Jungle Beat
4 primary works
Book 1
Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua spent seven years in the San Francisco Police Department, where the job was just a job and solving crimes required cool detachment. But back home on American Samoa, life is personal—especially for a cop. Because on a small island where no one is a stranger and secrets are widely known but never discussed, solving crimes requires a certain…finesse.
Here, Apelu must walk the line between two cultures: Samoan versus American, native versus new. And that gulf never yawns wider than when a white family’s home in Pago Pago is burglarized. And what appears to be a simple, open-and-shut case turns out to anything but. As the evidence piles up, Apelu follows a tangled trail between cultures, dead bodies, hidden codes, and a string of lies on his hunt for the ugly truth buried at the heart of paradise.
Set against the steamy backdrop of the Samoan jungle, this thoughtful whodunit introduces a memorable new gumshoe to the ranks of detective fiction.
Here, Apelu must walk the line between two cultures: Samoan versus American, native versus new. And that gulf never yawns wider than when a white family’s home in Pago Pago is burglarized. And what appears to be a simple, open-and-shut case turns out to anything but. As the evidence piles up, Apelu follows a tangled trail between cultures, dead bodies, hidden codes, and a string of lies on his hunt for the ugly truth buried at the heart of paradise.
Set against the steamy backdrop of the Samoan jungle, this thoughtful whodunit introduces a memorable new gumshoe to the ranks of detective fiction.
Book 2
Samoan detective Apelu Soifua lives on the knife edge of two disparate cultures, navigating a perilous dance between native and that, over the years, has landed him in his fair share of trouble. So when a routine patrol on a remote jungle estate uncovers an inter-island smuggling ring, it doesn’t take long for Apelu to realize there’s more than just cigarettes and bootleg CDs at stake. Someone in Apelu’s corner of paradise is trafficking humans—and they won’t think twice about setting up a cop to take the fall.
Now Apelu stands accused of murder, and his only shot at proving his innocence is to go AWOL from his job and his wife until he can unearth the truth. Hunted by the police, his only ally is a young American widow whom he quickly discovers is anything but what she seems. Apelu knows he’s playing with fire—but can he unmask a killer before he gets burned?
Now Apelu stands accused of murder, and his only shot at proving his innocence is to go AWOL from his job and his wife until he can unearth the truth. Hunted by the police, his only ally is a young American widow whom he quickly discovers is anything but what she seems. Apelu knows he’s playing with fire—but can he unmask a killer before he gets burned?
Book 3
Rumored to hold more spirits than people, the remote tropical paradise To’aga frightens many Samoan locals—but not Detective Apelu Soifua. Reeling from the loss of his young daughter, Apelu retreats to the haunted island for a self-imposed exile. He spends his days drinking, trying to ignore the ghosts in his head, and receives few visitors other than a shamanistic recluse and a pair of dedicated marine biologists conducting research.
But after a crew of surveyors arrives, Apelu makes a disturbing discovery: foreign investors plan to build a resort hotel on the coast, a project sure to destroy the To’aga coral reef and shatter the island’s peaceful way of life. When tensions rise and someone—or something—commits a gruesome murder, Apelu must force himself out of retirement to solve the case. Can the heartbroken detective navigate both modern and mystical forces to find the killer and appease the angry spirits of To’aga, in this third book of the Jungle Beat Mystery series?
But after a crew of surveyors arrives, Apelu makes a disturbing discovery: foreign investors plan to build a resort hotel on the coast, a project sure to destroy the To’aga coral reef and shatter the island’s peaceful way of life. When tensions rise and someone—or something—commits a gruesome murder, Apelu must force himself out of retirement to solve the case. Can the heartbroken detective navigate both modern and mystical forces to find the killer and appease the angry spirits of To’aga, in this third book of the Jungle Beat Mystery series?
Book 4
The fourth book in the Jungle Beat Mystery series from acclaimed author John Enright
A disquieting string of murders terrorizes the remote, lush island of Samoa. Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua has seen a lot in his time with the police force, but even he is unsettled by the bodies that have started piling up. At first, the murders don’t seem connected—a local transvestite found castrated and brutalized, a visiting politician who drops dead on the dance floor, a prison guard and an inmate who kill each other—but as Apelu works with the hospital’s new medical examiner to find out who is behind the killings, a disturbing pattern emerges. And the closer they get to the killer, the more destructive he becomes. Can they put the pieces together before Apelu becomes the next victim?
A disquieting string of murders terrorizes the remote, lush island of Samoa. Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua has seen a lot in his time with the police force, but even he is unsettled by the bodies that have started piling up. At first, the murders don’t seem connected—a local transvestite found castrated and brutalized, a visiting politician who drops dead on the dance floor, a prison guard and an inmate who kill each other—but as Apelu works with the hospital’s new medical examiner to find out who is behind the killings, a disturbing pattern emerges. And the closer they get to the killer, the more destructive he becomes. Can they put the pieces together before Apelu becomes the next victim?