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The Honolulu Star-Bulletin The surfin’ sleuth
Writer Chip Hughes uses life experience to color a book The Honolulu Advertiser Articles Hughes' 'Wipeout' rides
a wave of mystery - By
Michael Tsai Advertiser Staff Writer Lanikai
author releases first book about hanai P.I.- By Michael
Tsai Advertiser Staff Writer P.I.
ensures drama is realistic - By Michael
Tsai Advertiser Staff Writer What Readers Say On Murder on Moloka‘i:
Reviews from Amazon.com: Great Book - Great Character!!, June 1, 2006
Excellent book, amazing imagery and captivating all the way through. It's not excessivly long and drawn out.
Murder on Molokai is a thouroughly enjoyable read. This murder mystery novel grabs your attention from the first page and the surprising plot twists keep you on your toes.
Chip Hughes writes a very entertaining murder mystery. He also refers to many places and people on Oahu and Molokai that will pleasantly jog the memories of those who have visited there, and make those who haven't visited there want to.
Cooke is adventurous but wise enough to know his limitations, sexy but down to earth. He's the "surfing detective" who can make jokes about Magnum and Hawaii Five O. The case Cooke is working on, solving the death of an environmental activist on the island of Molokia, keeps the reader guessing "who done it" without obscuring the chase unduly or suddenly including the one needed clue. Hughes also has done the near impossible--presenting the Hawaiian islands clearly and vividly to those who haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting them while pleasing island residents with his deft handling of a wide range of locals and their vernacular. Cooke shifts expertly between "standard" English and local "pidgin" as needed as he interviews heiresses and doctors, mule ranglers and bartenders. The characters are well drawn and appealing, especially that mule rangler. Hughes clearly likes his detective, and readers will as well (Let's hope Cooke's next adventure is in print soon!) And Hughes obviously also knows and appreciates the islands, including the "mango-tinted water" of Lanai, the aroma of the lei shop below his office, the sheer cliffs of Molokai, and the pounding surf breaks of Wakiki (yes, Cooke really does surf). What could be better than an armchair tour of the islands and a handsome, tanned detective solving the latest case?! "Murder on Molokai" is a good read.
Kai, the surfing detective from Honolulu, takes on a mysterious murder on Molokai, the one-time leper island, brought him by a sophisticated and beautiful client. To solve it, author Chip Hughes takes us through the islands in an ever-intensifying series of events to an explosive (and satisfying) conclusion. There's a touch of Raymond Chandler in the book, but Hughes has created his own original, and captivating, hero and style. For a reader like me, shivering in the Chicago winter, it's a warm and exotic read.
Chip Hughes has written a murder mystery which truly captures the feel of the Hawaiian Islands. Despite the title, the action in this novel takes place on three different islands. As a life long resident of Hawaii, I can say with some authority that Mr. Hughes' descriptions of various island locations and his use of pidgin English is spot on. So much so that I found myself looking at the second floor windows above various lei stands on Maunakea Street imagining where the Surfing Detective might have his office. By the way, it's also an excellent murder mystery. Great Mule Ride Murder Tale Unique location, plot and characters make this an exciting read! The pidgin dialect gives a rare touch of Hawaiian life. Chip Hughes is reminiscent of Tony Hillerman in his incorporation of mystery and culture. Hope this is only the first of a series of "Surfing Detective" novels.
The detective mystery is perhaps the most clichéd genre of all and anything set in Hawaii will bear the stale odor of Magnum PI. With that in mind, I was looking for a reason to dislike this book, but I failed. ‘Murder on Molokai’ works very well thanks to a clever plot, a quick pace, and its island-hopping sweep . . . . Books that bring together Hawaii’s various ethnic elements often either veer into stereotype or the characters sound forced. But the characters in this book and their relationships seemed believable. --acquisitions editor for a local Hawai‘i press.
On Wipeout!: Wipeout! will grasp you from the very beginning. No details have been overlooked. The characters, the events are woven together in an inextricable mystery that unfolds slowly, and it is not until the very end that you realize what has taken place. There is really no second guessing the author. Many times when you are expecting one thing to happen, the opposite occurs. I am a big-wave surfing legend who lived thirty years adjacent to the famous Pipeline break, having the experience of nearly losing my home on a number of occasions to the huge waves that sweep the beach during winter months. I have wiped out at Waimea and all the other big-wave breaks on O‘ahu. I passed into the other world on a wipeout, but it was not my time to lose my life. I feel deeply what Chip writes and describes. As I was reading, I totally became a part of the narrative. The scenes out at Waimea Bay happen similarly. The people who live on the North Shore are depicted in a real fashion. I have lost friends to the Waimea ferociousness--closest to me was Mark Foo, who handled Waimea beautifully but lost his life at Mavericks. Chip was able to fully wrap me into the story by this authenticity of description. I could feel the dry throat, the anxiety of waiting for a closeout set on the horizon, the flushed face, being caught in the riptide and washed seaward after losing your board. The relationship you feel between the board
and yourself is an important part of surfing and Chip caught
that, nearly making the board seem
like a friend or
an extension of body and mind.
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