Product Description

While on holiday to attend an educational seminar in Hawaii, Thea Kozak is determined not only to make the conference a success but also to take some time to relax and enjoy some peace. What she hasn't bargained for is a dead body, none other than the conference chairwoman, strangled and done up like and expensive call girl.

As Thea struggles to keep the conference from turning into chaos, she discovers more motives for the woman's death than positive aspects of her life--and more suspects than she can handle. Throw in some overly hostile local policemen, a suspicious husband, and an old family friend who makes Thea's mother look like a saint, and it looks like Thea isn't in for any kind of peace.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1174960 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Education consultant and amateur detective Thea Kozak (An Educated Death, 1997), returns in a yawner set in Hawaii. Kozak, attending an educational conference in Maui, far from her home state of Maine and the embraces of her hunky boyfriend, Detective Andre Lemieux, finds herself reluctantly embroiled in a murder investigation. Conference director Martina Pullman is found dead in her hotel room, dressed in sexy lingerie and strangled with a stocking. Pullman, naturally, had made an enemy of every board member at the conference, not to mention the first wife of her husband, Jeff. When Pullman's assistant Rory Altschuler attempts suicide and when she herself is almost drowned on a scuba expedition, Kozak begins to suspect even those whom she longs to trust. Flora's verbosity fails to flesh out the characters, most of whom are stereotypical and shallow. Beautiful Maui features hardly at all as a backdrop. The one bright spot is 11-year-old Laura Mitchell, Kozak's self-appointed Watson, whose nose for detective work puts her in the path of danger as the murderers use her to get to Kozak.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Educational consultant Thea Kozak, series sleuth, hopes to get some rest while attending a conference in Hawaii. When someone murders the chairwoman, however, Thea finds herself once again questioning suspects. An exciting series addition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Thea Kozak would rather be in New England with her lover, Detective Andre Lemieux. Instead, she is in Hawaii, managing a conference for an association of girls' schools and dealing with flamingly incompetent coworkers and a shrew of an executive director named Martina Pullman. Then Martina is murdered, and Thea must try to find the killer before others are hurt. This fifth Thea Kozak mystery is a trifle long but smoothly written, solidly plotted, and populated with strong characters. Flora makes good use of her Hawaiian setting but never succumbs to the temptation of padding the story with travelogue asides. Flora has great respect for the lives of police detectives, which gives her series a gritty realism that blends nicely with the somewhat cozy story lines. Thea Kozak is a winning character whose adventures somehow suggest a Dilbert comic strip for keeps. John Rowen

Customer Reviews

Terrific!
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.

Another excellent adventure with Thea
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.

Another great outing for Thea
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.