Det. Sgt. Apelu Soifua faces a crime tsunami in the fourth tropical mystery set on American Samoa from the author of The Dead Don’t Dance. There have been many changes in Apelu Soifua’s life, but his job in the criminal investigation division has been the one constant. For years, a series of killings on the island has baffled him, starting with the murder of a cross-dresser, whose body was found with a cross carved into the chest. Four more men fall—different races, different classes, different deaths. Not all marked with the religious symbol, but somehow all connected. Apelu is sure of it. With the help of new medical examiner Dr. Laura Alomar, Apelu follows his instincts into what will be the most complicated and twisted case of his career. An open grave on a widow’s lush plantation signals the end of Apelu’s tolerance for his violent job and the collateral damage it inflicts on his friends and loved ones. In a literal paradise on earth, the monsters come like a devil in disguise . . . “A very rich and textured mystery . . . Blood Jungle Ballet and all the rest of John Enright’s Jungle Beat mysteries are perfect blends of setting, character and story. They’re just the thing for anyone who loves traveling the world solving crime from his comfy armchair.” —Kittling: Books

The first book length study of the conceptualization and representation of islands in popular fiction.

A haunted island brings American Samoan culture to life—and interlopers to their deaths—in this mystery from the author of Fire Knife Dancing. After the devastating loss of a loved one, Det. Sgt. Apelu Soifua retreats to the island of Ofu. The isolation of his father’s land—and drinking—bring a temporary peace to his shattered soul. His only friends are two national park workers and the local outcast who has lived in the bush for nearly twenty years—and who has to scared some palangi (Caucasian) surveyors away. But not for long . . . Attempting to heal at least part of his family—and himself—Apelu brings his oldest son, Sanele, to live with him. But their reunion is marred by the news that a company intends to build a resort hotel on the pristine To’aga beach. The locals know the island spirits have driven people away before—and they will again. When one of the developers is decapitated and his head goes missing, Apelu has a feeling that something has been awakened. And either human or supernatural, it won’t stop until it gets what it wants . . . “A skillful, suspenseful novel.” —The Providence Journal “The author’s lyrical and factual evocation of Samoa enriches every part of the book it touches. Story, writing style, character, and culture all combine in John Enright’s Jungle Beat mysteries to form a series that I just can’t recommend highly enough.” —Kittling: Books

Det. Apelu Soifua risks losing his career—and his life—in a case that exposes the dark heart of American Samoa, from the author of Pago Pago Tango. Long before he was a cop, Apelu Soifua performed as a fire knife dancer during his teen years in San Francisco. The Polynesian dance troupe was headed by Ezra Strand and his wife, who now live in a secluded house on the cliffs between the ocean and the jungle in Piapiatele. The elderly Ezra has once again been caught discharging a firearm, and Apelu must confiscate the weapon. He never expects Ezra to turn the shotgun on him . . . After uncovering what appears to be a smuggling operation in Ezra’s house, Apelu heads to Western Samoa to investigate. He returns home with a list of women who immigrated to the American territory—and were never heard from again. When fingers start to point at Apelu and he becomes the main suspect in the murder of a prostitute, he turns to Ezra’s beautiful and mysterious neighbor for help. With Apelu branded a fugitive, they begin their own search for the truth, which unveils the evil and greed hidden behind the public masks of those in high places . . . “Enright does a superb job of showing the fine line that Apelu must walk between the two very different cultures of American Samoa and the United States.” —Kittling: Books

The memoir that inspired the two-time Golden Globe Award–winning comedy series: “Funny . . . heartbreaking . . . [and] utterly absorbing” (Lee Smith, New York Times–bestselling author of Guests on Earth). Oboist Blair Tindall recounts her decades-long professional career as a classical musician—from the recitals and Broadway orchestra performances to the secret life of musicians who survive hand to mouth in the backbiting New York classical music scene, where musicians trade sexual favors for plum jobs and assignments in orchestras across the city. Tindall and her fellow journeymen musicians often play drunk, high, or hopelessly hungover, live in decrepit apartments, and perform in hazardous conditions—working-class musicians who schlep across the city between low-paying gigs, without health-care benefits or retirement plans, a stark contrast to the rarefied experiences of overpaid classical musician superstars. An incisive, no-holds-barred account, Mozart in the Jungle is the first true, behind-the-scenes look at what goes on backstage and in the orchestra pit. The book that inspired the Amazon Original series starring Gael García Bernal and Lola Kirke, this is “a fresh, highly readable and caustic perspective on an overglamorized world” (Publishers Weekly).

Arctic explorer, survival expert and naturalist Freddy Spencer Chapman was trapped behind enemy lines when the Japanese overran Malaya in 1942. His response was to begin a commando campaign of such lethal effectiveness that the Japanese deployed an entire regiment against him, hunting for him as they did for no other. He was wounded, and racked by tropical disease. His companions were killed, or captured and then beheaded. Cut off from friendly forces, his only shelter the deep jungle, Chapman held out for three years and five months. Jungle Soldier recounts the thrilling and unforgettable adventures of the north country orphan who survived against all odds to become a legend of guerrilla warfare.

In Listening for Africa David F. Garcia explores how a diverse group of musicians, dancers, academics, and activists engaged with the idea of black music and dance’s African origins between the 1930s and 1950s. Garcia examines the work of figures ranging from Melville J. Herskovits, Katherine Dunham, and Asadata Dafora to Duke Ellington, Dámaso Pérez Prado, and others who believed that linking black music and dance with Africa and nature would help realize modernity’s promises of freedom in the face of fascism and racism in Europe and the Americas, colonialism in Africa, and the nuclear threat at the start of the Cold War. In analyzing their work, Garcia traces how such attempts to link black music and dance to Africa unintentionally reinforced the binary relationships between the West and Africa, white and black, the modern and the primitive, science and magic, and rural and urban. It was, Garcia demonstrates, modernity’s determinations of unraced, heteronormative, and productive bodies, and of scientific truth that helped defer the realization of individual and political freedom in the world.

“A memorable debut with appealing characters and a touch of mystery.” —RT Book Reviews He has to be in close proximity to this beautiful woman if he’s going to catch a thief… Hot on the trail of a technology thief, private investigator Duncan Moore is convinced that he’s found him in beautiful Moonshell Bay. What he needs is proof. When he asks the beautiful neighbor if he can watch his suspect from her spare room, sparks fly—and now he has two reasons to stay. Mallory Baines isn’t sure she wants a hot guy in forced proximity 24/7 … although her matchmaking family certainly is. They’re ready to throw the engagement party! But when Duncan’s surveillance begins to show signs that Mallory might be involved, he’ll have to get even closer. It isn’t enough that she’s caught him looking—he has to catch his thief, too. But is he falling for a lie, or are the sparks between them telling the truth? Watch For Me is the fourth novel in the Moonshell Bay sweet romance series featuring cops and ex-cops whose lives are just fine, thanks—until strong but vulnerable heroines cross their path! The books can be read as standalones, though the characters are connected and appear in each other's stories. No strong language or love scenes on the page, just a dollop of suspense and a guaranteed happily ever after. If you like books by Melissa McClone, Hope Holloway, or Liz Isaacson, you’re in the right place. Enjoy! Previously published by Harlequin Temptation as Her Private Eye.

This is a new reference handbook for conductors and orchestral librarians searching for available repertoire for orchestral 'pops' concerts. Various appendixes allow for easy cross-referencing for efficient searches.