The Musubi Murder

After a brutal year on the academic job market, Professor Molly Barda finally lands a teaching job. In Hawaii But chronically-underfunded Mahina State University isn't exactly paradise.

After yet another round of budget cuts, Mahina State finally gets some sweet news: Jimmy Tanaka, founder of the Merrie Musubis lunch shop empire, announces a massive donation to the College of Commerce. But Tanaka goes missing before he can write the check, and Professor Molly is ordered to track down the missing mogul. As she uncovers festering feuds and fresh scandals, Molly realizes that there's something rotten in Mahina--and she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

What is a Musubi (pronounced moo-soo-BEE)? The Spam musubi, Hawaii's favorite snack and Merrie Musubis' signature dish, is a cube of sticky rice topped with a slice of fried Spam, and then wrapped in a strip of dried seaweed. From a distance, musubis look a lot like oversized pieces of sushi. Up close, they're delicious.