Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder, Local Style (An Orchid Isle Mystery) by Leslie Karst. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Murder, Local Style (An Orchid Isle Mystery)
by Leslie Karst
Murder, Local Style (An Orchid Isle Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Hawaii
Publisher : Severn House
Publication date : April 7, 2026
Print length : 240 pages
Retired caterer Valerie Corbin investigates a suspicious poisoning in this Orchid Isle cozy culinary mystery, featuring a feisty queer couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions in tropical Hilo, Hawai‘i.
A dinner to die for!
It’s been an eventful transition, but retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen are finally settling into life on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Val’s even joined the neighborhood orchid society to make some new friends. So when she’s asked to step in to cater their latest social event, as the newbie of the group she can’t exactly say no.
But what should have been a straightforward gig is soon a dining disaster when the food from the event poisons and kills the society president. As Val herself becomes a suspect in the murder investigation, she’s determined to uncover the truth. Who would want to kill the mild-mannered president of the orchid society?
Turns out the list is longer than a celebrity chef’s tasting menu. Apparently some of the residents did not “love thy neighbor.” Can she reveal the killer’s identity before they strike again?
This mouthwatering cozy mystery is perfect for fans of Ellen Byron, Jennifer J Chow, Lucy Burdette, and Raquel V Reyes, and includes a selection of delicious Hawaiian recipes to cook at home.
Guest Post from Leslie Karst: Why “Local Style”?
I started living half time on the the Big Island eighteen years ago, and it didn’t take long to realize I had to set a mystery series here: I needed to share this wondrous place with people who’d never had the opportunity to visit my beloved “Orchid Isle,” and with those who had been, but would love to return via armchair traveling.
I wanted to show readers the black sand beaches dotted with dozing sea turtles, the coco palms swaying in the gentle trade winds, and the psychedelic tropical fish swimming through the coral reefs. And I wanted to show them the active volcanoes, whose presence has shaped not only the island’s geology, flora, and fauna, but also the culture of all those who have ever come to its shores: from the intrepid Polynesians who made the long voyage from the South Pacific to the archipelago by outrigger canoe some eight hundred years ago, to the current residents who know that at any moment the land can tremble and shake and molten lava can spew from the depths of the earth and come rushing down the mountain towards their home.
How I came up with the idea—and title—for this newest book in the series, Murder, Local Style, is deeply connected to the inspiration for the Orchid Isle mystery series as a whole. Because in setting a series on Hawai‘i Island, my biggest desire, in addition to of course crafting a compelling mystery story, was to bring to readers a picture of what the place is truly like—not for tourists, but for those who actually live here.
“Local style” is a phrase commonly heard in Hawai‘i, and means something that is typical of the way people do things in the islands. Kicking off your shoes or rubber slippahs and leaving them scattered about the front porch, eating Spam musubi for breakfast, and throwing the “shaka” (pinkie and thumb extended) to say “thank you” or “hey!”—these are all examples of local style.
As is always bringing a dish to share when you’re invited to any event involving food—even when it’s not a potluck. Or greeting an older woman as you pass on the sidewalk with a smile and a “Hello, Aunty!”
“Local style” is a phrase that signifies casual comfort, respecting local tradition, and most of all, the aloha culture.
This third book in my Orchid Isle mystery series is set in Valerie and Kristen’s neighborhood in Hilo, and concerns the relationships between the people who live there (and disputes among them as well, because this is, after all, a murder mystery). And over the course of the story, the newcomers Valerie and Kristen become more aware of their being outsiders, haole who have moved into a neighborhood whose history goes back almost ninety years.
But at the same time, the two begin to truly understand what it means to be a part of this close-knit community. How the neighbors are there for each other in times of need, how they share a common desire to keep their yards manicured and their streets safe, and how in the end, the aloha spirit always wins out.
Murder, Local Style thus seemed the perfect title for the story.
Thank you so much for sharing! I’m ready to visit and kick off my shoes!
About Leslie Karst
Leslie Karst is the Lefty and Macavity Award-nominated author of the Orchid Isle mysteries Waters of Destruction and Molten Death, of the Sally Solari mystery series, and of the IBPA Ben Franklin and IPPY award silver medal-winning memoir, 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, then returned to school to study the culinary arts. Now retired from the law, Leslie splits her time between Hilo, Hawai‘i and Santa Cruz, California, spending her days writing, cooking, cycling, gardening, and observing cocktail hour promptly at five o’clock.
Author Links
Website http://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/
Chicks on the Case https://chicksonthecase.com/
Mystery Lovers Kitchen https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lesliekarstauthor/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesliekarst/
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/leslie-karst
GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14220589.Leslie_Karst
Purchase Links
Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop
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Murder Local Style TOUR PARTICIPANTS
March 30 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
March 30 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
March 31 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – RECIPE
April 1 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
April 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
April 2 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
April 2 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 3 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 3 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 4 – Because I said so – REVIEW
April 5 – Elizabeth McKenna – Blog – SPOTLIGHT
April 6 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
April 7 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
April 8 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
April 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
April 9 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT
April 10 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
April 11 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
April 11 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
April 12 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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