Murders of Conveyance

"Fans of a lighter mystery with rich characters and environments will devour this latest Seachrist story." — Michael Radon, http://www.theusreview.com/

"A whodunit as smart and engrossing as the unlikely gumshoe." — Kirkus Reviews

"In this third entry of a mystery series, a woman’s latest vision seems to be an unsolved, decades-old murder that links to a present-day homicide. Freelance journalist Natalie Seachrist is excited about the upcoming First Annual Aloha Scavenger Hunt in Honolulu. It’s not far from her Lanikai home, but this is her first vacation with her boyfriend, Keoni Hewitt, a retired homicide detective. Unfortunately, mere days into the week long event, cops discover a body in the hallway of Natalie and Keoni’s hotel. The crime scene resembles Natalie’s recent vision. As it was her first vision in months, she initially dismissed it, believing the black-and-white images were her memory of an old film noir. Despite similarities between the recent murder and Natalie’s vision, the latter was clearly from “an earlier era.” The cop working the present-day case, Lt. John Dias, Keoni’s old partner, has little evidence on the new homicide. But as he’s aware of Natalie’s ability, he encourages her to look into the mysterious murder of yesteryear even if she’s not part of the official probe. Natalie tries connecting the two crimes by identifying the earlier victim as well as the hotel from her vision. And notwithstanding the decades separating the murders, there’s a possibility of a solitary killer. Burrows-Johnson’s (Murder on Mokulua Drive, 2018, etc.) protagonist, as in preceding novels, is an accomplished sleuth. Her visions may spark an investigation, but Natalie’s research skills, stemming from her days in travel journalism, are what lead her to answers. The author’s bountiful details explore Hawaii’s history and culture, as scavenger hunt clues direct Natalie and Keoni to historical landmarks and the inquiry includes Chinatown in Honolulu. Though Burrows-Johnson tends to linger on descriptions of Hawaii’s food and handsome locales, this tactic meshes with Natalie’s investigative approach. The protagonist’s pace, for example, is leisurely but never boring, as she consistently tracks down and pieces together evidence. Nevertheless, though the case reaches a resolution, questions regarding the culprit’s specific motive and method remain. A whodunit as smart and engrossing as the unlikely gumshoe." — Kirkus Reviews  

"Murders of Conveyance, the third in the Natalie Seachrist Hawaiian Mystery Series by Jeanne Burrows-Johnson, begins with Natalie and her private investigator boyfriend, Keoni Hewitt, joining friends on the First Annual Aloha Scavenger Hunt, which is set to run all over Honolulu. Previous to setting out for the hunt, Natalie has a dream that is reminiscent of a film noir. In fact, that is all she thinks it is until, shortly after the event begins, there is a murder directly outside her hotel room and the details are startlingly similar to her dream. Concluding that this must be one of her visions, she tells Keoni and they quickly alert his old partner, Lt. John Dias, who has previously worked with her and is willing to use her strange talent in tandem with his own traditional methods of police work. Though the murder is very similar to her vision, it is clear that it is set in a much earlier time. While Dias works on the current case, Seachrist begins to research the murder that may have occurred in the past, using her well-honed journalist skills. In doing so, she is able to not only connect the hotel to the respective murders but also the murders to each other. There are many reasons to recommend this novel. The descriptions of each destination and the players’ race during the scavenger hunt are well done and leave the reader ready to book travel plans to see the sights first-hand. The visions add an interesting paranormal twist to what could be just another crime novel. The relationships between the neighbors are wonderful and something that really makes the characters likable. And, of course, any murder mystery that involves a cat is a winner from the start! However, as good as the novel is, there are a few issues which, by the third book in the series, I had hoped the author would have sorted out. Many of the chapter endings are cliché and eye-roll-inducing. Also, it is not necessary for us to be told every single time that the characters order coffee or tea exactly what kind they are having. Occasionally, it is fine to just say they are having coffee. Along the same vein, it is abundantly clear that the author researched the menu for every meal that she described; however, overly describing every detail of the menu quickly became annoying. All in all, this novel was definitely worth the read, and I look forward to more in the series. Perhaps, however, with a few adjustments." — Danielle McManus, San Francisco Book Review