"Captain Cooked" - S.P. Grogan

"Captain Cooked" - S.P. Grogan

My coworker loaned me this book after she realized she had two copies. It's one of her favorite books, so she recommended I read it for my blog. The tagline on the cover says "Hawaiian mystery of romance, revenge... and recipes!", and I was interested. I've never read a Hawaiian novel, so this is a first for me. :)

 

I am not very far into the book yet. I'm only on chapter 7 out of 51, but it's already got a good setting for drama, and a little bit of mystery/action in it. The main character, Madison Merlot Dayne is in Hawaii videotaping her father, Jeffery Dayne, for an episode of his food tv show. The first chapter does a great job of setting up Madison's character. She starts off people watching in the airport while waiting for Michael, the hotel greeter, to help with her video equipment. She is thinking about the "beautiful" people she sees when Michael walks up. Instead of the typical greeting of "hello", she is kissed on both cheeks from Michael. At first her mind lingers on romance and instantly hops to conclusions about a possible romantic affair in Hawaii. Then Michael says that the kisses are from her father, and the readers are introduced into her personal drama involving a lack of romance.

 

So far in the book, Madison seems a little bit whiny, but I get the feeling that her character is going to be doing some personal building throughout the book. I can see her getting into a crazy adventure, and winding up in love with a Hawaiian native. I don't know what will happen yet, but that is the feeling I get.

 

There is a bit of a political side to this book. In the first few chapters it talks about a political strike in Hawaii. There is one group that wants Hawaii to go back to having a King and Queen. There is another group wants Hawaii to be part of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The last group are essentially there to fight for Hawaii rights because they "need" to have something to fight for.

 

It's still pretty early in the book to decide if I like it or not. It's got some certain potential, but the writing style is not quite developed in the first few chapters. It seems simple, with a lack of clear direction at this point. I'm hoping that it picks up though, because I certainly see the potential of where it can go. :)