Fire Knife Dancing

Jungle Beat #2

by John Enright

Samoan detective Apelu Soifua lives on the knife edge of two disparate cultures, navigating a perilous dance between native and new that, over the years, has landed him in his fair share of trouble. So when a routine patrol on a remote jungle estate uncovers an inter-island smuggling ring, it doesn’t take long for Apelu to realize there’s more than just cigarettes and bootleg CDs at stake. Someone in Apelu’s corner of paradise is trafficking humans—and they won’t think twice about setting up a cop to take the fall.

Now Apelu stands accused of murder, and his only shot at proving his innocence is to go AWOL from his job and his wife until he can unearth the truth. Hunted by the police, his only ally is a young American widow whom he quickly discovers is anything but what she seems. Apelu knows he’s playing with fire—but can he unmask a killer before he gets burned?

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Adult, Mystery Thriller

254 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2013

About the author

John Enright was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1945. After serving stints in semi-pro baseball and the Lackawanna steel mills, he earned his degree from City College of New York while working full-time at Fortune, Time, and Newsweek magazines. He later completed a master’s degree in folklore at UC-Berkeley, before devoting the 1970s to the publishing industry in New York, San Francisco, and Hong Kong. In 1981, he left the United States to teach at the American Samoa Community College. He spent the next twenty-six years living on the islands of the South Pacific, working for environmental, cultural, and historical resource preservation. Over the past four decades, his essays, articles, short stories, and poems have appeared in more than seventy books, anthologies, journals, periodicals, and online magazines. His collection of poems from Samoa, 14 Degrees South, won the University of the South Pacific Press’s inaugural International Literature Competition. Today, he and his wife, ceramicist Connie Payne, live in Jamestown, Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent series! Will hunt the rest of the books down! Samoan detective Apelu Soifua is caught between two cultures; when he comes across a group that is involved in human trafficking he has to navigate carefully so that he does not get 'burned' in the process. A unique character - a very different and original crime thriller!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in American Samoa, this series is brilliant. The stories are excellent and the reader ends up learning about Samoan culture.

[Melanie McKissock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the Jungle Beat series; as with the first I loved reading about the Samoan culture and setting. A really unusual series and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

[Rick Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this John....liked it even more than the first one ....captured me.... and lots of memories of a great place and a great culture.....thanks......and I love a good mystery

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get this novel from a Goodreads Giveaway! I'm glad, because it matched my interests perfectly, being a detective novel that takes place in Samoa. This is the second of the series and now I definitely intend to read the others. The setting of the novel is vividly portrayed--and it's paradise. I was engrossed by the plot and even surprised by it, as some of my assumptions about the main character, Apelu Soifua, were challenged, and that's why I want to read more about him. Although Apelu gets beat up and a few people are murdered, this novel did not explore the dark side of human nature, so it resembles Dorothy Sayers more than Stieg Larsson. Also, we do not get into Apelu's character very closely, so he remains rather distant, as if we are watching him in a movie, not entering into his mind. I look forward to reading more in this series.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Line: For many years it was the only house out there, a house of elegant exile.


Ezra Strand has been firing off a shotgun at hikers and boaters along the cliffs near his house again, and Detective Apelu Soifua goes out to the remote area to warn him. Again. But when the old man takes a shot at Apelu, the situation becomes serious. Taken into town and put in jail, the old man seems demented and refuses to speak anything but Samoan. Apelu knows better. Ezra and his wife ran a Polynesian dance troupe in the United States-- a dance troupe that Apelu performed with during summers and school holidays when he was a teenager. Ezra knows how to speak English. Then there's the matter of strange caches of supplies in Ezra's house. When Apelu goes back to investigate, the supplies have disappeared. Before he can do anything about it, the body of a young woman turns up, and Apelu is accused of her murder. He must clear his name, but the only way he can do so is by hiding out. Staying away from his fellow police officers and his family is his one chance to find the answers he so desperately needs.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Pago Pago Tango, and I'm thrilled to say that I loved this one. Enright does a superb job of showing the fine line that Apelu must walk between the two very different cultures of American Samoa and the United States. The detective has his hands full with his fugitive investigation, but even more tension is added by the strain that his marriage is under. He dearly loves his children, but he and his wife seem to be growing apart.

