Blood Jungle Ballet

Book excerpt: Det. Sgt. Apelu Soifua faces a crime tsunami in the fourth tropical mystery set on American Samoa from the author of The Dead Don’t Dance. There have been many changes in Apelu Soifua’s life, but his job in the criminal investigation division has been the one constant. For years, a series of killings on the island has baffled him, starting with the murder of a cross-dresser, whose body was found with a cross carved into the chest. Four more men fall—different races, different classes, different deaths. Not all marked with the religious symbol, but somehow all connected. Apelu is sure of it. With the help of new medical examiner Dr. Laura Alomar, Apelu follows his instincts into what will be the most complicated and twisted case of his career. An open grave on a widow’s lush plantation signals the end of Apelu’s tolerance for his violent job and the collateral damage it inflicts on his friends and loved ones. In a literal paradise on earth, the monsters come like a devil in disguise . . . “A very rich and textured mystery . . . Blood Jungle Ballet and all the rest of John Enright’s Jungle Beat mysteries are perfect blends of setting, character and story. They’re just the thing for anyone who loves traveling the world solving crime from his comfy armchair.” —Kittling: Books