Thank you to NetGalley and Snoke Valley Books for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Good mystery. Beautiful scenery. Well-done struggle. Happy ending. Enjoyable read. Although the writing did suffer from an overabundance of similes.

I really appreciated the local words used throughout the book. That made the story more authentic to the Hawaiian culture.

I haven't read many Thrillers about off-grid camping so extra points for a unique tale.

With the high action to begin the story, I was expecting a calmer approach once they flashed back to the past, but it was very slow, too slow for my liking in a Thriller. The dual timeline was fine except the actions that occurred in both timelines seemed off and didn't make sense at times. Why people would react or take actions in certain aspects or how they responded to conversations or other actions seemed unbelievable many times. This included both the MC, the side characters on the island as well as the Detective.

Overall, the idea of the story was appealing but I really had to suspend my disbelief for this Thriller (almost like I would in a fantasy novel) which I don't normally have to do for this genre.

The overall concept was unique. Perhaps Mystery instead of Thriller genre classification would have set up my expectations better.

I loved that this book was told from two different time periods, when Malia was in Kalalau and when she was giving her statement at the police station. It gives the reader an idea of what Malia had been through without giving away what happened at the end of the book. As a reader, you knew that Inoke had died, but had no idea why or how. I found Jordan's backstory with his wife to be kind of boring though, and I ended up skipping a good amount of what they would talk about. I think a lot of the action happened all at once and did not give the reader a chance to breathe before something else happened. The beginning seemed to drag on, and while the information was important, it could have been condensed a bit. The dialogue was definitely more interesting than the narration. I was not expecting this to be about a murder, but when I go into books, I have no idea what to expect. it was nice to see Malia grow up and learn more about herself throughout her journey. She 100% was my favorite character.

Still reeling from her mother’s death, Malia refuses to spend the summer before college walking on eggshells around her overbearing father. So, hoping to reconnect with her mother's spirit, Malia flees to the remote Kalalau Valley of Kauaʻi, where she was conceived. But when two people end up dead, her adventure in paradise becomes a battle for survival.

Shadows of kakalalau by Doug Walsh.
From the footsteps of the past, Malia must blaze her own future…
Still reeling from her mother’s death, Malia refuses to spend the summer before college walking on eggshells around her overbearing father. So, hoping to reconnect with her mother's spirit, Malia flees to the remote Kalalau Valley of Kauaʻi, where she was conceived. But when two people end up dead, her adventure in paradise becomes a battle for survival.
A slow but OK read. Read this in a week as I found it slow. 3*.

Thanks to Snoke Valley Books and netgalley for this book.

This was a dark and gritty thrill ride. It had a bit of a slow start, but things picked up always keeping me guessing. This isn't my usual read, but the Hawaiian setting caught my attention. It took me a little bit to get hooked but the plot flowed well and had enough suspense and action moments to keep me reading. Lots of in depth characters that had flaws and felt like a real human.

Hawaii isn't the perfect paradise that people believe. After her mother's death, Malia runs away from home to escape her overbearing father. But the rainbow sheen of her adventure quickly darkens when two people are found dead. Malia falls in with a group of homeless squatters living in a tent city and they become her new family. But when a stranger arrives, things change quickly. Malia finds herself at odds with the police and a murderer.

There were plenty of twists and turns. It is a coming-of-age tale but not meant for teenage readers. Definitely enjoyable for a book out of my normal comfort zone.

Three and a half stars.

This was a good dark and eerie thriller that kept me guessing till the end! Recently I've found it hard for thrillers to keep my attention but this one certainly did. I really enjoyed how all of the characters were developed and had a good depth to them which made me more invested in the book. I'll be interested to see other things this author writes!

Thank you to NetGalley and SnokeValley books for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

It was raw, gritty and dark. It had a very eerie vibe and the first chapter alone is enough to get you hooked. The characters are three dimensional and have the depth that is very rare in thrillers. The plot is interesting and has a lot of intricate details. The book is well written and the pace is also consistent. Overall, a great read and much recommended.

I actually really enjoyed this. My thing with a lot of thrillers a lot of times is...will I enjoy it? Will the twist be obvious? Will I see things coming and will that hinder my enjoyment? That had nothing of the sort and I genuinely enjoyed the characters and loved the plot twists even more. I’ll definitely keep a watch out for this authors work in the near future of course!

I enjoyed this book very much. The characters and story line were great. I only guessed one twist in the story. I didn't see the others coming. If you enjoy thrillers this one is for you.

I enjoyed this book and it was more emotive than I expected it to be. It had twists, suspense and a rawness that I loved.