Murder Casts a Shadow: A Hawaii Mystery (A Latitude 20 Book) [Paperback]

Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

New Year's Eve, 1934. While Honolulu celebrates with champagne and fireworks, someone is making away with the Bishop Museum's portrait of King Kalakaua and doing away with its curator. A series of brutal murders follows, and an unlikely pair, newspaper reporter Mina Beckwith and visiting playwright Ned Manusia, find themselves investigating a twisted trail of clues in an attempt to recover the painting and uncover the killer.

Honolulu in the 1930s is a unique (and volatile) mix of the provincial and the urban, East and West, islander and mainlander. Mina and Ned, both of Polynesian descent, confront the complexities and contradictions of Island life as their investigation takes them into the heart of Honolulu society and close-knit local families, whose intricate histories and relationships will have a direct impact on future lives and events. A lively cast of characters aids Mina and Ned in their search for answers: Cecily Chang, an antiques and explosives expert, steers them through Chinatown's back alleys; Hinano Kahana, a hula chanter and dancer, brings Ned closer to solving an ancient riddle; Mina's grandmother, Hannah, helps them unlock a secret from the past.

Prewar Honolulu comes to life in this thoroughly entertaining mystery that evokes a colorful bygone era.

About the Author

Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl, the author of Hawaii Nei: Island Plays, is a well-known Honolulu playwright and writer. Her work has been performed in Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific, the continental U.S., Britain, and Asia. She is currently the writer and co-producer for the television series "Biography Hawaii."

Product Details

• Paperback: 277 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press; 1 New edition (July 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824832175
• ISBN-13: 978-0824832179
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming Historical Mystery, March 30, 2009

By 

Neil S. Plakcy "Neil Plakcy" (Hollywood, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Casts a Shadow: A Hawaii Mystery (A Latitude 20 Book) (Paperback)

The characters are charming, and the setting evocative; Victoria Kneubuhl paints a picture of Hawaii in the 1930s when race relations were tense, and the forces that brought down Queen Lili'uokalani and would lead to statehood were already in play. Reminded me of the Lockridges and Nick and Nora Charles.

Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu: A Hawai'ian Mystery (A Kimo Kanapa Mystery)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1920's Hawaii, March 15, 2009

By 

M. Fussell (Houston, Tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Casts a Shadow: A Hawaii Mystery (A Latitude 20 Book) (Paperback)

I saw this book in a small book shop near the Hawaiian Village Hilton when on vacation --- we went on to Maui, but when we returned for our last night before flying out---they were all sold out. One of the first things I did on our return was order this book from Amazon. And was I glad I did.

She creates the Hawaii that was--in ways that I could correlate it with the Hawaii that I saw in 2008. Great insight into her characters, the Hawaiian stage productions, and their sense of history and connection to the royal family.

I highly recomemd this book, and I look forward to the next book based on these characters.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Hawaii-based mystery, March 8, 2009

By 

K. Huffman (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Casts a Shadow: A Hawaii Mystery (A Latitude 20 Book) (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this first novel by Hawaii resident Victoria Kneubuhl, who is a well-known playwrite in the Hawaiian islands. Her characters were engaging and the mystery was well-crafted. It artfully gave the reader a glimpse into an earlier era of life in Hawaii, and especially what it might have been like to be an ambitious female before it was considered socially acceptable. I hope to see more mysteries from this writer.