Prospect for Murder

 I selected this book by Jeanne Burrows- Johnson from Kindle Unlimited because it was set in Hawaii.  I was intrigued by the description and decided to use it for the Literary Escapes challenge.

Initially it started out very slowly and I was not really finding it engaging.  I will admit I almost set it aside for good.  It finally caught my attention and held it about a quarter of the way into the book.  I think the beginning was just very descriptive without much action so it was hard to stay engaged.

I think part of what I liked about the book was all the cultural and geographical refrences to Oahu.  We lived in the islands for 4 years when I was young.  In fact, I started school there.  Additionally, having lived in California for most of high school and college we vacationed there quite a bit.  Hawaii is to the west coast what Florida is to the East and Midwest.   I had never been to Florida until I graduated college.  

The author talks a lot about parts of the island and the Navy life which resonated with me.  I know many of the locations and terminology she references.  I think this definitely lead to my enjoyment of the book, probably more so than someone who doesn't have that familiarity.   

An additional feature that I found interesting is the in depth descriptions of Mrs. Wong's memories of China and Hong Kong.  I found this cultural piece interesting as well as how it tied into Natalie's research and work on projects.  I think history buffs will definitely like this series even though it is not a true work of historical fiction.  

I will be interested to see how the next book in the series goes.  

Prospect for Murder by Jeanne Burrows-Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although this cozy started out slowly I am glad I stuck with it. It was a well written story with plenty of Chinese and Hawaiian history and culture presented. If you are looking for a mystery with more depth without much violence this is a great pick . I especially liked it as I spent 4 years of my childhood living in the islands and can relate on a deeper level

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Hawaii
2. Calendar of Crime  #CalendarOfCrime2021   
3. Cruisin thru Cozies  free choice 28
4. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #52
5. Craving for Cozies  Book #44
6. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub2021  #30 Watch Out For Dragons!
7. BooklistQueen   # 32. About an Immigrant
8. Spells and Spaceships Dragon Badge
9. Pick your Poison #13-2  A book about the immigrant experience
10. Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
11. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scenes 
• Row 2
• Lawn

Row 4

Street or sidewalk

• Weapons
• Row 1 
• Falling object
• Row 4
• Push or fall
• Detectives- Natalie Seacrest/Keoni Hewitt
• Victims- Ariel/Rob Bishop
12. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #61  Shot #1