Primitive Secrets

Praise for Primitive Secrets...Vividly described settings-from Honolulu's Chinatown to the spectacular scenery of the Big Island-will entrance readers of this fast-paced debut, which effectively contrasts modern Hawaii with the lore of its past. -BooklistOne beautiful Hawaiian morning Storm Kayama walks into her lucrative Honolulu law office to find her adopted uncle, Miles Hamasaki, at his desk, stiff and cold. Years before, Miles had fulfilled a promise to Storm's father to raise Storm with his own family. But now questions emerge about Hamasaki's death and her adopted family, and Storm's suspicions rise.Heading to the Big Island for a weekend away from escalating pressures, Storm narrowly escapes a terrible accident. Later, with her aunt Maile, a traditional Hawaiian healer, and Keone, a paniolo on the huge Parker Ranch, Storm encounters a legend from her youth and a family totem, or 'aumakua, which they say will protect her. Or will it? As Storm struggles to heal wounds from her childhood and bring justice to Hamasaki's killer, she also must come to grips with rifts in her life and culture.Deborah Atkinson's novels weave the legends and folklore of the Hawaiian Islands into suspenseful mysteries, a perspective the tour books never show. Atkinson lives in Honolulu, and is active in Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She is a recipient of the University of Hawaii's Meryl Clark Award for Fiction.www.deborahatkinson.com