The Cursed Canoe: A Molly Barda Mystery (The Molly Barda Mysteries) (Volume 2)

I love mysteries set in unusual locations, and I love mysteries set in academia. A mystery that offers both is irresistible to me. Molly Barda is a business professor at a public university in Hawaii. Molly feels guilty when a woman from the Student Retention Office dies while practicing for a Labor Day canoe race. Molly had been wishing her ill just before she collapsed and died, and now she's blaming herself for the woman's death. There were seven people competing for six spots in the paddling crew, and Molly gradually begins to suspect that the seventh person might have had a hand in Kathy Banks's death.

The mystery plot fell a little short for me. I enjoy the challenge of spotting clues and trying to solve the mystery before the show more fictional detective. In this case, it isn't possible because some information is withheld from the reader. The Hawaiian university setting and Molly and the supporting characters offset my disappointment in the mystery plot. I would have enjoyed reading about Molly and her friends even without a mystery. It was a fun read that had me laughing out loud at several points. I'll be on the lookout for the other books in this series.

This review is based on a complimentary electronic copy provided by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. show less

Okay, I have to admit that I selected this book because of the title. It's a hard one to pass up on! I wasn't disappointed.

Molly is a professor of business studies at a small Hawaiian University, Mahina State. Thanks to a rigorous program of Student Retention strategies, the struggling university seems to have excellent completions and graduate employment rates, a requirement for government funding. When Molly attends a practice session of her friend and colleague's out-rigger canoe team, she is shocked to witness a bizarre accident. Kathy Banks, Student Retention Officer, collapses in the canoe, causes unknown, and is declared "dead" by local media three days later. Kathy appears to have no history prior to her arrival on the island, show more and more disturbingly there are no records of the 911 call relating to the accident. Molly is concerned that she has somehow caused the "voodoo death" of Kathy by wishing harm on her. She and her colleagues Emily and Pat investigate the murder and attempt to uncover the corruptions within the university.

I really enjoyed this book. It has plenty of believable characters, funny moments, and a twist in the tail. As a former employee of the University sector (including at an institution of similar size to the one described) I could totally relate to the excessive paperwork, and the need to manipulate statistics to put the institution in the best light. I look forward to reading the second book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. show less

I received a free copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. I had happened upon the first book in the series, _The Musubi Murders_ when it was free on Amazon, and bought the accompanying audiobook. The first was quite fun, especially with a narrator who could do a plausible Hawaiian Creole English (HCE) accent, and I was pleased to win the lottery for the second.

This second book does build upon characters and events from the first book, but provides enough background that it stands on its own. Like the previous book, it falls into the cozy category--no bad language, no situations much beyond a PG rating. This is not great literature, but it certainly is pleasant beach reading.

The author has an appreciation for the show more varied degrees of HCE, from the slight quirks in syntax in Molly's community-college colleagues to the utterly unintelligible full-blown "Pidgin" of a take-out cashier. (Yes, full-blown HCE is hard to understand, even if you grew up in Hawaii)(Kay, so I wen go Punahou; as why I no unnerstan da kine.) Her depictions of local food and locations ring true, while still being exotic enough that they should appeal to people from the Mainland. show less

The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow is Volume 2 in the Molly Barda Mysteries. I have not read the first and found this worked well as a stand alone. The Cursed Canoe is set on and around Hawaii's Mahina State University and many of our characters are faculty or students. Our main character, Molly, is a professor of Business.

Our plot revolves around the death of one of the students who rowed on the canoe team. What initially appears to be an accident begins to looks suspicious. This is not a heavy suspense-filled story line with a culprit around every corner. The plot is a bit loose with no detectives, police or any official investigation. There is not even a body. The investigation, such that it is, is pursued by Molly and a part-time show more Professor/Full-time Blogger, Pat. It does come with twists and turns, clues and plenty of opportunity for reader to try and solve.

Bow gave us original flavor in her characters and her storyline. She did a good job developing her Molly’s character. It would have been nice to have more insight into some of the other characters. I enjoyed the mixture of suspense, drama with a bit of romance and comedy. This was my first Bow book to read. I was certainly not disappointed. She was clearly written, well paced and the storyline flowed easily. In particular I found the storyline relating the personalities and inner workings of the academic world to be interesting.

I whole heartedly recommend this book. I would love to go back and read volume 1 of the Molly Barda mysteries and look forward to any future volumes. I was given an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

This is the second book in the Molly Barda series following The Musubi Murders. I had been introduced to the main character in that first book and liked the story and was pleased to find that this will be a series.
I was happy to see many of the characters back in this new book. Molly is teaching business in Mahina college and much of the story is centered around the students and college location itself. The self affirmations coming through the walls from her neighboring professor "I am well groomed and my hair is attractively styled" made me laugh out loud. The secondary plot line involving her boyfriends son was less successful to me than the unexpected death of the outrigger canoe paddler of the title.
This is a fun entertaining read show more and I will be watching for the next in the series. show less

The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow had some good writing and interesting characters, but I wanted more of the mystery and what saved the story for me is that I didn’t guess the ending, which is a huge plus for me, a very good thing.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Cursed Canoe by Frankie Bow.

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I would like to classify this as a cozy, but the mystery element really is pushed to the background. This is much more a character-driven woman's fiction novel than a mystery.