Fire Beach

(Paradise Crime Mysteries, Book 8)

By: Toby Neal

Narrated by: Sara Malia Hatfield

Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hawaii is cane fires, lush jungles, and feuds that won't die until everyone's dead. Detective Lei Texeira stalks the shroud killer on her own terms as Michael Stevens finds himself engulfed in the flames of a case with tangled consequences. In this eighth of the best-selling Lei Crime Series, Lei and Stevens find out just how far hate and love will go.

©2014 Toby Neal (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Toby Neal's Lei Crime Series is a wonderful achievement in consistency and style, introducing us to a rich landscape filled with memorable characters. Eight books in, I'm already anxiously waiting for number nine!" [Detective (ret.) David Swinson, author of A Detailed Man]

Listened to it TWICE!

I love listening to Sara Malia Hatfield narrate the Lei Crime Series by Toby Neal who depicts the Hawaiian islands with such beautiful insight as only a lifelong resident can. Sara enhances the experience with the perfect enunciation of the Hawaiian names & places as well as local pidgin. I am still in awe of her ability to give distinctive voices to so many characters, male and female.

The plot of FIRE BEACH is another gut-twisting adventure with police detective Lei Texeira and her husband, Detective Michael Stevens. The threats against their lives never end as they try to start their lives over again in a new home with a baby from Stevens' previous marriage and Lei's father, now their live-in nanny.

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that FIRE BEACH was so good I had to listen to it a second time.

Can't Stop Reading

Although there are times when I question why Lei is even in law enforcement with all of her obvious "issues" and insecurities, I just can't stop reading this series! I love the backdrop of Hawaii, which adds more interest to the story. Sara Malia Hatfield does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life!

Heart wrenching

This story not only gets you into a complex mystery as all the Lei Crime stories do, but it is also a story about the strength of a relationship, what a couple can endure, and how much trust they have in one another.

What I really liked about this story is that you get a glimpse into the mind of the criminal, much more than in prior stories. Also, you have two investigations going on - one with Lei and the other with Michael. Quite the ride!

As always, Sara is a phenomenal narrator. I listed to a lot of audiobooks, and she is by far my favorite narrator!

Author forgot to include an actual crime storyline

This is easily my least favourite of the series so far. The other books all had a crime storyline, with the personal story as well – this book switches over completely to personal… so much for a ‘police procedural’. At this point, this is a prime example of how *not* to be a police officer.

After the marriage and the announcement that Lei is pregnant, I was worried the story might get overly focused on the baby, or too emotional… I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, I wish that was how this went.

Lei makes a series of appalling decisions which lead to personal tragedy and it’s near impossible to be sympathetic at all, since said tragedy is a direct result of a long series of Lei’s own actions. This entire book reads like a psychological examination of Lei’s psyche and it is not pretty.

Then there’s the increasingly unhealthy marriage with Michael – I expected a train wreck, what I didn’t expect was how Lei, while four months pregnant, continues as if absolutely nothing has changed. She puts herself and the baby in very dangerous situations so many times that I began to wonder if she was actually trying to get rid of the baby! E.g. climbing a tree, lying on her stomach… with a sniper rifle; and walking up to a car with an unknown number of suspects inside that even SWAT refused to approach. We knew Lei was reckless but this takes it to whole new levels.

Then there’s poor Michael. I’ll admit, I am becoming increasingly disturbed by their relationship – it’s seriously bordering on toxic at this point. Michael, despite being treated appallingly by Lei for multiple years at this point, is so obsessed with Lei that he couldn’t walk away from her, despite it being blatantly in his best interests to do so. She will actually be the death of him… literally.

From Lei’s point of view, she literally just cuts Michael out of her life when she knows he’ll get in her way, proceeding to outright scheme and deceive everyone involved, and then has the absolute audacity to act wounded when Michael checks her dubious story and shocker, it’s a total lie! Lei has gone from a character I liked and empathised with to one I am starting to really dislike. Michael seriously needs to divorce her and move to the other side of the country to get away from her. Problem is, he’s so deeply invested at this point and too honourable to walk out on his wife, even if he really should.

It shouldn’t come as a shock that Lei ends up being seriously investigated by Internal Affairs by the end. I’m shocked she hasn’t been fired yet. The author has gotten so carried away with Lei’s drama that she’s dropped realism completely, this book doesn’t even have a separate crime storyline.

The reader does her usual excellent job of accents and immersion, she’s the only reason I’m still invested.

Lei’s the actual definition of a loose cannon and an embarrassment as a police officer. This series has gone in such a weird direction – from a respectable policewoman to a rogue cop who is a danger to everyone around her (and inside her). I’ve no idea where the author is trying to go with this. It’s gone from being a crime series to being completely focused on the terrible life choices of an incredibly selfish, dangerously unstable woman who also happens to be a cop. Really not enjoying this detour into Lei’s personal vendetta – I own the next book in the series, I will read that and if there’s not a return to the crime component, I’m done with this series.

Cops, firestarter and babies

Lots of action and cases to solve by a couple of cops who are in love.

Awesome!

Narrator was great and it was another great book in series Can't wait to read nex5 one.