people really added to the mystery.

I wish I could book an event with Mad Bean! I highly recommend this book and the whole series. Give it a try, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Madeleine Bean and her partner, Wesley Wescott, are professional party planners in L.A. When their friend and employee Holly Nichols becomes engaged, they decide that it's time to use their own expertise (along with insider connections and freebies) to make Holly's bridal shower fabulous. Along with her sisters and best girlfriend, Mad and Wes sweep Holly away to a posh Hawaiian hotel on the most beautiful beach on earth.

Unfortunately there's a slight "hitch" involved. Holly receives an email from an unknown source that instructs her to give them Marvin - or else. Holly has a cloudy, boozy, unclear memory of her high school prom with Marvin Dubinsky ending in Las Vegas, but she isn't certain the ceremony she went through was real. After all, Marvin never contacted her after that night so Holly just assumed she wasn't really married. But now she's getting frightening email about Marvin. What is the threat about? Also, if she really is married to Marvin, that kind if puts a crimp on her upcoming nuptuals. What is she to do?

Maddie instructs everyone to enjoy the weekend long party and that she'll look into it - later. But when they get to Hawaii and Holly defends herself from a strange man in her room, and that man is later found dead, Mattie calls upon her investigative wiles to get to the truth behind the mystery.

As usual this Madeline Bean book combines a great party with some unexpected twists and this time it includes advising fairies, lovesick dolphins, hot tips on fresh wasabi, half dressed male hula dancers, a gorgeous and interested bronzed major hunk named Cake and a marvelous recipe for a Hawaiian dish that combines all the tastes of the islands.

The murder and dangers are just contrivances for Maddie fans to get together to read the next installment of her fabulous and fun escapades. It's really simply another fantastic excuse for her adoring readers to get together with some best girlfriends who happen to reside within the pages of the Madeleine Bean series.

The Flaming Luau Of Death is great summer beach reading, especial with a Blue Hawaii in a cool glass at your side. If you're a Maddie Bean fan don't miss it. If you're new to the series you'll relish this book. There's nothing to take too seriously, no high tension, meaness and no mutilated bodies dropping right and left. Just good-natured high-jinks and another entertaining novel in a fun series.

Thanks to a generous offer from a friend, event planner Madeline Bean has planned the perfect bachelorette party for her friend and employee Holly. The only problem is, Holly admits she just might be already married. Still, an 'event' waits no woman and Madeline (Mad), Holly, Holly's many sisters and best friend, along with Mad's event-planning partner jet off to the big island of Hawaii. There, however, they discover all is not well. A man ambushes Holly when she walks into her supposedly vacant room and Holly receives threatening messages. When a local man washes up on the beach, Mad realizes that she needs to get to the bottom of the mystery--even if it might mean missing a massage or even a theraptic wrap.

Mad's investigation takes her to the secret meeting of the Bamboo Four, to a swim with dolphins, to multiple Luau's, and expose her to the charms of ultra-handsome and rich 'Cake.' But the charm of the island and the ultimate resort is marred by tough gunmen who are convinced that Holly, or Mad, can lead them to the reclusive man who just might be Holly's husband.

Author Jerrilyn Farmer spins a charming beach-read tale. Her descriptions of Hawaii ring true and could (despite the occasional murder) be used as tourist advertising. Mad makes a charming character and Farmer's writing made this book a hard one to put down.

Sign me up for the next Madeline Bean party (but don't make me the one who dies first). I am happy to recommend THE FLAMING LUAU OF DEATH.

The latest Madeline Bean novel arrived this week, and I've already finished it... The Flaming Luau of Death by Jerrilyn Farmer. Another outstanding installment in the amateur sleuth series...

Madeline Bean, a professional caterer, decides to throw a major party for her assistant who is getting married. So she books a party of eight over to Hawaii to put on a "killer" bachlorette weekend. But things start going downhill before they even leave. The assistant, Holly Nichols, tells Bean that she apparently is already married due to a prom night Las Vegas quickie that was never annulled. Furthermore, the husband disappeared to college almost immediately and hasn't been seen since. Now Holly is getting threatening emails from someone wanting to know where he is, and isn't content to take "I don't know" for an answer. Once over on the island, the threats don't go away, a dead body shows up on the beach of their private luau, and Bean is mistaken for Holly, placing her in a life-threatening situation. Add in a couple of major plot twists, shake well, and see what you get...

Farmer is not as popular or well-known as someone like Evanovich or Grafton, but in my opinion she should be. She does a great job with the female amateur sleuth genre, and Madeline Bean is a very likable and believable character. The plotlines and pacing are perfect, and you're never quite sure what the next twist is going to be. Add in her own "on-again, off-again" love interest, and Bean is an actual personality who continues to grow and evolve with each new novel.

If you haven't tried out any of the books in the series, you're in for a treat. Go back, start at the beginning, and enjoy. I promise you you'll still be interested when you get to this one. And if you're an on-going fan of Mad, you won't be disappointed. Farmer's still at the top of her game here.

LA-party planner Madeline Bean and her partner Wes Westcott have outdone themselves planning the ultimate bachelorette party weekend for their employee Holly Nichols. Maddie and Wes have planned a surprise weekend getaway to the Big Island of Hawaii for themselves, Holly, Holly's best friend Liz, and Holly's four gorgeous blonde sisters. The trouble begins, though, on the day the group is planning to leave, when Holly confides to Maddie that she was secretly married in Las Vegas on her prom night and, although she hasn't seen her husband during the eight years since then, she is apparently still married to one Marvin Dubinsky. To make matters even worse, Holly has started to receive anonymous threatening e-mails demanding to know Marvin's location.

Undaunted by these little problems, the group takes off for Hawaii and starts enjoying their stay at the posh Four Heavens resort. Another strange happening, though, is that Holly finds an unknown man lurking in her room when she checks in, and she promptly conks him over the head with a lamp in the room. That evening, the group enjoys what sounds like the best luau ever. The next morning, however, while the group is enjoying their luxury spa treatments, Maddie learns that a body was discovered right at the same beach where the group had their luau the night before. When Maddie discovers that the dead man is the same man who scared Holly in her room, she puts on her detecting hat to try to figure out who the man was and his connection to Holly.

I absolutely loved the Hawaiian atmosphere and setting of this book. The mystery presented here is one of the best-plotted story lines in all of the Madeline Bean stories. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book. Even if you haven't read the other entries in this series, you'll enjoy this story. If you're a fan of this series, you won't be disappointed!

I had been looking forward to this addition to the Madeline Bean series for some time. I found it a bit of a disappointment. The book struck me as an author's excuse to use a trip to Hawaii as a tax writeoff. "Let's see, what to do today. THIS sounds like fun. Now how can I work it into the book?" It just didn't seem to have the strong plot that some of her other books have had.

That said, Jerrilyn Farmer is a talented writer. Her books are enjoyable. This wasn't bad, it just wasn't up to the level of the other books in the series.