Aloha Alibi by Jasmine Webb

 

"In the last few minutes, I'd seen a grown man try to kill an old lady, had two geriatric women tell me they were going to beat me to the reward money, and gone full WWE on that grown man myself. And it wasn't even seven o'clock yet."

      -Charlie, from the novel

What an amusing romp this novel was! I have to admit the title caught my attention because I have a great love for Hawaii. 

Charlotte "Charlie" Gibson returns to her childhood home on Maui from Seattle when she finds herself a target of revenge for killing a man in self-defense. She is pretty broke and can fortunately live with her mother but needs a job right away. She is hired by Leslie at Aloha Ice Cream and soon after, she serves ice cream to a businessman who ends up stabbed to death. It turns out there is a very large cash reward for identification of the murderer and Charlie WANTS that money. As she begins her sleuthing, she meets Dot and Rosie, the two seventy-something women referred to in the quote. At first, they seem to be rivals but then decide to join forces and share the reward.

I so enjoyed the humor in the book especially Charlie's run-in with a hotel housekeeper who is a conspiracy theorist; she believes there is no such thing as Australia! I found myself laughing aloud several times. It is a perfect beach read, or in my case, a cruise read. A solid 4 rating for this one which is Charlotte Gibson Mystery #1. One of these days I will look for #2.