Blood Orchids (Paradise Crime Mysteries, Book 1)

Leilani Texeira was a cop in the small Hawaiian town of Hilo and on a routine patrol with her partner Pono, they discovered the bodies of two young women in the ponds. Lei knew one of the girls - she'd busted her a couple of weeks prior, but as the investigation began with Detective Michael Stevens in charge, Lei felt echoes from her past. Soon she was being stalked and although her guard dog and best friend, Rottweiler, Keiki, was a constant when she was off duty, her paranoia was beginning to cripple her. When another woman disappeared, this time a close friend, Lei and her colleagues were desperate to find this person or persons. But would they? Could they stop this brutal killer before more died?It's amazing how we find new authors I think. I needed a book set in Hawaii for a challenge and when I searched, I discovered I had Blood Orchids on my kindle, there since March 2012, originally published 2011. And wow! What a gritty, tension-filled ride it took me on! Lei is a very damaged young woman, with a past she hasn't dealt with yet. Keiki is adorable (even though I'm pretty scared of Rotties myself) But I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Orchids, 1st in the Paradise Crime Mysteries, unable to put it down, especially as I neared the end. My first read by Toby Neal (whom I thought was male until I checked her profile!) and it won't be my last! Highly recommended.

A fast paced crime story. Believable story line with complications and surprising twist. Glad my favorite character wasn’t killed in the action

SPOILERS AHEAD.Crime/mystery novels aren't my "preferred genre," if you will, but I read a fair number of them as a teenager and decided to give it a go after reading the summary. I'm glad I did, because it's one of the more enjoyable books I've read in a while.Lei is an engaging, sympathetic heroine--and it's really not often that I say that. Lei has been through a lot in her life and it's taken an emotional toll on her. I'm thrilled to see such a realistic and thoughtful portrayal of someone who obviously suffers from terrible PTSD. The reader never forgets that Lei is a damaged person, as well they should not; it's certain that she never forgets. Lei has moments of deep, heartbreaking humanity as events in the past and the present weigh on her. Despite this, she is pretty self aware, a trait sadly lacking in a lot of novel heroines. I rooted for her from start to finish. She's not the typical Broken Bird and I'm so glad for that. You have no idea how much that trope infuriates me.Lei isn't the only damaged person in the novel, though. Almost everyone Lei encounters has suffered and Toby Neal pulls few emotional punches when it comes to the portrayal of this damage. There was one moment in particular that I felt was curiously absent of expected emotional description, however, [where Lei admits to Stevens that she was molested as a child]. For such a heavy moment, it seemed the author shied away from digging into the characters' emotional reactions.I enjoyed the romantic development between Lei and Stevens. I was really happy to see that they didn't just jump into it, flying in the face of police department rules and emotional turmoil. I especially appreciated the fact that they're was mature enough to take their relationship slowly. One scene toward the end was the best, most mature "relationship talk" I've ever read in a novel. I really appreciated that Stevens called Lei on her bad behavior--in a relatively sensitive way, even. Overall, these two are deserving of one another's affection and that's certainly more than I can say for a lot of romantic pairs in novels.The plot was refreshingly atypical. The pattern I've noticed in crime stories is too obvious red herring + actual murderer. While the police chase the red herring, who the reader knows is obviously the wrong guy, the real killer sows destruction. The reader can tell what's going to happen a mile away. In Blood Orchids, I was honestly stumped about which of the several suspects could be the real killer until the author meant for me to figure it out. This aspect of plot was handled quite well.My one criticism is that the novel tries to handle too many things at once. [The first 2/3 or so follows a limited plot line in which everything seems to be connected to the string of murders, but there were actually three plot threads going on: the murders (Ito), the stalker (connected to the Changs), and Lei's past (Kwon)]. Granted, these plot threads were all connected in a way that made sense--my criticism is mainly that the main plot culminated at about the 3/4 mark and the other, unrelated subplots continued in what should have been the denouement. The subplots were interesting enough to deserve their own stories and I feel like they were underserved by playing second fiddle to the equally interesting main plot. I hope that the subplots continue to make appearances in the series, because they've got me curious.All that said, I consider that criticism fairly minor. Despite the crowdedness (that's totally a word because I just made it up) of the last third of the novel, everything made sense and nothing had me gritting my teeth in frustration. The strengths of the novel far outweighed these shaky points. I enjoyed the story, but most of all I enjoyed reading about Lei.

