The Mystery of the Hibiscus Crown

By S . L payne

Hawaii, 1992.

When a genetically engineered hibiscus - the priceless, one-of-a-kind Hibiscus Crown - is stolen from a clifftop estate during a tropical blackout, the lead scientist is found dead inside a locked greenhouse. The local police see an opportunistic theft and a tragic accident. Dorothy Chen sees eleven years of careful planning.

Seventy-three years old, sharp as a scalpel, and entirely underestimated, Dorothy travels from Kona to Nassau to a storm-battered private island in the Bahamas alongside her nephew Clayton - an ex-Naval investigator who has learned, slowly and not without frustration, to trust her methods. As the body count rises and Hurricane Delilah closes in, Dorothy assembles her evidence one quiet observation at a time.

The killer has been hiding in plain sight. They have been hiding there for a very long time.

The Mystery of the Hibiscus Crown is a slow-burn classic mystery set across the Pacific and Caribbean - precise, atmospheric, and anchored by one of the most formidable amateur investigators in recent fiction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GVPMJ9RZ
• ISBN13: 9798254524922
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 460 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"