The Hidden Assassins

by: Robert Wilson

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The Green Room

Those of us who aren't familiar with the Hawaiian Islands are more in the habit of thinking of The Green Room as the place in a theatre where the actors can hang out when they're not onstage. This Green Room, however, written so capably by Deborah Turrell Atkinson, is far more intimidating and scary. Ms. Turrell's The Green Room refers to the place under tons of water where a hapless surfer can get caught – sucked under a wave without knowing which way is up.

The Green Room is Deborah Turrell Atkinson's second novel, and although I haven't read the first (Primitive Secrets) her work gives us an insider's slant on the Hawaiian islands, especially O'ahu. Reading this book, you'll also gain an appreciation of the sport of surfing with all its varied inhabitants – from big-time promoters to the locals who just want surfing to remain open for all, the way it always was (and totally different, I might add, from California).

Storm Kayama has just gone in with Ian Hamlin to open a law office in a converted house – and when the phone rings, she finds her first client is on the line. Stephanie Barstow wants a divorce. Her son Ben, nineteen, is a surfer, and invites Storm to come see him and his friend, Nahoa – who not only is a distant cousin to Storm but seems to be next in line for surfer stardom since the top man died while performing the sport.

Nahoa gets a package on the beach at the meet, and opens it to find a lei o man, an ancient Hawaiian weapon sent as a challenge – or a harbinger of doom. Nobody knows who sent the package, including the kid who delivered it – 'some man' paid him, and that's all he knows. Storm, herself a surfer, although nowhere near as good as the guys who compete, soon finds herself in the middle of all sorts of intrigue, including a number of surfers as well as Steve O'Reilly and Stephanie's husband, both promoters. The latter two are planning on big bucks coming from the sponsors of a huge surfing meet they've planned.

Nahoa goes missing, and later is discovered dead – his girlfriend Sunny almost gets killed, then another surfer dies – and Storm herself almost drowns. Ms. Atkinson deftly leads us down several garden paths, with suspicion focusing first on one person then another. At last Storm is rescued from a very harrowing condition, and the plot against certain surfers becomes known. During the interim, we learn that surfing – like many other sports – has its own phrases and meanings, the green room being only one of them.

Deborah Turrell Atkinson writes well, and her depiction of Hawaii certainly entices the reader to travel there. The only thing I found disconcerting about the work was the too frequent insertion of Hawaiian words. Here I blame Ms. Atkinson's editor, who should have warned her that the majority of people who will read her books have never been to the islands – and few want to constantly refer to a glossary at the back of the book every time a new word comes up (unfortunately, I discovered that even the glossary doesn't contain all the words used!). The Hawaiian ambience doesn't need that to give it the proper flavor – the character names are sufficient, along with such things as the lei o man.
If Ms.Atkinson expects to reach the big time (and what author doesn't?) she might do well to forgo such immersion into local language and concentrate instead on her fine writing from a more universal viewpoint… But language aside, do read The Green Room. It's a great work, and the worthy contribution of a fairly new author to the mystery scene.

Alan Paul Curtis

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