Wow I love exotic locations for a mystery!
Years ago when I read a book with an exotic location, I would often get up and go. With traveling the way that it is these days, I prefer to sit in my favorite reading chair or down by the pool and let an author whisk me away.
And in the case, of John Entright’s Pago Pago Tango, he really does. Book #1 in the Jungle Beat series immerses readers in a new culture and a beautiful location.
For most people American Samoa is completely unknown, but as they will discover, it’s an island of incredible beauty with jungles and rainforests. It is located 2,500 miles from Hawaii.
Pago Pago is the capital. (It is pronounced PAH-n-GO PAH-n-GO). I was mispronouncing it and rhymed it with tango–but that’s wrong.)
In this first book we meet Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua, who was a cop in San Francisco and is now back in his native Samoa. But it’s changed since he was a kid.
For his wife and kids it is also a big cultural shock and one that creates some challenges that need to be overcome.
After twelve years as an SF policeman, Apelu is reminded that Samoan culture still has a strong pull on the natives and that the police force is not always welcome.
This is a richly rewarding series that explores the culture of Samoa and the people who still maintain their traditions.
In an interesting twist, this series is being released so that you can binge read it:
Pago Pago Tango: July 11th, 2023
Fire Knife Dancing: August 8th, 2023
The Dead Don’t Dance: September 9th 2023
Blood Jungle Ballet: October 10th, 2023
I really like this because you can really immerse yourself in the the location and in the characters.
About the book:
The city of Tafuna may be located on a tropical paradise, but it’s no stranger to crime. Just like anywhere else in the world, it has its fair share of murder, drugs, and robbery. Which makes Apelu Soifua the perfect man for his job. Or is he? Or do some people resent him?
Following up on a routine burglary call, Apelu heads to the palangi, or Caucasian, neighborhood. The victim, a VP at SeaKing Tuna—the largest employer on the island—reports only a few items missing. But a fatal shooting at a nightclub a few days later points Apelu to the executive’s hard-partying daughter. With some help from local reporter Lupe, Apelu chases a wave of violence that stems from the burglary—and seeks out what really went missing. The investigation puts Apelu in over his head and is about to be dragged under
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Praise for Jungle Beat series...
“Perfect for any armchair traveling mystery lover. Enright’s descriptions of the Samoan landscape—where the frigate birds are as much a part of the sky as the clouds—are vivid and poetic.” —Kittling: Books
“Enright meticulously interweaves the experience and landscapes of Samoa’s mountains, rain forests and jungles that he knows so well.” —Providence Journal
