DI Matthew Goodwin is aboard a luxury cruise to Hawaii when a crew member turns up dead, forcing him to investigate with minimal resources across 4,500 passengers and crew while the captain keeps the crime quiet to prevent panic. It's classic closed-circle mystery territory, and Helen Taylor works it confidently. The Hawaiian backdrop - volcanic shadows, the Big Island's haunting isolation - is drawn from Taylor's firsthand experience, and it shows: the setting breathes authenticity. The prose, however, mars the reading experience somewhat. A confined ship with high interpersonal stakes is where tight, close POV pays off. You want claustrophobia, social friction, paranoia. Heavy third-person omniscient narration which emphasizes showing over telling creates distance, achieving the opposite effect. But Goodwin is a pleasingly weathered protagonist, and the procedural constraints (no forensics, remote backup) create genuine tension. Pacing is brisk without sacrificing character. Fans of Ann Cleeves ought to feel at home.

Suspense builds quickly in Aloha Goodbye, another gripping entry in Helen Taylor’s DI Matthew Goodwin Detective Series. What begins as a long-overdue vacation for Detective Inspector Matthew Goodwin soon transforms into an investigation that refuses to stay confined to the background.

While sailing to Hawaii aboard the Pearl of the Pacific, Goodwin hopes for a rare moment of rest. That hope disappears when a crew member is found murdered on board. With thousands of passengers and crew sharing the ship, the investigation becomes a tense race against time.

The setting creates a classic closed circle mystery. The killer is somewhere on the ship, but identifying them is far from simple. Limited access to passenger data and the captain’s decision to keep the crime quiet add extra layers of difficulty, forcing Goodwin to rely heavily on instinct and remote support from his colleagues back in the United Kingdom.

As the ship nears Hawaii, the pressure intensifies. Once the passengers disembark, the murderer could disappear into the crowds of paradise without leaving a trace. The investigation becomes a careful balance between secrecy and urgency as Goodwin tries to uncover the truth before the ship reaches port.

Readers who enjoy atmospheric crime fiction and tightly contained mysteries will likely find Aloha Goodbye an engaging addition to the series. The combination of a tropical setting and a high-stakes investigation keeps the tension strong from beginning to end.

Well what can I say, throughly enjoyed this read. Don't want to give anything away, a must read. This is the 3rd book of the series and did not disappoint. Can not wait for the next book.

Omg Helen Taylor has amazed me yet again!!! Another absolutely fantastic read, which I took on holiday with me, it kept me guessing right to the very end…. An excitable, unpredictable journey aboard a cruise ship which had our wonderful detective and his lovely lady on their toes every nautical mile of their journey … bring on the next instalment in Lethal Leith Hill I’m chomping at the bit for another fabulous read 👌 such a brilliant author is Helen !!

I was lucky enough to be part of this book by being allowed to edit it .Even though I read and re- read it on numerous occasions I still really enjoyed it and as I read it and all the tweaks were added I was still none the wiser till I was handed the final chapters which made the waiting even harder , I would thoroughly recommend this book as a fast paced crime thriller , being set on a cruise ship , the detail of how the boat functioned which gave it a character all of its own and the sumptuous menus which and the vivid description of the islands where I have never visited makes for a brilliant book .