MURDER ON MOKULUA DRIVE

A semiretired journalist in Hawaii who experiences visions tries to solve a neighbor’s murder in this second installment of a mystery series.

No longer constantly overseas as a travel writer, Natalie Seachrist has more time to spend at home in Hawaii. She’s preparing to leave her Waikiki condo but decides to stay at her aunt’s cottage in Lanikai. With help from her boyfriend, Keoni Hewitt, and her twin brother, Nathan Harriman, Natalie gets settled at the cottage and mingles with neighbors. But before long, she has a vision. Her sepia-toned visions often show her an event during or before its occurrence. This time, she sees a concealed man murder one of her new neighbors, but Natalie convinces herself it was nothing more than a nightmare. She unfortunately learns the next morning that the same woman from her vision has mysteriously died. Luckily, Lt. John Dias, the old partner of former homicide detective Keoni, is on the case. John, whose grandmother had a gift akin to Natalie’s, willingly listens to her breakdown of the vision. Putting together the skills of John and Natalie, who’s an exceptional researcher, the two hope to prevent one particular individual from getting away with murder. The most striking feature of Burrows-Johnson’s (Prospect for Murder, 2016) book is a winsomely detailed setting, from seafood and Kona coffee to Hawaii’s generally relaxed ambiance (including a hammock on the lanai). As such, the story’s mystery is simply another task for Natalie, along with moving to Lanikai and planning Keoni’s surprise birthday party. Nevertheless, the protagonist is first-rate. Natalie, for example, despite using her visions as an investigative tool, produces a significant break in the case with mere deductive reasoning. Her special ability does factor into the probe, but she would have made headway on smarts alone. The plot offers a couple of impressive twists, and though some of the case unfolds outside of Natalie’s first-person narration, the protagonist sees it through to the end.

A diverting tale led by a smashing amateur detective whose dexterity far exceeds her paranormal gift.