3 1/2 stars.This is a book I hadn't heard of and again, it's all thanks to seeing who was tweeting what. I peeked in at the right time. What first caught my attention, was the name of the book and then of course the cover. I loved them both. Curiosity had me clicking on the link and downloading the book, simultaneously mentioning it to a few friends. It was free over the weekend and I thought why not? Needless to say, they too downloaded Blood Orchids from Amazon. I wonder what their take will be on this story.Here's mine. The story is set in Hawaii where Ms. Neal was raised. I've ever only been there in my dreams and now via this book.The main character is Leilani or Lei Teixeira who has had somewhat of a brutal past and still bears the scars, figuratively speaking. Due to this past she's become a cop working and residing in a sleepy town called Hilo. Out and about on rounds with her partner, Pono, they discover the bodies of two young girls in the water, one of whom Lei had previously busted for drugs. The discovery is called in by Pono and Michael Stevens enters the picture. Lei has only been on the force for three years but has aspirations of making detective and is quite adamant that's she's involved, however minor, regarding anything to do with this case. I'm not going to give any spoilers away, although you might probably read them elsewhere, but will continue to say that she manages to become a part of this investigation and even has the nerve to take the initiative on occasion. This doesn't normally bode well with those in charge and Michael let's her know in a subtle way. During this investigation, Lei starts receiving notes from a stalker. At first, its presumed that both the murders and notes are carried out by the same perpetrator but it's eventually decided that they are separate. The story takes you in different directions including different perps and to be honest, kept me changing my mind over and over again. To further add to Lei's mental anguish, not only is her friend Mary murdered but a third element is added towards the end of the book. Just when I thought it was all over and this was the part where the spark/romance between Lei and Michael would develop even further, something else happens.Lei is quite an interesting character who at times made me angry. Being raped at age 9 by her mother's boyfriend, losing her father to prison for drug dealing and her mother to an overdose is not what any child should have to go through - EVER. In saying this and in all fairness, I feel for Lei and sympathise with her struggles and daily battles. The author continuously let's us know what's going on in Lei's mind. I found myself clenching my jaw or systemically doing breathing exercises along with her to calm myself down. There were times though that I found Lei to be rude, especially to Michael for no reason at all. Yes, she still struggles with the past, who wouldn't having gone through that horror, but there are people who care and want to help and sometimes you need to take them at face value. Lei always seems to sense that something is wrong with someone, so why not use the same gut feeling to sense what's right? Also, Michael's had a bad past too, yet he seems to have overcome his struggles better than she has. Everyone's different I suppose and coping mechanisms differ. With this said, I liked Lei including all her turmoil and angst. Despite being 'rude' to people at times, she was one gutsy kick ass lady, that's for sure, and what I admired about her was her tenacity in solving the girls' murders.I thoroughly enjoyed the characters including Pono, her partner, who cares for her and made me laugh a couple of times. I also liked Michael a lot. He's just an all round good guy who has the patience of a saint where Lei is concerned. I suppose accepting help on Lei's part can be hard when trust is not easily given. I loved Dr. Wilson and would sit on her couch any day - she'd sort me out in no time! As for Keiki, the Rottweiler, I want her, now! Adorable.This book is full of mystery and quite a bit of action, and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. Another aspect that I liked was the POV of one of the perp's. Always adds something extra to the story providing us with the suspense needed, and at the same time making us wonder when what he says he's going to do, is carried out. There were one or two inconsistencies making me go back to re-read a certain sentence or paragraph thereby stopping the story's flow. These type of things irk me, however, they are minuscule and in no way detract from the book.

When I read a crime thriller I like action. Well there was an abundance in this novel. Couldn't put it down.

I was held to the end. I really thought the rapist was the stalker. Such a lot of breathless reading.I will read more TobyNeal books.

Enjoyed the book - still undecided about continuing with the series

Brilliant.

Toby Neal is one resourceful author here. I read book #9 first (by accident) and am starting in now with book #1 and expect I'll wind up reading the entire series. Superlative stories both. Packed with angst, action, raw feelings, and a wildly believable cop story set in paradise. Prose so well done I could literally see and feel some of the players in my mind. Lei is amazing as the lead with Stevens a close second. Having read book #9 first, I've a leg up.on what happens - but I won't be a spoiler. But they both survive. At least until then. Like I said in my review of #9, these books are the icing on the cake. Best of the best - and I'm rating them against hundreds of cop murder mysteries I've read over the years. I'm a big fan of the genre. And you're not going to find more touching and believable stories with hearfelt character backgrounds and heart stopping police action. Totally believable all the way. My highest recommend for sure.