The Flaming Luau of Death: A Madeline Bean Culinary Mystery

Thanks to a generous offer from a friend, event planner Madeline Bean has planned the perfect bachelorette party for her friend and employee Holly. The only problem is, Holly admits she just might be already married. Still, an 'event' waits no woman and Madeline (Mad), Holly, Holly's many sisters and best friend, along with Mad's event-planning partner jet off to the big island of Hawaii. There, however, they discover all is not well. A man ambushes Holly when she walks into her supposedly vacant room and Holly receives threatening messages. When a local man washes up on the beach, Mad realizes that she needs to get to the bottom of the mystery--even if it might mean missing a massage or even a theraptic wrap. Mad's investigation takes her to the secret meeting of the Bamboo Four, to a swim with dolphins, to multiple Luau's, and expose her to the charms of ultra-handsome and rich 'Cake.' But the charm of the island and the ultimate resort is marred by tough gunmen who are convinced that Holly, or Mad, can lead them to the reclusive man who just might be Holly's husband. Author Jerrilyn Farmer spins a charming beach-read tale. Her descriptions of Hawaii ring true and could (despite the occasional murder) be used as tourist advertising. Mad makes a charming character and Farmer's writing made this book a hard one to put down. Sign me up for the next Madeline Bean party (but don't make me the one who dies first). I am happy to recommend THE FLAMING LUAU OF DEATH.

The latest Madeline Bean novel arrived this week, and I've already finished it... The Flaming Luau of Death by Jerrilyn Farmer. Another outstanding installment in the amateur sleuth series... Madeline Bean, a professional caterer, decides to throw a major party for her assistant who is getting married. So she books a party of eight over to Hawaii to put on a "killer" bachlorette weekend. But things start going downhill before they even leave. The assistant, Holly Nichols, tells Bean that she apparently is already married due to a prom night Las Vegas quickie that was never annulled. Furthermore, the husband disappeared to college almost immediately and hasn't been seen since. Now Holly is getting threatening emails from someone wanting to know where he is, and isn't content to take "I don't know" for an answer. Once over on the island, the threats don't go away, a dead body shows up on the beach of their private luau, and Bean is mistaken for Holly, placing her in a life-threatening situation. Add in a couple of major plot twists, shake well, and see what you get... Farmer is not as popular or well-known as someone like Evanovich or Grafton, but in my opinion she should be. She does a great job with the female amateur sleuth genre, and Madeline Bean is a very likable and believable character. The plotlines and pacing are perfect, and you're never quite sure what the next twist is going to be. Add in her own "on-again, off-again" love interest, and Bean is an actual personality who continues to grow and evolve with each new novel. If you haven't tried out any of the books in the series, you're in for a treat. Go back, start at the beginning, and enjoy. I promise you you'll still be interested when you get to this one. And if you're an on-going fan of Mad, you won't be disappointed. Farmer's still at the top of her game here.

LA-party planner Madeline Bean and her partner Wes Westcott have outdone themselves planning the ultimate bachelorette party weekend for their employee Holly Nichols. Maddie and Wes have planned a surprise weekend getaway to the Big Island of Hawaii for themselves, Holly, Holly's best friend Liz, and Holly's four gorgeous blonde sisters. The trouble begins, though, on the day the group is planning to leave, when Holly confides to Maddie that she was secretly married in Las Vegas on her prom night and, although she hasn't seen her husband during the eight years since then, she is apparently still married to one Marvin Dubinsky. To make matters even worse, Holly has started to receive anonymous threatening e-mails demanding to know Marvin's location. Undaunted by these little problems, the group takes off for Hawaii and starts enjoying their stay at the posh Four Heavens resort. Another strange happening, though, is that Holly finds an unknown man lurking in her room when she checks in, and she promptly conks him over the head with a lamp in the room. That evening, the group enjoys what sounds like the best luau ever. The next morning, however, while the group is enjoying their luxury spa treatments, Maddie learns that a body was discovered right at the same beach where the group had their luau the night before. When Maddie discovers that the dead man is the same man who scared Holly in her room, she puts on her detecting hat to try to figure out who the man was and his connection to Holly. I absolutely loved the Hawaiian atmosphere and setting of this book. The mystery presented here is one of the best-plotted story lines in all of the Madeline Bean stories. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book. Even if you haven't read the other entries in this series, you'll enjoy this story. If you're a fan of this series, you won't be disappointed!

Madeline and Wes are planning a special party. Their assistant and friend Holly is getting married in two weeks, so they're taking her, her sisters, and her best friend on a surprise bachelorette destination party to the big island of Hawaii. And the best part is, Madeline, Wes, and Holly will finally get to be guests at one of their own parties. But the trouble starts before the plane leaves the ground. Holly just got a threatening e-mail demanding to know the whereabouts of her husband. Seems she's not as single as she said she was, and her high school prom date might be her husband as well. It's a bit hazy. Even so, she has no idea where this guy might be now. Thinking they'll put this tiny problem behind them for the weekend, they board their plane. But when they arrive, they find a man waiting in Holly's room. When the man later turns up dead, Madeline can't help but investigate. After all, she's never been too good at relaxing. Can she solve this mystery before they return to the mainland? Will these events ruin the party? It's no secret that I look forward to each book in this fun series. But when I saw the title, I was extra excited. How could a book with a title like that be anything but fantastic? And it didn't let me down. Even with the change of location, on-going storylines are advanced, just a little slower then normal. As always, the plot is inventive and fun. I dare you to guess where this one leads before the end. And party planner Madeline is a great host, narrating the tale with a breezy style that keeps your attention throughout. A small word of warning. Because of on going storylines, the last couple books are spoiled. This series is best read in order. Believe me, that will be no chore at all. I've already booked my next Mad Bean Event. It can't get here fast enough to make me happy.

this series is remarkable for the consistent quality of each book. the plots, the characters, the humor, the clear-eyed observation of life in los angeles (it was never this much fun when i lived there), the cooking, all are first rate. and i really admire them--once i can stop laughing long enough. in this entry, the madness is transported to hawaii. the parties are still over-the-top, the mystery is still unguessable, the plot twists are even twistier and funnier. if you haven't read any of the preceeding novels, i'd say read at least one before this one--a certain amount of familiarity with the characters is assumed. also, having read any of the other novels will make humor even better.