Hula Done It?

In this entry in Maddy Hunter's humorous "Passport to Peril" mystery series, travel escort Emily Andrews brings her group of senior citizens from Iowa on a Hawaiian cruise. Also on the cruise is Professor Dorian Smoker, an expert on Captain Cook. Soon after one of the Iowans gives Smoker a journal with a treasure map that may lead to buried treasure, Smoker is thrown overboard by a mysterious assailant and presumed dead. There are plenty of suspects, including several people who disagreed with his theories on Captain Cook and several students who had an affair with Smoker. Emily finds herself not only investigating the murder, but also helping the Iowans try to find the buried treasure. When one of the treasure hunters is murdered and show more Emily herself is attacked, she realizes she needs to solve the mystery fast before anyone else gets hurt.

"Hula Done It" is a very funny mystery with lots of quirky characters. Emily is a lot of fun and her Nana is a hoot. Especially memorable characters are Jonathan, who is a waking disaster and Margi, who is obsessed with germs and carries an amazing array of items to prevent catching them. Duncan and Etienne, rivals for Emily's affection, are also on board. There are plenty of humorous moments in the book, although the humor in the scene where Emily takes a disastrous helicopter tour seems a bit forced. On the other hand, the Halloween costume party, where everyone starts acting like the character they are dressed as is laugh out loud funny. The mystery itself is nicely plotted, with Hunter throwing in a nifty twist at the end.

Well worth reading. show less

Emily and her tour group are taking a cruise to Hawaii. Also on the cruise is a group that features Dorian Smoker, a world renowned expert on Captain Cook. When Smoker is lost overboard, Emily suspects it was not accident. Could the mysterious map that has emerged have anything to do with it.

As with the others in the series, don't expect serious detecting, but going along for the ride is too much fun.

This is book number four in the Passport to Peril series, starring tour escort Emily Andrew and the group of Iowans she takes on various vacations. This time they are aboard the Aloha Princess exploring the Hawaiian Islands. The major attraction is renowned scholar, Professor Dorian Smoker, who is an expert on Captain Cook and his explorations of the South Pacific islands.

Oh, my …. The characters are cardboard, the plot is thin, and the dialogue is tortured. I had no interest in the supposed love triangle – probably because Emily doesn’t seem very interested in either guy. There’s a major “buried treasure” element to the plot, which is central to the whole mystery, but never really captured my attention. It was just show more ridiculous. Hunter did manage to add a few tidbits of Hawaiian history, but not really enough to give a real sense of the islands.

Oh well … it was a fast read, and it satisfied a challenge I’ve had for over a year to read a book set in Hawaii. show less

This is a cute cozy mystery involving a young woman guiding a group of elderly tourist on a Hawaiian cruise.

Fun series - Emily and Nana are both endearing, but I have a feeling I will burn out on them before I read the last book.

On a cruise in Hawaii, Murder stalks the ship. "Who Dun It?"

Not the best in the series, but definitely not the worst. This book marked the beginning of the series improvement, imho. While the characters have always been amusing, the plot in the early stories was often weak, and the protagonists ability to leap to wild conclusions annoying. This book was slightly more credible and the protagonist seemed to think things through a bit more. Overall, very enjoyable read.