The drama returns in the fourth Nicky & Noah mystery, Drama Luau, by Joe Cosentino. This series has been a real hoot to read, and each book can always be counted on to not only make you giggle, but at the same time tug at your heart strings - and none more than this one! Cosentino pulls out all the stops for this one, and by the end of the book, you'll be sitting there with your jaw dropped and your mind reeling!
Drama Luau takes our intrepid sleuths to Hawaii for a magical honeymoon. Of course, their theater department head, Martin, and his husband, Ruben, come along for a vacation of their own. As luck would have it (whether that's good luck or bad luck is the real question!), the hotel where they are staying happens to need someone to take charge of their luau show. Nicky has no qualms about taking over the production, and with his beloved by his side coaching the dancers on their characters, there can be no doubt the show will be a huge success! At least, that's what the hotel manager is counting on. Until one of the dancers falls down dead on opening night, just as the show ends. And then his body disappears! What happened to him? How did he die? Who could have killed him? And where in the world did his body go? It seems no one saw anything - none of the dancers, nor the guests, and the two police detectives sent in to investigate begin to question if there even was a murder...
Drama Luau takes our intrepid sleuths to Hawaii for a magical honeymoon. Of course, their theater department head, Martin, and his husband, Ruben, come along for a vacation of their own. As luck would have it (whether that's good luck or bad luck is the real question!), the hotel where they are staying happens to need someone to take charge of their luau show. Nicky has no qualms about taking over the production, and with his beloved by his side coaching the dancers on their characters, there can be no doubt the show will be a huge success! At least, that's what the hotel manager is counting on. Until one of the dancers falls down dead on opening night, just as the show ends. And then his body disappears! What happened to him? How did he die? Who could have killed him? And where in the world did his body go? It seems no one saw anything - none of the dancers, nor the guests, and the two police detectives sent in to investigate begin to question if there even was a murder...
Cosentino provides his usual dose of humor, irony, and fun-filled acting antics as everyone - from Nicky to Noah to Martin to Ruben - gets in on the drama and takes an important role in helping to crack the case. Because one disappearing dancer may be pure chance. Two disappearing dancers, a coincidence, perhaps. But, three? Well, by that time, there can be no doubt that someone is murdering the hula dancers, and if Nicky and Noah don't find out who it is, their show may be shut down - permanently! Cosentino provides plenty - and I do mean PLENTY - of suspects for this one. There is the waiter who has always wanted to be a dancer and would do just about anything to get a part in the show ... there is the Senator and her husband, who own the hotel, whose hatred of gays is just about as strong as their proclivity for sexual deviance with the dancers ... there is the hotel housekeeper who blames the dancers for the death of her daughter ... there is the hula dancer who is tired of being held back and wants to move up the ladder to lead dancer ... there is the manager's daughter, who has been keeping some secrets of her own ... and then there is the charismatic preacher who hosts weekly gatherings for his congregation at the hotel, preaching intolerance against gays, immigrants, poor people, and basically anyone who is different.
Oh, and yes, then there is little Taavi - the housekeeper's young grandson, the son of her deceased daughter. No, he's not a suspect. He is, however, a persistent little fellow who endears himself to Noah (and eventually Nicky) and ends up playing a big role in their lives - much bigger than either of them ever expected!
The mystery has plenty of twists and turns, and while the identity of the killer may not be too much of a surprise, the ultimate goal of the killers comes as quite a shock - certainly not something that is typical of many murder mysteries, and while a bit over-the-top, even for a comical mystery series like this, it pushes the envelope just a bit too far. And while I'm on the topic of things that didn't exactly work so well in this book, Cosentino's constant use of the phrase "try saying that three times fast" every time there is an alliteration gets overused way too much in this book. It begins to feel like the author is purposely throwing in the alliterations, just to use that line as a running gag - unfortunately after three or four times, it starts to fall flat and takes away from the story rather than adding any humor to it. Cosentino's dialogue and overly dramatic characters provide humor naturally, there's no real reason to force anything else into it for the sake of getting a laugh or two.
However, the book overall was still a fun read, and the adventures of Nicky and Noah are sure to please any mystery fan.
Oh, and before I forget, there are a few truly noteworthy moments in the book that are worth mentioning - the first on page 22 when there are not only references to all of the previous murders that Nicky solved, but also Martin's observation that "Nicky, with all the murders of students at Treemeadow, it's a wonder any student will come to the college. When the students cheer at graduation, it's because they've gotten through their four years alive!" Any series that can poke fun of itself like that gets some big kudos from me! Then, later, when Nicky and Noah contact their parents, the first question out of both sets' mouths is, "So, how's the murder investigation coming" - because, as they quickly point out, anywhere Nicky and Noah go, murder is bound to follow!
RATING: 7 seahorses made of coral, algae, and jellyfish venom out of 10 for finding the most unusual and possibly sickening reason for murdering people of any mystery I've read to date!
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