Death in Paradise

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent adventure with Thea
Review: I read Death in a Funhouse Mirror after reading reviews on Amazon's site. It was excellent - so I then had to find each and every book written by Kate Flora. I haven't been disappointed. They get better and better. Death in Paradise is interesting, earthy and full of suspense. Kate is right up there with Jan Burke and Michael Connelly.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: Thea Kozak returns, this time attending an education convention on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Thea hadn't planned on attending, but when her partner comes down with pneumonia, Thea has to take her place. But instead of spending part of her time in convention activities and the rest of her time on the beach relaxing and working on her tan, Thea finds herself in the "Ms. Fixit" role as problem after problem arises at the convention. When the universally disliked convention organizer is strangled, Thea finds herself investigating the case in spite of her desire not to become involved. She is aided by a charming 11-year-old girl who sees herself as a secret agent and spies on hotel guests constantly.

Poor Thea is much abused in DEATH IN PARADISE. Every time she turns around, she is attacked verbally and/or physically. On top of that, she is feeling ill from the very first chapter, to the point she knows she must see a doctor when she returns to Boston. What amazed me is how Thea remained oblivious to the nature of her illness throughout the book. While admitting the symptoms (extreme tiredness, nausea and excessive thirst), she didn't put 2 and 2 together to come up with the correct diagnosis. I spent the entire book waiting for her to figure things out!

As far as the mystery goes, I was clueless as to the killer's identity. Suspects abounded, and the author kept the suspence level high throughout the book. You won't want to miss this series, which combines a strong, likeable heroine with great secondary characters and realistic situations.

Rating:
Summary: Another great outing for Thea
Review: This series just gets better with each book. If you want an in-your-face protagonist, with a sharp wit and a keen sense of justice, Thea Kozak is a great read. In this book, she's out of her native New England, but murder follows her to Hawaii. "Death in Paradise" has a well-constructed plot, interesting characters, including a young "buddy" who helps her solve the case, and a slam-bang finish.