Iced in Paradise

A Leilani Santiago Hawai'i Mystery #1

by Naomi Hirahara

Leilani Santiago is back in her birthplace, the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, to help keep afloat the family business, a shave ice shack. When she goes to work one morning, she stumbles across a dead body, a young pro surfer who was being coached by her estranged father. As her father soon becomes the No. 1 murder suspect, Leilani must find the real killer and somehow safeguard her ill mother, little sisters, and grandmother while also preserving a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend in Seattle.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Adult, Mystery Thriller, Family, Crime

216 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2019

About the author

Naomi Hirahara is the USA Today-bestselling and award-winning author of multiple mystery series, noir short stories, nonfiction history books and one middle-grade novel. Her Edgar Award-winning Mas Arai series features a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor. Her first historical mystery, CLARK AND DIVISION, which follows a Japanese American family from Manzanar to Chicago in 1944, won a Mary Higgins Clark Award in 2022. Her two other series star a young mixed race female LAPD bicycle cop, Ellie Rush, and a Filipina-Japanese American woman in Kaua'i, Lellani Santiago. She also has written a middle-grade book, 1001 CRANES. In 2025, the history book she co-wrote with Geraldine Knatz, TERMINAL ISLAND: LOST COMMUNITIES ON AMERICA'S EDGE, won a California Book Award gold medal. She, her husband and their rat terrier live happily in her birthplace of Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[dOnnabud · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former Kaua`i resident for nearly two decades, this was a fun read! The plot incorporates shave ice & surfing, murder & mayhem, aloha & `aina (land), liberally sprinkled with Hawaiian pidgin. It was maika`i (very good).

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leilani Santiago has returned from Seattle to the island of Kauai to help run her family’s shave ice shack. Unfortunately, that means dealing with family dynamics, including her estranged father. He’s returned now with Luke, his newest surfing protégé, for a local competition. The morning of the competition, Leilani finds Luke dead on the floor of the shave ice shack. With her father as the prime suspect, Leilani begins to investigate. Can she find the truth?

This book is written in first person present tense, which took a couple of chapters to get used to, but once I did, I had no trouble getting lost in the story. The mystery with strong with plenty of suspects, yet things make sense when Leilani finds the truth. Like other books Naomi Hirahara has written, family dynamics are also a strong storyline, and they weave in and out without taking over from the mystery. This helps us get to know the characters, and I grew to love them as I read. I did struggle with the Pigeon English the characters speak; at times it really slowed me down as I worked to translate what they were saying. But that was my only complaint. The book left me feeling like I’d visited Kauai but craving shave ice.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is its setting on Kauai, in particular when Leilani goes hiking with her boyfriend up Waimea Canyon. However, the structure of the book (like the title) is deplorable. Other than Leilani, the characters are just thrust in with little in the way of introduction. The plot does have some interesting threads, all of which are left hanging in the end. The solution to the murder mystery seems almost random. For an author who has produced a well- written police series, it seems strange that she portrays them in this book as cut-out caricatures.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iced in Paradise was an entertaining, cozy mystery set on the island of Kauai'i. I loved how immersive the book felt -- between the descriptions of the setting, the vibrant characters, and the use of Pidgin I really felt like I was somewhere else for a bit. The mystery at times felt like it took a back seat to interpersonal conflicts but maybe that's just typical of cozy mysteries. I would've loved a bit more to help wrap up the story since the ending was a bit abrupt. Overall, Iced in Paradise was a fun read and I would definitely read another Leilani Santiago mystery.

C/W:murder, infidelity, alcoholic parent

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am trying to decide if I have just gotten dense since I read my last mystery, or if Hirahara was struggling with her denouement--when to begin it and how to plot it out. When I finished the book last night, I felt that the identity of the perpetrator came abruptly and out of left field--that the murderer is the most peripheral of characters and the most trivial of clues were planted. But maybe I just missed what was offered up.

I also felt the resolution of the subplot with the long-distance boyfriend to be similarly sprung upon the reader. The relationship is pretty flat until it's not, and then it's loaded.

