Black Jasmine is here!
My most dangerous and risky novel yet, Black Jasmine is set on my home island of Maui. Here's the blurb:
The island of Maui is turquoise ocean, stunning vistas, and whalesong—but organized crime has a hidden hold, and Detective Lei Texeira tracks evil that hides behind a beautiful face.
“Lei and Stevens find a haven on Maui—until their new life as a couple is interrupted by murder. When a nameless teenage girl dies in an apparent vehicular suicide, Lei can’t rest until she finds out what really happened. She blazes through all the wealth and poverty of island society in her quest for justice, rousing a deadly foe—even as she faces the personal demons of commitment and revenge that threaten the only real love she’s ever known.”
It rocks. I think it's my best book yet. Why did I say it's my “most dangerous and risky”? Because Lei experiences multiple attempts on her life, and I take some chances with my glimpse into the Bad Girl's head that I've never seen done (not that someone else hasn't, I just haven't read it.)
Buckle up for some rappelling to kick things off!
And, here's my response to all the people saying “Wow, that's so fast!”
True. And why not? I had all three books in the initial trilogy done in June, and my wonderful agent Richard Parks was shopping them as a series. Unfortunately we didn't get an offer we'd accept, so now I've been producing the books as fast as I can afford to, keeping them Top Quality. After all, they aren't earning their keep sitting around in my computer.
Now Broken Ferns, the fourth one, is kicking my ass. Wish me luck finishing that next one by spring! Yikes!
In the meantime, let Black Jasmine take you for a spin on my beloved home island of Maui.
Congratulations, Toby!
It looks fabulous and sounds delightfully intense.
I hope you’ll give it a look!
Truly an amazing book! You keep knocking them out of the park! Congratulations, Toby!
Thanks for helping make it so!
Nice work. Enjoyed Blood Orchid, even though I’m a guy. ;-P Your work is well done.
Thanks Tim, its been great getting to know you on Twitter!
Congratulations! I love your titles. It’s difficult enough to come up with one catchy title, let alone a series of catchy titles all cleverly linked together by a common theme. Well done!
When I have the luxury of staying up all night and not getting anything done for a couple days I’m going to dive in. I loved the last two. They are so intense and compelling. This one sounds even more so. Maybe next weekend.
I will be reading this. Just the fact that the setting is Maui makes it even more interesting to me. The description of the book reveals that there is a depth to the characters, especially the main one, Lei. Good characterization makes for an excellent read, and I like the “bad girl” mentality. I have this one on my “must read” list.
I can’t wait! The cover is absolutely gorgeous (you are definitely a fan of beautiful flowers).
Congrats on the book launch. Exciting!
I am so happy for you Toby. You are just a “bam bam put out there ma’am” kind of woman! Should I start at the beginning of the series or can I jump in with this one without being lost? 🙂
Being a criminal defense lawyer here on Maui, seems like your books would be an enjoyable read for me. I will definitely have to read one of your books. Any that you can recommend as a good starter book? Or, should I start with this one? Looks intriguing.
Good…better…..best!!! I started out with “Blood Orchids”, because I love Hawaii (I am a non resident) and the book sounded interesting. I liked the story and characters so much, when “Torch Ginger ” came out I felt! I would read and hope it would continue being good……NOT!! It was better than good (except I missed Pono). “Black Jasmine “…..WOW….the best so far……not only was it a great story, the characters continue to move forward….and Pono is back. Lei’s struggle to overcome childhood abuse issues makes you care for her and her happiness even more.
It only bad thing is now I have to wait for spring for Ms Neal ‘s new book to be released. Thank you for such a great series!
I’m so glad you “got” what I’m doing with the series! It’s really one great long story of Lei’s overcoming her past and learning to have healthy relationships in the context of catching criminals. THanks so much for the encouragement, I’m hard at work editing Broken Ferns for a February debut! Aloha
Aloha Toby,
Just finished reading Black Jasmine and can’t wait for Broken Ferns. I had the pleasure of being introduced to your first 2 books by your husband when he brought them into Native Intelligence where I work. Now I’m a fan for life. Even gave them to my sister and aunty for Christmas.
Aloha Stacia
Awesome! I hoped you folks would like them! Thanks so much for letting me know, aloha!!