The Last Smythe

A Lahaina Mystery #1

by Barbara E. Sharp

Using logs, journals, depositions and personal letters from 1844, four diverse friends who live in Maui begin to solve their first Lahaina Mystery. Their methods are often bumbling and unorthodox, but nevertheless quite successful - the amateur sleuths hunt down a multiple murderer. In the process, they discover the amazing story of the Smythe family's ties to Hawaii and their well kept secret.

Genres: Mystery

206 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Barbara Sharp was born and raised in Washington State. She attended the University of Washington, then married and raised three children. After they were grown and on their own, she moved to Maui, spending ten years as Research Director at The Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

Reviews

[Kate McLachlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a charming book! I picked it up in Lahaina when we were there on vacation. I had to stand in the museum gift shop and read the first chapter before I would buy it. (C'mon, buying an unknown local author just because of the location? I don't think so.) But the first chapter charmed me, so I bought it. It charmed me all the way home on the plane, and then it charmed my wife. Okay, I'm overusing charming, but it really is a charming book! The mystery was simple, and probably could have been better. (I was sure the ultimate mystery had to do with Smythe's Hawaiian ancestors not wanting him to inherit Maui or something. Didn't happen.) There were some serious editing problems. One sentence stopped right in the

yeah, that's right, it trialed off right it the middle, but unlike this review, it never picked it up again!

It turned out, it just didn't matter. The characters are so likeable and real, and the island is so fun to visit again in our dreams, that we just ordered the next two books. The series kind of reminds of an old mystery series I used to read by a guy named Lockridge. He and his wife lived in New York and were always drinking martinis and living the good life, but then they'd encounter a murder. Here, it's similar, but the good life is in Lahaina. Charming.

[C A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is review is technically about the entire series.

This is a great series if you are heading to Maui, missing Maui (me), want to know a little bit about Maui & Hawaiian history (and the history of other places but spoilers) or a combination of the three. The series isn't deep & there are times where it's a bit contrived as to how these people get themselves into the situations they do. But, the more you read, the more you care about these characters & you can't help but keep reading. Ms Sharp also adds in nice little chucks of history so you end up getting a bit of history lesson mostly without you noticing.

I personally read it because I was missing Maui and reading this series shortly after the horrible fire that ripped through Lahaina, it was nice, sad and oddly comforting that I recognized the places, knew they were gone (in most cases) & at the same time knew that these places would live on not just in my memory & that of 1000s of visitors and residents but also in these books.

Next time that I'm missing Maui, I will open up my kindle & curl up with Helen, Ben, Justin, Nacho & the rest of the crew.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, what to say about this? The writing itself was a little amateurish. Sometimes I read a book like this, and then subsequent books, and you can see the author grow (but I'm not sure where I'd pick up subsequent books), but at the moment of this first book hallmarks of predictable characters and awkward expository dialogue are included.

On the other hand, I did enjoy reading about Lahaina (the town in which i picked up the book, on a whim) because I always like reading about a strong setting. I also thought it was interesting that the story continued for quite a while after the mystery was solved, and, as usual, I do want to find out what happens next to the characters.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very interesting reading about a place that I've actually visited. Hearing about some of it's history and the area surrounding the city was quite interesting. The Story was pretty good, bit far-fetched to think that you could figure all that out,
but I enjoyed it

[Markus Urstoeger · Rating 2 out of 5]

As many other readers, I got this book at the Lahaina Visitor Center. It's an entertaining short mystery and travelogue, if you recently visited Maui or if you are about to visit Maui for the first time. Don't bother if you lack the Maui connection.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I purchased these at the Museum gift shop in Lahaina. they are fun to read became of the locale. The writing is sometimes confusing but the stories are sweet.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have ever been to Lahaina, enjoy history and a good mystery, you will find this story to be delightful. It is even better if you read it while vacationing in Maui.