The Green Room

Storm Kayama #2

by Deborah Turrell Atkinson

Storm Kayama needs to build her clientele, so when surf promoter Marty Barstow's wife Stephanie walks into her new law office, Storm agrees to represent her, despite her distaste for a bitter divorce situation.
When Stephanie's son Ben, a promising surfer, invites her to O'ahu's North Shore for a contest, Storm jumps at the chance. Not only will it be a thrill to observe the meet, but Storm will also have the opportunity to watch a distant cousin compete. Nahoa Pi'ilani has grown from a mischievous kid to a surfer of international renown, and he seems to have put the trouble that once brewed between their families behind him.
Then a child delivers a package to Nahoa containing an ancient Hawaiian weapona wooden club encircled with shark's teeth. Storm recognizes the lei o mano. It's a threat, a call to battle.
Events soon suck her into a vortex of escalating peril. As if she were in the green roomthe underwater space where tons of churning water can imprison a surferStorm is buffeted and disoriented by local legend, greed, and cutthroat competition and must confront not only a vicious killer but a haunting incident from her past.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Inspired by Tony Hillermans stories of the Navajo, Deborah Atkinsons suspense novels expose not only the dark side of human nature, but the legends and folklore of Hawaii.

Debby lives in Honolulu with her husband and their two sons. A recipient of the University of Hawaii's Meryl Clark Award for Fiction, she is a graduate of the University of Michigan, the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and the author of Primitive Secrets (2002), The Green Room (2005), Fire Prayer, (2007), and Pleasing the Dead, (2009).


"

Reviews

[Magda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and engaging story, though the quality of writing was a bit confusing at times.

[Scilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's reading the book in Hawaii, but I enjoyed it. The title refers to the mixup in the mind when you've crashed while surfing and don't know which way is up. Storm Kayama, having just received her law degree and set up her own office has a client, Stephanie Barstow, referred by a surfer cousin. Stephanie, who is seeking a divorce, and her son, Ben, invite her to the north shore of Oahu to watch Ben and Storm's cousin Nahoa in a surfing competition. Nahoa wins the competition. Stephanie's husband, Marty, comes from California to Hawaii to help an old college friend, Steve O'Reilly put on surfing competitions. Meanwhile, two excellent surfers, including Nahoa get washed in with strange injuries after receiving ancient Hawaiian threats. Some of the surfers and other locals become aggressive and Storm' investigations become dangerous to someone.

[Debdanz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I went to elementary school in Hawaii and my parents retired there, I always love to read books set in Hawaii- it is like going on vacation without the 13 hour flight or $1000 plane ticket. This book, however, was a great disappointment- write what you know- not what someone else knows. And, I am always greatly skeptical when someone tries to create a protagonist from a culture other than their own. I also think it is odd that a google search of "the Meryl Clark award for fiction" just cycles back to the author's bio, but I guess it is nice that she likes her book well enough to rate it 5 stars- lol!

[Deborah Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An October, 2005, Book Sense notable pick. “Peppered throughout with surfing terms, Hawaiian dialect and gorgeous descriptions of Oahu's North Shore, this exotic beach read is a quick, fun read.”—Publishers Weekly

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it very difficult to get into this book. I did enjoy the setting on Oahu, as I visited some of the settings many years go. However, there seemed to be some inconsistencies in details I found distracting, and it was challenging to keep so many characters straight.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this new instalment of this series. I am not into surfing but did appreciate this added element as a fresh setting for a mystery novel.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this murder mystery. Full of Hawaiian surf lingo, this is a thoroughly readable book. Having seen Pipeline and Weimea Bay in winter, this makes the book more enjoyable,

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being in Hawaii made reading this well crafted mystery all the more fun. Lots of cool details and surfing.