What Hirahana does do well here is develop nuanced family relationships, create a mood and a flavor of life on the island, and weave island politics into the story--all of which I found more interesting than the actual mystery.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This new series by an accomplished mystery writer hits all my happy buttons: Hawaii, surf culture, pidgin, shave ice, a complicated protagonist, and a solid mystery story. Yes, I'm the publisher, so yes, I'm biased, but I published this book for a reason: It's terrific.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the local flavor of this novel, but I found it a bit depressing. I might check out the next book in the series. 3.5 stars

[3 no 7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Iced in Paradise” is an interesting mystery set on the even more interesting Hawaiian island of Kaua‘I, a very little island with population close to 70,000 people, if you didn’t count the tourists. Leilani Santiago has returned to Kaua‘I to work in the family business “Santiago Shave Ice.” In a first person narrative, she shares her thoughts about Seattle and the things and people she left behind. She also talks about her love of home, her devotion to family, and the healing power of the sea.
The narrative is driven by conversations in the unique vernacular of the islands, a mash-up of Pidgin, Hawaiian, and Japanese. Characters use “code switching,” changing from one dialect or language to another, and there is a convenient “translation” index in the back of the book.
Readers get to know Leilani well by what she says to people and what people say to her. She also talks to herself, analyzes actions, and second guesses events. The narrative is casual and friendly, as if she is talking to a friend, and progresses at a slow but deliberate pace as things happen. She juggles her family, the police, real estate developers, a potential new boyfriend on Kaua‘I, and her old boyfriend from Seattle.
The narrative is also filled with interesting and vivid descriptions of the people and places.

“She comes out with her hair down and dripping with water, looking like an angry troll who just survived a drowning. Her blond, wavy hair is shaped like a tangle of dried seaweed.”

“As the uniformed officers descend on the beach, they remind me of black ants seeking their next piece of sustenance. My father, a juicy morsel.”

“Iced in Paradise” is quick to read and is filled with culture, beauty, and mystery. I received a review copy of “Iced in Paradise” from Naomi Hirahara and Prospect Park Books. It gives readers a tiny taste of culture and beauty along with a mystery.

[Sarah Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting story of a family in Hawaii, surfing, and murder.
This is a well written story about Leilani, a 20 something girl trying to help her family and figure out what to do with her life. Her father brings home a pro surfer guy with him when he’s finally back in town but the guy ends up dead on the floor of the family ‘Shave ice” shack. Her dad is of course the prime subject. As if this wasn’t trying enough the relationship she’s had with her dad has always been difficult and this just made it even harder.
Bring in land rights, cancer, love and jealousy and the story takes you all over Leilani’s beautiful home town island and makes you so hungry for Hawaiian food you could drool. I was ready to move there in a heart beat and work at the shave ice shack.
Interesting characters and not an obvious ending. There is a lot of surfer slang, local dialect as well as Japanese or Filipino words in the book only some of which is contained in the back glossary but the glossary but it’s woefully lacking.
Despite this, the book would make a nice cozy master summer read, though it will make you hungry at least for a snow cone (aka shave ice).

[Jamie Canaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hawai’i Mystery (TW addiction/ sick parent/ past stalking incident mentioned)

This was so good and I really hope there is a lot more to come. Leilani Santiago moves back to Hawai’i, after living in San Francisco for years, to help out her family. She’s working in their shave ice shack and mostly trying to figure out where she wants to be and what exactly she wants to be doing. The “what” gets answered for her when her dad, who she has a difficult relationship with, is accused of murdering the man found dead in their business. Of course she starts trying to figure out what happened, and not because she automatically thinks her dad is innocent, she isn’t so sure. This was such a a great mystery read that is filled with family, culture, food–and if you didn’t already want to go to Hawai’i you certainly will now. I think this one works really well for fans of cozy mysteries but also for those who shy away from cozy mysteries thinking they’re too slow.

