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Beinhaltet den Namen: Victorial Nalani Kneubuhl

Werke von Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl

Zugehörige Werke

Postcolonial Plays: An Anthology (2001) — Mitwirkender — 32 Exemplare
Don't Look Back: Hawaiian Myths Made New (2011) — Mitwirkender — 6 Exemplare

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I really liked the setting of the story and the plot was very engaging. My favorite character was definitely Andrew.
 
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astronomist | 4 weitere Rezensionen | Oct 3, 2021 |
This book annoyed me a bit. I didn't get a strong sense that this was 1935. Mina didn't act like the female characters in mysteries that were actually written in the 1930s. She was too modern. I got tired of the continual references to Mina stuffing her face with food while Ned admired her "healthy appetite". I know it was mentioned that Hawaii was spared some of the hardships of the Depression, but it seemed wrong to be so lavish with the food in the middle of such bitter times.

There were a few anachronisms. I'm pretty sure the expression "get bent out of shape" wasn't used in the 1930s. I may be wrong, but I thought that saying was from the 1960s. Also, an Admiral Brown was mentioned in the early part of the book, and later he was referred to as Admiral Green. Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench?

I did like the descriptions of the Hawaiian landscape, and the plot involving the last Hawaiian royal family was interesting. It's difficult to write a "period" novel without letting some things creep in from our own time, so I may try the second or third books in the series to see if the 1930s feel gets stronger.
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booksandscones | 4 weitere Rezensionen | Jan 2, 2017 |

It is 1935 in Hawai’i and even though the depression has hit these tropical islands as well the sugar industry has cushioned the effects of unemployment somewhat. Honolulu may have not have all the sophistication of a mainland city especially when it comes to the arts but it tries to make up for it with an excellent community theater. London playwright Ned Manusia has come to put his latest play on here and he feels quite at home here because he is of Polynesian extraction himself. He was born in Samoa.

Ned has a second reason for finding himself in Honolulu; he has escorted three important portraits of the Hawaiian Royal Family from the British Museum back to their home. He has done secret commissions for the British Government before. While in Hawai’i he is staying with his old friend Troy Forrest who is the Chief of Detectives for the Honolulu Police and his wife Nyla, who is an interesting blend of Hawaiian, Irish and English.

Shortly after the portraits are delivered the main one of the King Kalåkaua is stolen and a main functionary of the museum Abe Halpern is murdered. Nyla’s sister Mina Beckwith is a reporter for the local paper who fights against the restrictions that are constantly keeping her from getting good stories. As a woman it seems it is felt she can only do justice to art and social events, but she is onsite for this case and knows she can run with it. She pairs up with Ned to dig into the background of the murder victim.

Abel Halpern was a grandson of one of the original outsider movers and shakers on the island. There are many rumors about his dirty dealings within the museum, his family, and the city of Honolulu it self as well so his murder comes as no surprise to many. What must be determined was whether this killing was related to the theft of the portrait or incidental to it.

The Hawaiian Islands are the crossroads of the Pacific and people from all over had settled here over the centuries; Japanese, mainland Americans, Chinese, Polynesians and Europeans from many countries. Kings have ruled Hawai’i for a few hundred years. The last, King Kalakaua traveled to San Francisco. It while he was there that the portraits were painted then he mysteriously sickened and died. One of his associates left a mysterious message of the back of the portrait. Ned and Mina feel sure the past and the present are coming together and they are risking their lives to prove it..
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Condorena | 4 weitere Rezensionen | Apr 2, 2013 |
The portrait of the Hawaiian king was stolen from the local museum and its director murdered. Ned, who accompanied the portraits on their return to Hawaii from England, and Mina, a local news reporter and sister in law of the police detective assigned to the case, find the solution and fall lin love.

Taking place in 1935 (I'm not sure why because the only times the author mentions the year is when she refers to the cars characters are driving), this cozy mystery is an OK read. Nothing great; nothing horrible.… (mehr)
 
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EdGoldberg | 4 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 27, 2013 |

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5
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68
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#253,411
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4.2
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