definitely liking Maxie and Stretch. In this book, Maxie goes home to Alaska after some scary times in the first two books. She goes home only to get a call from an old friend. The friend, Karen, has a broken arm and leg and is trying to pack up her home in Hawaii after the death of her husband and move back to Alaska. Karen is the type to take the easy road and find someone else to make decision for her and take the responsibility. She says with Karen and starts to get her ready to leave. An attempt is made to break in the house. Karen seems to be hiding something. Maxie makes friends with a young man who says he used to live in Fairbanks and was forced to move with his stepfather, but he desperately wants to move back. She convinces him to help her pack up Karen's house and she will help him go home to Alaska. There are more mysterious things going on and in the end, Maxie and the young man are on the run from a group of mysterious men whose purpose is still unknown. No one dies in this book. This turns out to be a gang preying on people in trouble and forcing the turnover of homes and land.

Soon after returning to her home in Homer, Alaska, Maxie McNabb recieves a phone call from a casual friend, Karen, who had recently moved to Hawaii. Karen's husband had recently died but Karen wanted to fulfill his lifelong dream to build a house in Hawaii. Moving everything she owned from Alaska to Hawaii, Karen soon realized that she didn't want to relocate after all and makes plans to return to the North. After she suffers a fall, breaking an ankle and an arm, she calls Maxie begging her to come to Hawaii to help pack up Karen's apartment. Maxie flies to the rescue but soon realizes that there is something dangerous afoot in Hawaii. Several attempted break-ins, a sabotaged sewer system, and a feeling of always being watched has put both women on edge. Maxie sends Karen back to Alaska early so that she can accomplish the packing without having to take after a needy patient at the same time. Maxie befriends the young plumber's helper, Jerry, who came to fix the sewer system and hires him to help her with the move and to be a tour guide around the island. Sinister men seem to follow Maxie and Jerry wherever they go and when Jerry is kidnapped Maxie fears for his life. The ransom demand is for "the deed and the money" but Maxie has no idea what they are asking for.

These Maxie and Stretch mysteries are a pleasant enough way to pass the time this one annoyed me a bit. While I generally consider myself a nice person I don't think I would hop on a plane for a casual acquaintance to help with a monumental task of moving an entire household nor would I put up with said "friend" being quite the lazy, complaining harpy Karen was. Maxie is just entirely too trusting to pick up a 19-year-old boy and take him into a rented RV for several days and not really know anything about him. The mystery itself was ok but it doesn't make me want to hurry and read another in this series.
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I picked this up because it is both set in Hawaii, and part of a series involving a Dachshund (Stretch of Maxie and Stretch). Sadly, because of Hawaii's strict quarantine laws, Stretch spends the entire book in Alaska.

I also discovered that this volume is several books into at least two interlocking series - one starring Jessie Arnold, who appears here as a good friend and minor character, and one starring Maxie and Stretch, of which this is at least the third. I am fairly obsessive about reading series in order, but I found that this one was fine. There were references to previous books, but nothing "infodump-y."

I liked this book. It's well written, the characters are fun, and the Hawaii setting was reasonable and well portrayed. The mystery made sense, and the only point that took me out of the book was a reference to a plane ticket having been purchesed by one character for another, who later admits to not knowing the second character's last name. I spent more time than it was probably worth trying to figure that one out.

I would definitely read other books in this series. (The Jessie Arnold series is set in Alaska, not a big draw for me.) ( )

Feisty 64 yr old travels to Hawaii to help a friend pack and move back to Alaska. She enlists the help of a young man who acts as her helper, tour guide and protector. My complaint . . . .Maxie is extremely trusting and oblivious to danger. ( )

I enjoyed this and learned a lot of interesting stuff about Hawaii's biggest island and hope to go there.
Sue Henry puts her usual charming spin on a mystery-humor, factual information and not too scary suspense. ( )