--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leilani left her Seattle life, and boyfriend, behind, at least temporarily, when her mother was diagnosed with M.S. Let's face it--Dad is irresponsible and busy touring with his surf-board buddies, and Leilani is the oldest of the sisters. Someone has to help with the family shave ice business! But when Dad fights with his latest surfer protegee, and the young man is found murdered in the shave ice shack, Leilani has a bigger job: proving that her father is not a murderer. There's a new landlord for the small strip of businesses that includes Dad's surf shop and the shave ice shack, and he seems strangely attracted to Leilani. Then her mainland boyfriend comes to help her out, too. And she needs help, as the dead man's father is a major real estate developer who has his sights on an area of native land, and wants revenge for his son's death. I loved Hirahara's series about a Japanese-American gardener in California; this one hasn't quite won me over as yet.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The setting of Hawaii is wonderful because the author has done so much work to bring the authentic Hawaiian culture and language into the book. We hear about issues that the Hawaiian people face, like quiet titles.
Leilani is a wonderful character! She is very much herself and isn’t apologizing for it. She doesn’t always make the best decisions and isn’t always sure what she wants, but she is always trying to do the right thing. Her family, Sean, and the other people of Waimea are well drawn characters as well.
Leilani is focused on family, but still makes decisions about her live life. I appreciated the way the romance was written in this one.
The mystery is to interesting. I never would have guessed the solution, but the clues were definitely there. The other suspects were definitely suspicious. I liked the way it ended.
This was a great mystery!!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a unique story. It's very short and I was less invested in the mystery than I was about Leilani and her family/the culture of Hawai'i. It's written so authentically, I was surprised in the afterword when the author said she's not from Hawai'i herself.

The speaking pidgin is a bit odd to get used to, but there is a glossary in the back that helps if you can't figure it out from context (which, because I didn't know there was a glossary until I was almost finished with the book, I was able to do for the most part).

Leilani's dad is arrested because his protege, talented surfer Luke Hightower, has been killed in their shave ice shop. He didn't do it - he was at an AA meeting, she learns - so who did it? The girlfriend who was cheating on him? Another surfer? Turns out he was killed by Aunt Barbara, who thought Luke was Leilani's dad (they were both wearing the same Killer Wave shirt) and she was angry that he was telling Uncle Rick to leave her because she was drinking and Rick was trying to sober up. It was ultimately an accident. There are a couple other red herrings like Luke's dad is trying to buy up native land on the DL.

I would certainly read more books in the series if it continues (there's currently one more published).

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kauai Ohana

I’m from Kapaa, Kauai. Naomi’s knowledge of aloha and Malama and shave ice shows in her writing. And it’s a mystery, too! Can’t wait for the 2nd Leilani Santiago mystery to come out.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really like stories with a lot of family drama, and there seems to be a lot here.

[Michael N · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not make it past Chapter 3. This book was utterly unreadable. The title sounded catchy (corny), so I decided to check it out for some light entertainment. The book excelled at putting me to sleep each night.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't fully jumped into cozy mysteries the way some readers have, but I wasn't going to miss Naomi Hirahara's ICED IN PARADISE.

Set on Kaua'i, it features a Filipino-Japanese protagonist who comes home to Kaua'i after going to UW on the Mainland. The big draw for me was that it takes readers to the real Hawaii, away from the resorts. And if you read closely, you can ID a spot or two from real life.

Just as with her Mas Arai mysteries, Hirahara creates vivid characters that are so familiar they seem real. Where ICED IN PARADISE shines is in the family dynamics, the sprinkling in of Japanese and Hawaiian vocab, and the battle for Native Hawaiians to hold onto their ancestral lands. The mystery unfolds in an almost matter of fact way, so don't go in expecting twisty turny suspense. I'll definitely be back for more, and in the meantime, I'll be dreaming up some fanfic for Leilani and Sean.

[Stephen Topp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Harder Challenge number 3: A mystery where the victim is not a woman.

So, this ticks the 'read harder' box. Although so does Murder on the Orient Express. Or A Study in Scarlet. While victims in mysteries are more likely to be women than men (and female victims are typically sexualised, where men are not), it's certainly not a trope and anybody who likes mystery novels has read plenty of these.

So this book ... isn't really a mystery novel, despite what it says in the title. It's a novel that includes a murder mystery. Really it's a look at a young women who has recently returned home to Hawaii from the mainland (Seattle), and is struggling with family dynamics and her sense of identity.

