HAWAII FIVE UH-OH!
Em and the Hula Maidens are on the
case . . . Em Johnson is prepping for the biggest catering gig she's ever booked, this time at the world famous Tiki Goddess Bar. Then she hears Kiki Godwin has just been released from the psych ward at Kukuoloko. If the unpredictable leader of the Hula Maidens isn't completely recovered from her PTMAD (Post Traumatic Monkey Attack Disorder), Em knows all hell could break loose at the upscale event.
But for once, Kiki isn't the problem. When the guest of honor's multi-million dollar paintings are stolen and a security guard turns up dead, Kiki's convinced the best way to get her mojo back is to capture the art thieves. Kiki and the girls come up with a plan to lure the felons out by staging a grand hoax. Their bait will be a cocktail party featuring paintings by the reclusive Alphonse Cappuccino, an "up and coming artist" who is none other than Kiki's furry nemesis.
Here's an excerpt:
“WHAT?”
The movie producer whispered.
The last of the color drained from his face along
with his anger.
A
security guard with the name Leo embroidered on his shirt said, “My uncle is
dead in your driveway. Someone was able to get in through your electronic gate
and close it behind ’em.”
“It’s an all-in-one system. State of the art. One
code works everything, and only I know the password.”
“Then it ain’t worth piss,” Leo mumbled.
Wally Williams overheard. He moaned and headed for
the couch. Em asked him for her phone as he walked by. He tugged it out of his
pocket. She stepped aside, turned her back on the group, and hit Detective
Roland Sharpe’s number.
When his voice mail came on she whispered into the
phone, “Call me. I need you.”
As
if things weren’t bad enough, Em looked up and saw Kiki Godwin, self-appointed
leader of the Hula Maidens walking slowly toward her with her arms out for
balance and a martini glass clutched in one hand. She set the empty glass down
on a cube table and smoothed down the front of her pareau.
“I’m okay. I’m okay,” she told Em.
“You sure?”
Kiki nodded. “What’s going on? I saw the stampede
for the exit. People are going crazy out there yelling for their cars.”
Now was not the time to tell an already fragile
Kiki what had happened next door. Em struggled to figure out what to say.
“Something is up,” Kiki pressed. “Why else would
there be vomit in that vase over there? Come on and tell. You know I’ll find
out one way or the other. What do you think I am? A blabbermouth?”
Em shrugged. “Kiki, really. I can’t say.”
“Okay, so maybe I am a bit talkative. Don’t you
think it’s best I hear it from you and not later when the story has been blown
out of proportion?”
“I guess you’ll find out anyway,” Em agreed. Kiki
was right about the story being blown out of proportion. By morning folks would
be circulating tales of a mound of dead bodies piled in the Delacruz driveway,
not to mention hundreds of missing paintings.
Em stepped closer to Kiki and lowered her voice.
“There’s been a break-in and a murder.”
“A murder? Here?” Kiki yelled.
“My house is cursed!” Wally threw himself down on
the sofa and pulled a throw pillow over his face to muffle his screams.
“Not here,” Em told Kiki. “Next door at the
Delacruz place.”
Kiki went dead silent for so long Em thought she’d
lost the ability to speak again, but then she slowly smiled.
“I hate to admit it,” she said, “but this might be
just what I need to help me snap out of my nervous breakdown.”
“What are you talking about?” Em glanced at her
cell and wished Roland would call back.
“Don’t you see?” Kiki said. “Now I can focus on
solving this murder, take my mind off of my, well, off of my own mind.”
“Oh, Kiki, I don’t think that’s the kind of
diversion you need. How about quilting, instead?”
Kiki stared at her. “Have you lost your mind?”
Hawaii Five Uh-Oh is hilarious, non-stop action. So pour yourself a tropical beverage, kick back, and join Uncle Louie, Em, Sophie Chin, and the Hula Maidens at the always unpredictable, ever-entertaining, Tiki Goddess Bar.
