It was a dark and stormy day, early in 2016, when 10 strangers, all mystery writers, met for the first time.
It was a dark and stormy day, early in 2016, when 10 strangers, all mystery writers, met for the first time.
Rain sheeted down the windows at the Hilo Yacht Club as the writers, plus Christine Reed, owner of Basically Books, sat together for lunch and began to introduce themselves. Their purpose was to form a club to trade ideas and publishing strategies but, first, they joked about a plot for the very luncheon in which they were participating — who would get bumped off, and how?
Spoiler alert: Everyone survived.
At their second meeting, the group adopted the name MAHI (Mystery Authors of Hawaii Island). Members must live, at least part time, on the Big Island and must have published mystery books. A few members have been added since the group’s founding but, so far, there have been no sinister disappearances
“I was surprised by how many of us there are,” said Jane Hoff, one of the founding members. “It’s really great to find a tribe of writers to share with because, by nature, our business is pretty solitary.”
The diverse group includes attorneys, a musician, doctor, nurse, psychologist, forensic anthropologist, university professors and a librarian. Some write under noms de plume and their works, available locally and online, include:
• “The Case of the Defunct Adjunct” by Frankie Bow.
• “Bones of Paradise” by Jane Lasswell Hoff.
• “Daughters of Fire” by Tom Peek.
• “Death of a Messenger” by Robert McCaw.
• “Dying for a Taste” by Leslie Karst.
• “The Ross Duncan” series by Christopher Bartley.
• “Story of the Coco Palms Hotel” by David Penhallow Scott.
• “Too Dead to Swing” by Hal Glatzer.
For more information, Glatzer at hal@halglatzer.com.