And it's good. But also a bit of a letdown, as I was really hoping that it would become a murder mystery at some point.

[Jennifer Chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hirahara pens an excellent ice-cold murder mystery in Iced in Paradise, her first book in the new Leilani Santiago series. As always, Hirahara does an excellent job of infusing interesting historical and contemporary details into her story. I particularly like the insider’s perspective on living in the Islands as opposed to the typical Mainlander view. All the characters in the novel are strong and unique. Leilani, the protagonist, is very feisty and definitely not a pliable young woman, but I like her bravery and tenacity in searching for the brutal truth. I also appreciated how she didn’t have life figured out already and had realistic dilemmas revolving around romantic relationships, job choices, and even family ties.

A great start to a new unique mystery series; a literary treat as delicious as a bowl of cool shave ice.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to preface this by saying I read this on my kindle. I became frustrated by the pidgin. I didn’t know what anything meant at first, then I just kept reading and began to figure it out contextually. To my surprise, at the end of the book was a glossary of Hawaiian Pidgin terms. So I will say, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more had I known the glossary was there. That is due to no fault of the author. The kindle version does not show a glossary on the chapter list. After I got used to the lingo, it turned out to be a good book. I liked the characters and the setting. I liked learning about another culture in a non pedantic way. I will definitely follow this series as it progresses. I look forward to seeing what happens next in the Santiago family.

[Carolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to the next book in the series! The characters were a little uneven, either not very fleshed or or inconsistent, in the case of the main character, in terms of levels of suspicion. Sometimes she seems savvy, and sometimes skips over an obvious flag. That's either a more realistic/human character or inconsistent writing. More differentiation among the sisters and the friends would also help. Either way, this was entertaining and colorful. I can't wait to see the Santiago family again!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some aspects of this book gave me great pleasure. It is set in Kauai, a place I am very fond of, and the local references are very pleasing. (Even those to the difficult traffic bring a smile.) And it's portrayal of multicultural Hawai'i is quite interesting. (I'm trusting the author did her research. She did not grow up and does not live in Hawai'i.) But the mystery isn't great. Some things (a subplot about a surfboard gone missing) seem tacked on and poorly developed, and I didn't find the mystery terribly compelling.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering I read this in a single flight, it was fine. It just wasn’t anything spectacular. Honestly, I know I wouldn’t have stuck with it had I not been trapped on a flight reading it, but it was a mini mental vaca I suppose.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this - written in dialect with good descriptive details ( though not accurate in a “travel guide “ manner). Love to read another by this author.

[Alyssa Vea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I cannot even put into words how much I loved this book. The fact that it was set on my side (west side is the best side) of my home island (Kauaʻi

[Linda 😊 Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about this book: solidly written scenes of the breakup of Leilani's long time relationship. This is a scenario I don't see written much in fiction, although it must be happening every day and it's a hard thing to go through, whether you're the one dumping or the one being dumped. Kudos! I liked being transported to Kauaʻi. I also liked the menagerie of supporting characters. What I didn't like about this book was the VERY speedy introduction to the large menagerie of supporting characters. There are eighteen (I counted!*) named characters who have been introduced in the first two chapters (35 pages). On page 35 when Leilani literally stumbles over the murder victimʻs body, Leilani cries out the name of one of these and for the life of me, I couldn't recall who "Sammie" was. I had to go back and re-read chapters 1 and 2 LOL. The mystery itself is no Agatha Christie but I might pick up later books in the series to see what happens with Leilani's family and friends and the other regular characters.

*18 = Leilani our amateur sleuth; her dad Tommy and her mom (I could swear her mom had a name, Karen maybe? but after flipping back through the book, I couldn't find her being called anything but "Mom" and "Auntie"); her three sisters Emily, Sophie and Dani; her grandma Annabelle AKA "Baachan"; her "second dad" Darrell AKA "D-Man"; her boyfriend Travis; her best friend Court; Courtʻs fiance (and Leilani's ex) Kelly; Kelly's brother (who has an uncommon Hawaiʻian name which I have forgotten already); Big Wave Surfers Luke, Celia, Rex and Nori; taxi driver Mama Liu; part-time employee at the family business Sammie; and finally Leilani's foil, local police officer Sargent Toma. (Wait, isn't that actually 19? I keep losing count.) Oh and there's more than one description of beloved departed Grandpop Santiago, and glimpses of two characters who are named and filled out in later chapters: a "giant wahine" and a creepy haole with a serial-killer style white van. That's just the first 35 pages! There are more characters as we go along, some whom look like they'll be recurring (the reporter, that other police officer Andy, Uncle Rick, and hopefully the antiques dealer!) and some which may be specific to the current book.

