Destination Maui

The last thing Samantha Powers expected to do on her first official trip as a travel writer was help solve a murder.

Samantha ("Sam") Powers, a 34-year-old investigative reporter, has returned to her hometown of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to take care of her ailing father, the town's former police chief. At the urging of a family friend, she takes a job as the new travel columnist for Carmel Today, a local lifestyle magazine.

After a few months of writing about area hotels and restaurant...