Book Title: DEATH AT THE SPRING FLING
Character Name: Kiki Hepburn
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Well, one word…privileged. I'm not particularly comfortable with saying that, but I guess I should own it. My parents – my mother born into money and my father, a self-made success – are very wealthy. So growing up, we had drivers, a penthouse, Christmas in Paris, a house in the Hamptons, just the whole deal. The downside was I grew up feeling like just another belonging. My relationship with my parents is better now. They respect my choice to go my own way and pursue my passion of scuba diving.
Significant other?
My boyfriend is Dex Kokoa who works at the dive shop here in Aloha Lagoon. His father run the dive shop and was kind enough to hire me too!
Where do you live?
I live in Aloha Lagoon, Kauai, in a cute little bungalow with my landlady, Auntie Akamai – she's not my aunt, that's just a term Hawaiians use for older ladies (she is Dex's actual aunt though). She has a smart-beaked Amazon Grey parrot named Paulie who gets along amazingly well with my newly adopted cat, Doyle.
Do you have any enemies?
Well, Ruby Nakasoma and I are not exactly friends… I guess that's what happens when you accuse someone of being involved with a murder. And yet here she is, hanging around where I need to be.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
I love Aloha Lagoon and the waters around it. There's no place I'd rather be than diving in the ocean around Kauai. I'm also pretty attached to Dex, and also Auntie Akamai. She is just the sweetest woman and is like a mother to me – as well as a friend.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
No children, just Doyle. He was named by Paulie the parrot, by the way. One of Auntie Akamai's grouchier friends said the gray cat looked like a gargoyle, and from that, Paulie got Doyle.
What do you do for a living?
I lead scuba diving tours with the Aloha Lagoon Dive Shop. It is a dream job, for sure.
Greatest source of joy?
Diving. There is nothing like the feeling of being suspended under the waves, communing with sea life, the water washing away all worries.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
Dex and I go out to the local Tiki bar, the Lava Pot, where our friend, Casey, works. We also enjoy dinner at Sir Spamalots a lot more often than I like to admit. I never had Spam before moving here! (My mother would definitely not approve of this food choice.)
What keeps you awake at night?
I've had the misfortune of finding two murder victims and failing to save a third. The first was particularly disturbing, since his dead body was tethered to the sea floor. The image has been hard to forget and occasionally I'll dream about it or feel anxious I might see that again while diving.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Right now? We are supposed to be decorating one of the convention rooms at the Aloha Lagoon resort, transforming it into an underwater ballroom for the "Under the Sea" themed Spring Fling for the local youth and resort guests. Dex is having some issues focusing for some reason, but other than that and Ruby being here, it's coming together nicely.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
I'd like to have a house of our own, Dex and I. (Well, and Doyle and his dog, Scooby.) He's in an apartment that is really too small for him, let alone a Great Dane dog. I'd also love to have my best friend from college, Nelly, here with me. I have friends here, but I miss her!
Aloha Lagoon Mystery #21
From author Rosalie Spielman comes a killer new beach read!
It's springtime in Aloha Lagoon, Hawaii, and romance is in the air! Along with murderous intentions…
The dive shop where Kiki Hepburn works is sponsoring the first annual Aloha Lagoon Resort Spring Fling Dance, and naturally is in charge of the "Under The Sea" themed décor. In between hanging crepe paper jellyfish tentacles and paper maché honu, Kiki witnesses an argument between two men, and is unsurprised to see her old foe Ruby Nakasoma right in between them.
But what does surprise her is when, during the dance, Kiki and her boyfriend Dex find one of the men dead, with Ruby leaning over him holding a vicious looking murder weapon! Kiki thinks Ruby's true nature has finally caught up to her, but when Ruby makes a heartfelt appeal for help, Kiki starts looking for a murderer who may or may not be finished…
With Dex undercover and suspects as bountiful as springtime hormones, bike-riding delivery men, a tree-trimming cougar on the prowl, and a nose-booping jack-of-all-trades make their way under Kiki's magnifying glass. Will she find the murderer before they find another victim?
Mystery Amateur Sleuth | Mystery Cozy [Gemma Halliday Publishing, On Sale: April 16, 2024, e-Book, ISBN: 9798215283424 / ]
Rosalie Spielman is a mother, veteran, and retired military spouse. She was thrilled to discover that she could make other people laugh with her writing and finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world. She writes cozy mysteries for the multi-author Aloha Lagoon mystery series and her own Hometown Mystery series, both with Gemma Halliday Publishing.
She currently lives in Maryland with her husband in a rapidly emptying nest. For more information on her books or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to her website, follow her Facebook page (Rosalie Spielman author), or join her Facebook group. Rosalie strives to provide you a cozy escape...one page at a time.
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