Surfing Detective Mystery
Books 1-3
Kula:
The Famous Surfing Dog
Surfing Detective Mystery Series Book 3
By Chip Hughes
Narrated by Scott Ellis
Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
Summary: Summoned to the Honolulu hilltop mansion of radio pitchman Barry Buckingham, presumably to trace his missing wife, the Surfing Detective is in for the letdown of his career. Kai Cook is hired to track another lost family member. A dog.
Despite his qualms, Kai would seem a natural for the case, since the golden retriever named Kula is a famous surfing dog. Yet the PI knows nothing about finding missing pets. But he does know where to find help - Maile Barnes, an ex-K9 cop and kindred spirit with the keys to unlock the dark underworld of animal theft in the islands.
Then, a questionable tip takes Kai to a late-night rendezvous, his tipster winds up dead, and the detective himself becomes a suspect. Can he clear his name and find the murderer before he strikes again? The PI tracks the illusive retriever from Oahu to the Big Island to Maui, but the killer is one step ahead - other players linked to the dog’s disappearance keep turning up dead.
Is a ghost from Barry Buckingham's past behind the murders? Or is Kai's client just a misunderstood man with a lost pet? To solve this third case in the Surfing Detective series, Kai Cooke must do what he never does - take on a partner. Teaming up with the headstrong K9 cop is his only shot to liberate the famous surfing dog, who is somehow always at the center of this mystery.
Reviews:
In the third installment of 'The Surfing Detective Mystery' series, Kai, who has fallen on financial hard times, takes on a missing dog investigation… I like how Hughes blends the philosophy of surfing, the mystique of Hawaii and Kai's easy-going personality with the criminal element that exists on the islands…. Scott Ellis has done a great narration job once again. I like the tone he gives to Hughes' words. I really like how he interprets the native pidgin in the book.
Wipeout!
Surfing Detective Mystery Series, Book 2
By Chip Hughes
Narrated by Scott Ellis
Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins
Summary: Delivering babies is not in my standard contract, says Kai Cooke to his very pregnant client, Summer McDahl. Summer has hired the Surfing Detective with an unusual request: to prove her husband is dead.
Corky McDahl wiped out on Christmas Eve in heavy surf at Waimea Bay and vanished. Now it's February, Summer's baby is soon due, and the P.I. finds himself on a twisted treasure hunt spanning three Hawaiian islands.
Did Corky pull off the most daring skip-trace ever?
The answer turns out to be more complicated than the question would suggest, involving the islands’ big-wave riding and drug trafficking scenes, not to mention the competing claims of Corky's two widows.
Is Corky McDahl dead or alive?
Though the Surfing Detective seems the last to know, his client gains a great deal more than her money paid for.
Reviews:
The second book in the 'Surfing Detective Mystery' series, 'Wipeout!', has Kai working for a big-wave surfer's widow… This book, like the first, immerses the reader in the cultures of both Hawaii and surfing... The mystery itself has a few twists that will keep the reader guessing. The way Kai investigates reminds me of the surfer's image. He's laid-back, practical and chill… I like his style. Scott Ellis performs the narration excellently. I love his interpretation of author Chip Hughes' words. The cadence and accents sound authentic.
Murder on Moloka’i
A surfing Detective Mystery, Book 1
By Chip Hughes
Narrated by Scott Ellis
Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
Summary: When Boston heiress Adrienne Ridgely strides into his Honolulu office, Surfing Detective Kai Cooke likes what he sees but doubts what he hears. Adrienne's sister, environmental activist Sara Ridgely-Parke, plunged to her death from a mule on Molokai - the first fatal incident on the soaring cliffs above Kalaupapa's fabled leper colony.
Murder, cries Adrienne, perpetrated by Sara's ex-husband, developer J. Gregory Parke. Cooke flies to Molokai, tracking tantalizing leads to an unlikely murder in which, despite himself, he starts to believe.
Was the mule prodded or spooked or drugged? Did Parke do it for vengeance, or Adrienne for an inheritance, as Parke alleges?
Soon, Kai uncovers a motive more noxious than either of these, entangling him in the shady dealings of big-time developers, corrupt politicians, and underworld thugs. As he hops from island to island seeking a pivotal clue, the clock ticks down on more than the PI’s case or even his own life. The future of Molokai itself is at stake.
Reviews:
Great story. Scott does great voices and is easy to listen to. I highly recommend
The character of Kai is a straight-forward kind of guy. He is honest and will do the job he is hired to do. He is thorough in gathering clues and interviewing witnesses to accomplish that end. Even though he starts out not sure that there is actually a murder to solve, he approaches it as if there is. He is also shown to be intelligent, not needing serendipity in the plot to solve the case. He uses old-fashioned gumshoe smarts to find out the facts. The story is uniquely Hawaiian. The author uses the history of Hawaii to tell parts of the plot... Scott Ellis' narration of this book was really fantastic. I have no expertise with accents, but I would not be surprised to find out that Mr Ellis is either native Hawaiian or grew up around Hawaiians. I love the pidgin English scenes he interpreted from Hughes' writing. Shows what you can learn from the fiction you read; I had no idea Hawaiians spoke with pidgin among other natives. Included at the end of the book are some deleted and original scenes from the author. I like when authors show the evolution of a character and plot. Highly recommended.