Murders of Conveyance

Murders of Conveyance, the third in the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery Series by Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, begins with Natalie and her private investigator boyfriend, Keoni Hewitt, joining friends on the First Annual Aloha Scavenger Hunt, which is set to run all over Honolulu. Previous to setting out for the hunt, Natalie has a dream that is reminiscent of a film noir. In fact, that is all she thinks it is until, shortly after the event begins, there is a murder directly outside her hotel room and the details are startlingly similar to her dream. Concluding that this must be one of her visions, she tells Keoni and they quickly alert his old partner, Lt. John Dias, who has previously worked with her and is willing to use her strange talent in tandem with his own traditional methods of police work.

Though the murder is very similar to her vision, it is clear that it is set in a much earlier time. While Dias works on the current case, Seachrist begins to research the murder that may have occurred in the past, using her well-honed journalist skills. In doing so, she is able to not only connect the hotel to the respective murders but also the murders to each other.

There are many reasons to recommend this novel. The descriptions of each destination and the players’ race during the scavenger hunt are well done and leave the reader ready to book travel plans to see the sights first-hand. The visions add an interesting paranormal twist to what could be just another crime novel. The relationships between the neighbors are wonderful and something that really makes the characters likable. And, of course, any murder mystery that involves a cat is a winner from the start!

However, as good as the novel is, there are a few issues which, by the third book in the series, I had hoped the author would have sorted out. Many of the chapter endings are cliché and eye-roll-inducing. Also, it is not necessary for us to be told every single time that the characters order coffee or tea exactly what kind they are having. Occasionally, it is fine to just say they are having coffee. Along the same vein, it is abundantly clear that the author researched the menu for every meal that she described; however, overly describing every detail of the menu quickly became annoying.

All in all, this novel was definitely worth the read, and I look forward to more in the series. Perhaps, however, with a few adjustments.