[Tbfrank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naiomi Harahira with the introduction of Leilani Santiago, a mid-twenties woman of Japanese, Filipino, and haole heritage, has allowed her former protagonist Mas Arai, the 70-something semi-retired gardener to move into full retirement. The author has also shifted the locale from Southern California to the island of Kauai'. Though 50 or so years separate the two characters in age, they share similar attributes - dogged persistence, an attachment to family, and a knack for landing in trouble. Where Mas prefers to stay out of the limelight and bide his peace - mostly - Leilani tends to act and speak as the moment takes her.

Leilani has dropped out of the University of Washington in Seattle and returned to help her family run their shave ice shop in Waimea. Her mother, who has  been diagnosed with MS, elderly grandmother, and 2 of her 3 sisters handle the business while her father, a semi-professional surfer, works to promote his surf-shop and pro-sponsorship under the name Killer Wave.

Leilani's father shows up one afternoon with a young surfer in tow who he plans to sponsor in an up-coming race. Twenty-four hours later, Leilani finds the boy on the floor of the shave ice shop, dead from a blow to the head and her father the chief suspect.

As a mystery, the novel is better constructed than the previous series, and while strong on establishing the island setting, issues important to native Hawaiians, and Hawaiian culture, overall it is less nuanced than the earlier novels and seems to be written more for fun than art, particularly the extended use of pidgin english. 

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looked forward to curling up with this book. So much fun to revisit Kauai and see it through the eyes of a local. I lived there when there were only 35,000 people and few “no trespassing” signs. In this rendering there are 70,000 locals finding it hard to survive and traffic jams. The protagonist like many Hawaiians is multi-cultural. She is torn between living on the mainland in Seattle and returning to her roots on Kauai. There is a mystery here, but I have to say I found the motive for murder a bit weak. No matter, I loved hanging with the locals, visiting places that have changed so much since my time in the Islands. Thank you to Naomi Hirahara for this authentic rendering of Kauai today with some interesting plot twists for good measure.Wai-nani: A Voice from Old Hawaii

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leilani Santiago has returned home to Kaua'i, to assist with the family's shave ice stand in the wake of her mother's MS diagnosis. Her father is an aging surfer, now hawking a surf based clothing line and mentoring other young surfers on the circuit. When star surfer Luke's arrival to the small island quickly turns into murder, Leilani, headstrong and with strong family ties, wants to help her father out, as he is the number one suspect This was a well paced mystery. The setting was described very beautifully, I have never been to Hawaii, but feel I know a bit more about Kaua'i, land rights and a lot of good food. Hirahara details many of the pidgin/Hawaiian/Japanese words used in the story at the back in a glossary. I wish I had noticed it earlier, but it didn't take long to get into the rhythm of the dialect.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leilani "Lei" Santiago is the oldest of four daughters in the Santiago family. They run a shave ice place in Kaua'i, in a little strip mall. Dad is Japanese/Filipino and big on surfing, Mom is Caucasian, Bachan (Grandma) is Japanese, next oldest sister is a law student in California, two youngest sisters are still in school. Her best friend Courtney makes leis and is engaged to Lei's ex-boyfriend.

A touring surfer is found dead in the shave ice place. A wealthy businessman is trying to buy up property owned by Hawaiian natives. Lei's long distance boyfriend from her old California job shows up to "support her". Some new guy bought the strip mall where the shave ice and surf shop is located. Oh, he's also a Nazi hunter.

There's a lot of pidgin English thrown around, kind of amusing to read/hear, given cousins who grew up in Hawaii....