Atkinson's lush third Storm Kayama adventure (after 2005's The Green Room
) finds the Hawaiian lawyer on the island of Moloka'i with her boyfriend, Ian Hamlin, hoping the trip will provide a much needed respite from their busy legal careers. At the request of high school pal Tanner Williams, Storm visits Tanner's ex-wife, Jenny, to check on their adolescent son, Luke, who's diabetic and having difficulties adjusting to his parents' recent divorce. When Jenny is killed and Tanner and Luke vanish, Storm begins asking questions, but the secretive inhabitants of Moloka'i are reluctant to divulge information to a stranger. Piecing together the complicated relationships of the reticent islanders soon turns deadly, as Storm and Ian realize they're caught in the middle of a clash between old-world sorcery and modern-day revenge. The Moloka'i scenery is as vivid and appealing as the heroine, and authentic language and folklore make this a first-rate tale of greed, lust and retribution. (Aug.)
