JoAnn Bassett

41 of 75 for 2015. This is the second book I've read in this series, and I was not disappointed. Our heroine has been put in the Witness Protection program and shipped off to another island in the Hawai'ian chain. She is forced to get a job just to stave off boredom and cabin fever. But Lana'i is a small island with a very small population. Will she be able to stay hidden? Will she be able to stay out of trouble? This is Pali Moon, of course she won't. She attracts trouble, this time in the show more form of a major tv/movie personality who may or may not be guilty of a major crime. And Pali is his only alibi. But she can't come forward because she's in the Witness Protection program. Ah, will it all work out? Of course, but the twists and turns until the final denouement are well worth the ride. Highly recommended. show less

A rather long build-up to the mystery part of the story but overall an enjoyable read. I found the car chase at the end to be a bit far fetched - not the actual chase but that it didn't once occur to the heroine Pali to think that she was being set up! This supposedly crazy client who had just that morning bought a wig to look like Pali & has now stolen her car... and no alarm bells?!

Maui Widow Waltz: by JoAnne Bassett

The opening line of this witty, humorous mystery by JoAnne Bassett was a great line and right up my alley: "People marry for two reasons: love or money."

And it gets better from there. Pali Moon has problems enough as a struggling wedding planner. Her company "Let's Get Maui'd," is about to lose its location, she's about to get evicted from her house and naturally it's been raining for weeks, and there's no business to be had. She's broke!
Enter Lisa Marie show more who is hell-bent (in more ways than one) on Pali helping her plan the "perfect" wedding. Problem is, the groom has gone missing and it looks like he's an accidental drowning victim. But Lisa Marie, the nut-case, won't take no for an answer, and since her dad's a rich, scary mainlander who owns garbage trucks and not one to be crossed, Pali takes the job.
I enjoyed reading this book, but there must've been gremlins between the pages, because I kept hearing someone giggling and occasionally out right laughter… oh yeah, that was me.

This is one fun read and the author gives us plenty of humor with our dead bodies, and enough island life to make me want to jump on an air-plane to Maui.

Highly recommended.

RP Dahlke, author of A Dangerous Harbor, now on Kindle $2.99 http://tinyurl.com/6hdg3bf show less

I am predisposed toward humorous cozies. I am also predisposed toward Hawaii. This book does not disappoint. I loved Bassett's depiction of the local culture and scenery. Maybe I loved it too much because sometimes I forgot about the mystery part. But Pali Moon is an interesting central character/amateur sleuth. I knocked off a star because I sometimes mixed up her sidekicks, but all of the suspects were fantastic, and sometimes a mystery is only as good as its suspect. Now, every time I see show more a waste management truck, I'll think of the Prescotts. show less