The author also brings the setting to life vividly and poetically with the "sea-peaceful starry nights" of the islands, the differences between Western and American Samoa, and how-- starting with World War II-- Western culture has been inexorably changing the landscape and its people.

The story moves swiftly, and in no time at all the reader is aware that Apelu has stumbled into a Gordian Knot of crimes. Separating the various strands and identifying the culprits leads the detective further and further into danger-- and kept me turning the pages faster and faster.

With his skillful blend of character, story and an unforgettable setting, John Enright has become an author whose books I do not want to miss.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book in the "Jungle Beat" series returns to American Samoa for another crime story featuring Detective Sergeant Apelu, formerly of the San Francisco PD, now back home. As in the first book, a fairly routine call at the beginning of the book ends with Apelu taking gunfire, setting the wheels of the story in motion. And the story shares some general similarities to Pago Pago Tango, as it features smuggling, foreigners, and several ladies who are interested in the married with kids Apelu. Again, the story is not particularly complicated, as far as mysteries go, and real fun comes from exploring the culture of modern American Samoa as it struggles to reconcile traditional systems and structures with the influences of the modern world. The territory's odd legal status is explained a bit further in this installment, as is its relationship to Western Samoa. On the whole it's another fun read for those who enjoy exotic settings.

[Linda C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua answers a complaint about an eccentric who has fired a gun at some National Geographic photographers and gets attacked by 2 guard dogs and shot at himself. When the shooter is apprehended and they search his house they find unusual quantities of various goods. Apelu suspects smuggling and takes down some merchandise case numbers to follow up on. An assistant in the Attorney General's of offers to assist in checking it out in neighboring Western Samoa. When this leads to confirmation of his suspicion and he is asked in exchange for their help to check up on a list of girls who went to American Samoa on 30 day visas and are way overdue back, he stumbles into a bigger conspiracy. Soon his name is exposed as the bad guy and he must go undercover to clear his name. Who can he trust and who has a hidden agenda? The story is interspersed with cultural and political references giving an interesting look at a place I was unfamiliar with. Looking forward to more.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book stands alone, I'd recommend reading the first story before this one to get a sense of Apelu's world. Frankly, the cultural notes, and scenery description, carry the story, rather than the plot. Moreover, I was never really fond of Apelu himself, who seemed a bit ... self-congratulatory about being such a decent, loyal guy; I found myself chuckling as he's called out on that near the end. In the previous story, he relied on help from a savvy female (sidekick) to solve the crime; I was sorry that the journalist from that one doesn't appear here, but a mysterious Samoan-speaking Caucasian widow does the job well.

Phil Gigante's audio narration fits well for the series.

[Jjudyfl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads.
Samoa, that small island not too far from Tonga, provides a unique, lush landscape for ugly crimes.
Apelu is an island cop of integrity, who finds himself set up by one or more baddies in a widening plot of contraband, prostitution, human trafficking, and, of, course, murder.
He realizes he must clear himself AND solve the case. Can he trust anyone? If yes, how much? CID? FBI? local cops? Is ANYONE using their real name?
This book isn't too weighted down with rambling history and politics.
I liked my armchair trip to this paradise, and found Apelu to be a believable character - with a good balance of cop work, and his native culture.

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second entry in John Enright's Jungle Beat Mystery series. Apelu Soifua is an American Samoan police officer who balances native ways with American to solve a murder. The history and the detail of the setting is a big plus, as well as the charm of Apelu. The storyline gets a bit complicated with too many cooks in a very small kitchen, but wraps up nicely. I will go back and read the first one and keep an eye out for the next. Much potential here to become a great series with such a unique setting.

Received from publisher.

[Brian Stoddart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apelu Soifua returns in John Enright's lovely series based in American Samoa, the cop who sticks up for the locals against the American influence, even if he himself is stranded between the two cultures. Enright captures the essential challenges for Pacific states like Samoa (in both its American and Western iterations) but also the nature of the culture along with the place itsel. The storyline and plot play to these intercultural tensions, as well as focus on the pressures Soifua has in his own relationships. This is a really good series and well worth the read.