About the other books in the series:
"Too
Hot Four Hula is a fun, quick read with nary a lull in the engaging
plot."--Fresh Fiction
"This book was truly hilarious."--Open Book Society on Too Hot Four Hula
"Smart and sassy, fun, and endearing."-- Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author
"This book was truly hilarious."--Open Book Society on Too Hot Four Hula
"Smart and sassy, fun, and endearing."-- Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author
Meet Jill
A seven-time Romance Writers of
America finalist and winner of a RITA Award, NYT bestselling author Jill Marie
Landis also now writes The Tiki Goddess Mysteries (set on the island of Kauai,
Hawaii, where she lives with her husband and a spoiled cat.
Visit her world of
tiki, hula maidens, and tropical fun at www.thetikigoddess.com.
Let's get to know more about Jill...
E.E.: Is writing
or storytelling easier for you?
Thinking about this one, I realize they are one and the same for me. If I wasn’t a born storyteller, I think I’d probably have a harder time writing and perhaps wouldn’t write at all. I have to see the setting, characters and action in my head and then translate the scenes into written word in order to share it with readers. For me it’s much easier to write/tell the story, tell the tale, and then go back and polish up the writing than it is to try to come up with a clean manuscript right off the bat.
E.E.: What’s your
favorite kind of story to get lost in?
I’m a very
eclectic reader. I love any novel in any genre that keeps me riveted to the
page. If the action is fast paced, the characters so real I don’t want to leave
them for a minute, the setting so compelling and interesting that I want to
see, feel, taste, and smell the place—well, then I’m hooked.
E.E.: Do you
write while listening to music? If so what kind?
Most days I write
without music. If I play Hawaiian music, then I’m too tempted to jump up and
hula if I’ve learned a dance to the song. I love to sing along to music, so
that’s also a distraction. Truthfully, I used to write while listening to 24
hour news channels like CNN. The television is on, but I’m not really listening.
It’s just good background noise, which helps me focus on what I’m doing. I was
a kindergarten teacher and so I have a pretty high tolerance for racket. In
fact, if it’s too quiet I start thinking about other things and my mind
wanders. If there’s background noise or something else going on, then I’m
forced to focus on my work. I’m not sure that makes a lot of sense to some
writers who need absolute quiet.
E.E.: What
drew you to write in the genre(s) you do?I was drawn to write historical romances because I read them by the bushel full in the early 1980 and the 1990’s. (Am I telling my age here?) What’s not to love about historical romances? Alas, after I wrote fifteen of them, I grew weary of the old West, so I wrote a trilogy of Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels which were published in hardcover by Ballantine Books. Lover’s Lane, Heat Wave, and Heartbreak Hotel. Two of those titles will be re-issued by Bell Bridge Books, my current publisher, in the coming year.
Now
I’m writing my Tiki Goddess Mystery series set on Kauai and loving it because comedy
is something I always wanted to write. Much of the material in the stories
reflects my own life here on the island and quirky island life in general (except
for the murders, of course). Coming up with the adventures of the crazy old
hula dancers who try to solve mysteries and wind up in a heap of trouble instead
is so much fun that I almost don’t consider it work. I also include recipes for
tropical cocktails and pupus (appetizers)
in back of each book and we all have a great time taste testing the mixes.
Readers love the antics of the madcap Hula Maidens and keep begging for more. HAWAII FIVE UH-OH! Is the fifth book in the series and though I wasn’t sure I’d keep going, I have an idea for number six rattling around in my head.
Readers love the antics of the madcap Hula Maidens and keep begging for more. HAWAII FIVE UH-OH! Is the fifth book in the series and though I wasn’t sure I’d keep going, I have an idea for number six rattling around in my head.
Jill will be giving away two books: a print version and an eBook, winner's choice of the first book in the series, or this current release. Just leave a comment and enter the drawing!
What's your favorite kind of story to get lost in? Do you have a favorite genre?
What's your favorite kind of story to get lost in? Do you have a favorite genre?
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