Books

With this reissue of the original stories in a single volume, a new generation of children can enjoy Alice and Alistair's adventures on Hawaii's Hamakua Coast. Follow Alice Mongoose as she travels across the ocean, befriends the gentle and dapper Alistair Rat, starts a new business, and learns valuable lessons about life and friendship in her new Hawaiian home.
The Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat stories are classic tales of friendship, beloved to this day by children of all ages.

Our guest of honor may have been “The Most Hated Man in Hawaii,” but the College of Commerce was in no position to be picky. Not after the latest round of budget cuts.

After a brutal year on the academic job market, Professor Molly Barda has finally landed a job at Mahina State University ("Where Your Future Begins Tomorrow"). All she wants to do is keep her head down and stay out of trouble until she gets tenure. But then the wealthy and widely-hated Jimmy Tanaka, founder of Merrie Musubis lunch shop, pledges a huge donation to Molly's college and promptly disappears. Molly's venal dean, knowing Molly is in no position to refuse, orders her to track down the missing mogul. As Molly uncovers Mahina's ancient feuds and fresh scandals, she starts to fall for Tanaka's competitor...who might have few secrets of his own.

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.

On the way to interviewing a local farmer, Professor Molly stumbles onto a gruesome discovery in a field of genetically modified papayas. Molly is sure the murder has nothing to do with her new research project...until a second death rocks Mahina's tight farming community, and Molly's administration drops her research like a hot potato. If Molly can't root out the bad apples, not only will her tenure case go pear-shaped...she might end up pushing up daisies.

"You may wonder what my least-favorite student was doing in my living room. In a twist of fate that might seem hilarious if it happened to someone else, he was now my stepson."
Professor Molly Barda is looking forward to a quiet summer in Mahina, Hawaii working on her research and adjusting to married life. But when a visit from her new husband's relatives coincides with a murder, Molly wonders what she's married into--and realizes she might have a killer under her roof.

Follow your dreams, and you'll never work a day in your life. Because that field's not hiring.

From the rise of remote work and the gig economy, to the devaluing of higher education, this book takes an unflinching look at the new landscape of work in the post-pandemic world. Drawing on peer-reviewed research and real-world examples, the 4th edition of No, You Can’t be an Astronaut is a must-read for anyone looking to launch a new career or stay ahead in a rapidly evolving job market.

A fundraising scheme at Mahina State University ("Where Your Future Begins Tomorrow") forces pregnant Professor Molly into the role of "tutierge" (that's tutor-concierge). While she's battling morning sickness, a meddling mom, and the Student Retention Office. The last thing she needs to deal with right now is  murder.

But here we are.

Professor Emma Nakamura doesn't believe in ghosts.  She's sure there's a logical explanation for the disappearing items and the strange sounds in the night at her remote upcountry research station. Fortunately (?), Emma's best friend Molly has news shocking enough to take Emma's mind off the hauntings. Now Emma and Molly have to rely on their strong reasoning skills and a weak internet connection to figure out how a body ended up in Molly's backyard.
The Nakamura Letters is an island-style take on the Golden Age mysteries of Mary Roberts Rinehart and Agatha Christie.

It's been crazy," the desk clerk said. "We just had another big group stay here right before you guys, and they completely trashed the place. Shot out the security cameras with BB guns, pitched a couch off a seventeenth-floor balcony, and one room tried to flush a pillow down the toilet."

"What kind of group was that?" I asked.

"Doll collectors' convention."

Gertie drags her best friends Fortune and Ida Belle to a romance convention in New Orleans. Gertie wants to advance her budding new career as a romance author; Fortune needs a break from her complicated personal life; and Ida Belle doesn't think the other two should go out unsupervised. But when Ida Belle runs into someone from her past, it becomes clear that not everyone at the American Romance and Erotica Authors' Conference will live happily ever after.

I found cooking to be something of a mystery. Fortunately, I had a strong stomach and what a fellow agent once enviously described as "taste buds of steel."

Deputy Sheriff Carter LeBlanc has been seen around Sinful with a beautiful, blonde stranger. But Fortune is fine with it, really. It's not like she and Carter had a future together or anything. To show there are no hard feelings, Fortune hosts a dinner party for Carter and his new associate, and even volunteers to cook. But when she tries her hand at a spicy gumbo, things start to heat up for real. As bodies pile up, Fortune suspects that she's the real target--and only Swamp Team Three can save the day.

"What's Celia complaining about this time? Did I wash my car on a Tuesday? Wear off-white before Labor Day?"
Sheriff Lee fidgeted and cleared his throat.
"Celia Arceneaux is dead, Fortune."

CIA operative Fortune Redding signs up for night classes, hoping to ease the boredom of her undercover assignment and update her computer skills. But an unfortunately-timed murder on the campus of Mudbug Technical College sends shock waves through the town of Sinful. And Fortune's life is turned upside down when she discovers who the prime suspect is. Now Fortune has to choose between lying low to avoid the ruthless arms dealer who's put a price on her head, and doing everything in her power to save someone she can't bear to lose.

In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.

~Oscar Wilde

Through no fault of her own, Professor Molly just got promoted to department chair at Mahina State University ("Where Your Future Begins Tomorrow") in Mahina, Hawai`i. The Student Retention Office has her buried in paperwork. The college has just relocated to a former asylum, which is undergoing noisy renovations. Molly's dean has directed her to mentor the department's new star, the prickly Fiona Spencer, and to do whatever it takes to keep Fiona happy. At least nothing else can go wrong. And then Fiona finds a body in her office.

Mary-Alice Arceneaux has decided to make her home in Sinful! Mayor Celia's sweet-natured and curious cousin is eager to settle into small-town life after moving from the big city (Mudbug, Louisiana). But before Mary-Alice can even unpack her bags, a man of the cloth dies under mysterious circumstances, a device with strange powers turns up in the glove box of her Oldsmobile 88, and her new friends, Ida Belle, Gertie, and young Fortune, are behaving oddly…even for Baptists.