[Greg Tymn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire Knife Dancing is a richly detailed immersion into crime and culture in the South Pacific

The second novel in the Jungle Beat series shows a marked improvement in plot complexity, character interaction and world description over Pago Pago Tango. I was reminded of the same improvement that I saw with Robert Crais in his early works. A very good novel!

Buy this book. You won't be disappointed. It's a bargain and a half at this price.

[Mark Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy second volume in this fascinating series. Set in American Samoa, it puts the reader into a different culture, a different world, where the connections to the "modern" world can be uncomfortable - and dangerous! Apelu, the protagonist, is a local police detective, and his life spins out of control when he investigates the wrong crime... I finished the first entry in a day, and this one the same, so I think "page-turner" is a fair evaluation!

[Peter Riva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authors who repeat the enjoyment of the first book are rare. John is one of those rarities.
Mystery? Detective work (relentless), surprises and everything colored by the "otherness" of American Samoa stuck way out in the southern Pacific.
Colombo-like, Det. Apelu is at it again.
I can't wait for the third book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book set in American Samoa. Fun to recognize the different sites in the novel. Thinking of the frustrations of living and working here as "novel fodder" is probably therapeutic as well.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful

Suspenseful

This book was an intricately designed web of lies & mystery. The cultural cues are interesting & draws you to Samoa & the surrounding islands.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime in Samoa poses different challenges from crime in the UK. But it's investigation is just as interesting.

[Suzesmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

61🎧🇦🇸AMERICAN SAMOA/SAMOA 🇼🇸 The second in Enright’s Jungle Beat series opens with our favourite American Samoan police detective, Apule Soifua being shot at by an eccentric businessman. What enuses is the unraveling of a complex web of racketeering, smuggling, prostitution much more. We have corrupt government officials, a murdered FBI agent, a dead lawyer and a new love interest for Apule (which I wasn’t too happy about). Oh, and we also learn Apule is pretty handy with the flaming fire knives. All in all, a few too many subplots and supporting characters for me to follow, and some terrible Australian accents🙉🔥🗡🌏📚

[Janice Workman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the book. Learned a lot as well as enjoyed the story. Will read others.

[johanna french · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these stories. I am so engaged with the characters that I was really upset and disappointed with one of them. Glad I found this author

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fire Knife Dancing (Jungle Beat Mystery)
John Enright
This is labeled under mystery, thriller and suspense.
Yes, there is a mystery but not much to thrill or cause suspense. It’s more like laid back, slow going detective work. This does take place in the Samoans and things are much less pressing there or the author portrays the locations as such.
I much prefer more action detecting in a very timely manner. The first half of the book really just introduces the crime; smuggling. It mostly discusses our detective, Apelu, eating, drinking, smoking and casually getting information about the would be crime.
I was kind of bored during the first half of the book but the second part picked up quite a bit and then wrapped up suddenly. I am not too fond of the police work but I do find the island life and Apelu interesting so I may read another.
If you liked Enright's first book, Page Pago Pago Tango, then you will like this one; it's set pretty much the same way.

[Katharine Ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Fire Knife Dancing" - written by John Enright and published in 2013 by Thomas & Mercer. This short novel was a comfortable blend of mystery and culture. The mystery centers around a female slavery ring which Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua stumbles across while following up on a minor complaint of discharging firearms. The progression of the investigation made for an ordinary, but not especially compelling story. The culture angle helped spice things up and provided a glimpse into American Samoa, where the author lived for many years. The title reflects Apelu's tradition as a former fire knife dancer, and descriptions of this and other aspects of Samoan life were a plus. This is the second in Enright's Jungle Beat series.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through good reads, and although I did not read the first one, I felt it held its own. It was great company on the bus to and from school. It's one of those books that if you HAVE to put it down, it has a lot of opportunities to do so.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the second book. I was well laid out. Crime and humor. and well written.