Hawai’i Rage is a crime novel wrapped within a love letter to Hawaiian culture and specifically the Hawaiian cowboy, known as Paniolo. It’s dramatic, suspenseful, emotional and captivating. Keeping you guessing while educating you on a side of Hawai’i that’s not on any tourist itinerary. A brilliantly executed novel with heart that pours out from the soul of author Tori Eldridge.
Makalani Pahukula recently returned to her native Hawai’i after working at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Now an interpretive ranger for a national historic site, she’s desperate for a more active job and excess energy. When her cousin-in-law offers her a chance to work on the family ranch, Makalani dives in headfirst. Putting her right in the middle of family drama that includes a gruesome death and suspicious activity aimed at an 8-year-old kid with dreams of being the next in a long line of authentic Hawaiian cowboys. Using her investigative and observational skills, Makalani finds her initial suspicions of foul play are warranted. Giving her no choice but to follow the evidence to the end and bring justice to the culprits before anyone else is gravely hurt. Or worse.
The blending of family, culture and crime works incredibly well in Hawai’i Rage, seamlessly weaving all storylines into a single narrative that results in a reading experience that’s both suspenseful and hopeful. The crimes and investigations exercise your brain the way all good thrillers do by having readers continuously trying to piece together each character’s agenda and motivations, leading to a guessing game of who’s “good” and who’s “bad” while knowing it’s not that simple. But what takes the book to another level is that it’s also dripping with authenticity and constantly dropping knowledge that grows your understanding of what we typically think of as paradise, but is first and foremost the home to a historic culture and people with cherished traditions.
A book that thrills and educates? A story that appeals to both thriller fans and anthropologists? Yes please and thank you!
Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.
Purchase Hawai'i Rage
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
