Molten Death by Leslie Karst

Item: Molten Death
Rating: 4
Author: BaronessMom

Posted April 3, 2024 by BaronessMom in #BookishRecipe, Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours, the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Molten Death

by Leslie Karst

Series: Orchid Isle Mystery #1
Series Rating:

Published by Severn House Publishers on April 3, 2024
Setting: Hilo, Hawai'i
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 271
Format: Hardcover, Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours, the Publisher
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, BookShop.org, Nook

A glimpse of a quickly melting corpse at the foot of a volcano has amateur sleuth and food enthusiast Valerie Corbin shocked. But how can she investigate a murder, when there's no evidence the victim ever existed?

The first Orchid Isle cozy mystery, set in tropical Hilo, Hawai'i, introduces a fun and feisty LGBTQ+ couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions!

Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai'i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is looking forward to enjoying the delicious food and vibrant culture the state has to offer.

Early one morning, the couple and their friend - tattooed local boy, Isaac - set out to see an active lava flow, and Valerie is mesmerized by the shape-shifting mass of orange and red creeping over the field of black rock. Spying a boot in the distance, she strides off alone, pondering how it could have gotten there, only to realize to her horror that the boot is still attached to a leg - a leg which is slowly being engulfed by the hot lava.

Valerie's convinced a murder has been committed - but as she's the only witness to the now-vanished corpse, who's going to believe her?

Determined to prove what she saw, and get justice for the unknown victim, Valerie launches her own investigation. But, thrown into a Hawaiian culture far from the luaus and tiki bars of glossy tourist magazines, she soon begins to fear she may be the next one to end up entombed in shiny black rock . . .

The amiable characters, stunning backdrop and culinary delights make this the perfect cozy of fans who enjoy a tropical vacation with a twisty murder mystery and compelling Hawai'ian culture - paired with an added bonus of recipes of local Hawai'ian dishes!

Molten Death by Leslie Karst is a superb start to a new, cozy mystery series.

Will Valerie figure out whose body she saw in the lava?

Valerie Corbin

Our sleuth is Valerie. She and her wife, Kristen, are on vacation in Hawaii. Valerie is still grieving the death of her younger brother in their home state of California. Kristen is worried about Valerie. She hopes that this vacation will help Valerie return to her old self. They will be celebrating Valerie’s 60th birthday while there.

At first, I didn’t care for Valerie, but after reading her point of view for the entire book, I started liking her. She wants to be herself, but she also wants respect and love. Valerie is having a hard time opening up to her wife about her grief. Being in a new place with no memories of her brother helps a bit.

The Mystery

While visiting the lava fields early one morning, as the others hike away, Valerie sees a boot and a leg being smothered by the lava. She is curious, but it also brings her back to her brother’s death. However, Kristen and their friend don’t really believe that what Valerie saw was a body. Now, nothing is left, so no one can know what Valerie saw.

The whole sleuthing starts out as Valerie trying to prove that she isn’t losing her mind. She saw what she saw, and she is going to find a way to prove it.

Four Stars

I enjoyed Ms. Karst’s writing style and the setting. It did feel as though Valerie and her friends were fascinated by the lava. That seems a bit weird to me. However, I still like the story that she was telling with Valerie moving forward. My rating for Molten Death by Leslie Karst is five stars. I do recommend this book to all the cozy mystery readers out there.

There are a few recipes at the end of the book. They are Val’s Mai Tai, Poke Three Ways, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Papaya-Yogurt Dressing, Miso-Sesame Chicken, Kalua Pork, and Papay Chutney. There is also a glossary of Hawaiian and Pidgin words and phrases.

Tour Giveaway

Prize: Signed copy of Molten Death (An Orchid Isle Mystery) by Leslie Karst, a Sally Solari Mysteries shopping bag, and a set of bookmarks from all 8 of my published books. US only.

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About Leslie Karst

In addition to Molten Death, Leslie Karst is the author of the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari mystery series and Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops, the Law, and Cooking for RBG. After years waiting tables and singing in a new wave rock band, she decided she was ready for a “real” job and ended up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as an attorney that Leslie rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking and once more returned to school—this time to earn a degree in culinary arts. Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her time cooking, cycling, gardening, observing cocktail hour promptly at five o’clock, and of course writing. She and her wife split their time between Santa Cruz, California and Hilo, Hawai‘i.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: