Customer Reviews

• Author: Connie Long for Sime~Gen's Case Solvers Mystery web site (http://www.simegen.com/reviews/mystery/)
  Rating: 4 stars
  
  Katrina Ogden, known as K.O. to her fellow officers has had it with her present position with the Honolulu Police Department. As head of the Records Division Office, she has had to deal with cranky civilians one too many times. On top of all this she is expected to keep her computers working while in the midst of a move to a new station. She has to install the equipment at the new station and personally supervise the destruction of material from the old office. How is a girl supposed to keep track of all this plus a transfer request, an overeager male co-worker and a batch of new kittens? A night out with friends dancing is just the thing except it leads to a complication - murder.
  
  Victoria Hickman has written a story that is as comfortable as it is interesting. We like K.O. We like her friends. We care that she is having a bad day and then when she is drawn in to a multiple murder investigation we get concerned for her. That is Ms. Hickman's strength in this story. She has created a character that can only grow. K.O. is a work in progress as all of us are and the readers will enjoy following her along. Here's to hoping that we get more stories of the intrepid K.O. and friends.
• Author: Gary Phillips, author
  "K.O.'d in Honolulu" is a taut, fast tale of revenge and obsession that introduces Hawaiian cop Katrina Ogden. She's a smart brassy chick with a lot of heart and an edge like flint, who must uncover a slippery killer before the final bell rings -- and KO finds herself beneath the orchids in paradise."
• Author: Margaret Searles, Fiction Editor, FUTURES Magazine/Author of the Mrs. Millet and Mrs. Hark series
  Victoria Heckman's extensive theatre experience shows in "K.O.'d in Honolulu." In vibrant scenes, plotted against the lush scents and colors of the Islands, the book shines hot footlights on K.O., a female Honolulu cop whose life is in desperate peril. A fascinating read!
• Author: Mark Troy (http://www.tamu.edu/marshome/staff_pages/murder.html), Author
  Another new release with a Hawaiian setting is "KO'd in Honolulu" by Victoria Heckman. published by Writer's Exchange. Katrina Ogden (KO of the title) is a Honolulu Police Officer in charge of the records division. She gets caught up in a tale of murder and suspense when murdered women bearing an eerie resemblance to her begin turning up in the Aloha state.
  
  There is a lot of gripping suspense and local color. Katrina is an intelligent, engaging protagonist, the best Honolulu cop since McGarrett.
• Author: Jeremiah Healy, author of SPIRAL and THE ONLY GOOD LAWYER
  For all of you who suspected 'Hawaii Five-Oh" might NOT have been on target, I have good news. Victoria Heckman's 'K.O.'D IN HONOLULU' is a terrifically realistic window into the investigation of a series of homicides taking place in the 50th's state's largest city. Katrina Ogden, or 'K.O.' for short, is desperate for a transfer from the mind-numbing job she has in the police Records Division, and a serial killer apparently targeting prostitutes with a consistent physical description affords her the chance. But the question becomes: Is the reward worth the risk? Enjoy this book on your own safe beach, with a cold drink in easy reach and the reassuring thought that what you're reading 'COULDN'T happen here.'"
• Author: Shirley Truax, member of RIO, For Ivy Quill Reviews (http://www.ivyquill.com/)
  While supervising her department's move to a new building, Honolulu Police Officer Katrina Ogden learns of a young couple's discovery of a body in the Natatorium swimming pool. On top of that, she receives a call from the bank claiming she has not made a Visa payment for six months. Ridiculous! K.O. knows she has made every payment on time. All she needs now is to have to deal with a computer foul-up.
  
  It is learned that the nude body in the swimming pool is a hooker called Honey. Further, she did not drown but was strangled, even though she had multiple cuts over her body. There were no clues, nor was there a weapon to be found near the scene.
  
  K.O. rushed to get her computer hooked up at the new location. To test it she sent a message to her friend at the old location by sending a silly joke. Very soon she receives a message from "Guest" with the words "This one's for you." So at least her computer is up and running. At least something went right today.
  
  At breakfast Selena shows K.O. the morning paper that contains an article about another body found along the Ala Wai Canal. The Modus Operendi very much the same as Honey's killing. To make matters worse Selena and K.O. were sure they had seen this girl at a club the night before.
  
  But Selena gave K.O. another problem. In checking on their records at DMV it is discovered that K.O. is listed as having no license, nor registration and has thirty-six outstanding parking tickets. She checks the computer record of the tickets and finds that she wasn't in the areas where most of the tickets were issued. What's going on? First the bank, now the DMV. While on the computer she checks her e-mail. There it is, another message from "Guest". Only this time the note is a bit more cryptic. Now she knows the first message was not from Selena.
  
  So what is going on? Who is messing around with otherwise secure police computer programs? Is it K.O.'s imagination, or is she really being stalked? At the risk of her life she solves these mysteries.
  
  Ms. Heckman has given the reader a complex, edge-of-the-chair mystery that makes one feel they know nothing about computers. Her subject was very well researched, the characters were easy to associate with and the scenery was described so well that one could definitely get a feel of the terrain.
  
  This reviewer hopes this is just the first book in an ongoing series. It certainly could be a popular one.
• Author: Rita Hestand for Rita's Kid Reviews (http://www.crosswinds.net/~willysworld/Reviews.htm)
  Katrina Ogden, better known as K.O. runs the Records department in the Honolulu police department. K.O. is not a run of the mill cop, in fact, for a heroine she is very male oriented. She drinks and parties just as hard as she works.
  
  As good a cop as she is, she is belatedly aware of being stalked by someone who not only knows her well, but knows a lot about the police terminals, police procedure and even her new building. Receiving e-mail from her stalker isn't in K.O.'s plans, and she's determined to find out who is stalking her. Women are dying in Honolulu and all the signs point that she will be next. But why, most of the victims are hookers. Most of the victims are red headed and look amazingly like her. It's obvious someone wants her dead, but why?
  
  Could it be her ex boyfriend, he's trying to put the make on her again? A officer that has displayed violence with his arrests? Or someone she arrested in the past with a score to settle? Together with her buddy from the academy, she's determined to find the murderer before he finds her?
  
  Victoria Heckman brings us a mystery of violence, terror and stalking that curls the toes and leaves us turning the page. This is no run of the mill serial killer thriller. In this suspense we find the heroine can hold her own even in the direst of circumstance. The heroine is certainly different in this book perhaps that was part of the intrigue. An interesting read.
  
  Rating **** (for story)
• Author: Lori Ham (http://www.LorieHam.com) for All About Murder Reviews (http://www.geocities.com/murderlist/)
  If you're in the mood for some great scenery and Hawaiian history and culture, KO'd In Honolulu is the book for you-doesn't hurt that it includes a fun mystery. Katrina Ogden, HPD, Records Master, begins receiving some scary emails while in the midst of moving their offices to a new building. It is even more frightening that redheaded prostitutes, who look remarkably like KO(as she is known by her friends), are showing up brutally murdered. It becomes clear that the messages and the murders are connected and KO begins to wonder if the killer is someone she arrested in the past and if he will eventually go after her.
  
  This book is an enjoyable read with its fair share of tension and suspense. The inside glimpse of Hawaii is a great added touch.
• Author: Jonni Rich (http://pages.prodigy.net/jonnierael) for AllAboutMurder Reviews (http://www.geocities.com/murderlist/)
  Red-haired prostitutes are turning up dead in Honolulu. The brutally murdered hookers bear an uncanny resemblance to Katrina Ogden, HPD, Records Master. Mysterious emails begin arriving to Katrina, known in the department as K.O. These messages are especially troubling since the PD is in a turmoil with a relocation project and the new computers aren't fully installed, and set up.
  
  As the body counts rise and the creepy emails continue, K.O. wonders if she's arrested the perpetrator in the past, and he's carrying a grudge like a vendetta. Several of her fellow officers aren't above murder, either, in K.O.'s opinion.
  
  KO'd in Honolulu is a police procedural. The reader is on the inside with K.O, and her fellow officers as they track down the murderer before more young women pay his deranged debt with their lives. Set in Honolulu, Hawaii, this book contains description of the area, and Hawaiian customs. I recommend this book to readers who like honest cops and an ongoing investigation story. The ending was especially well done.
• Author: The Blue Iris Journal (http://BlueIrisJournal.elizabethburton.net Elizabeth Burton)
  Honolulu police officer Katrina Ogden -- KO to her friends -- is busy moving her Records department from the forces old headquarters to their new ones. The last thing she needs is to get stuck in a murder investigation.
  
  However, someone is brutally torturing and killing prostitutes, and that someone is sending KO email messages that he shouldn't be able to send. Willy-nilly, KO becomes part of the murder task force, and that's when the most frightening aspect of the case comes to light. The killer, it seems, chose his victims very carefully and for a very particular reason: they resemble KO.
  
  Set against the gorgeous scenery of Hawaii, this entertaining murder mystery might be termed police procedural light. Although the majority of the characters are members of HPD, the focus is more on KO than on the actual investigation. There are a double handful of secondary characters, from KO's civilian assistant and party pal, Stella, to the low-key homicide investigator, Gerald Lee, but they lack the in-depth development that is a vital element of the true procedural.
  
  In addition, most of the actual investigation, including KO's cyber one trying to track down the source of the emails, happens off-stage. We are told what is going to be done, and then we learn what has been discovered, but the actual procedures are never presented. While that isn't a problem for the book as a whole, it is an unfortunate omission for those of us who find those particular details half the fun.
  
  The plot proceeds at a reasonable pace, and the climactic confrontation between KO and her stalker makes for a breathless bit of reading.
  
  For the reader seeking a fun and interesting mystery tale with a quirky heroine, KO'd in Honolulu should fit the bill handily. Hardcore police procedural fans, however, will likely finish the book with their appetites unsatisfied.
• Author: Melissa Galyon for Scribes World Reviews
  4 Stars
  
  Victoria Heckman's first mystery novel, K.O.'d in Hawaii, is an entertaining read for fans of female-lead suspense novels. Set in present-day Honolulu, police officer Katrina Ogden (a.k.a. KO) finds herself the target of a vicious serial killer. The killer doesn't have the best timing as her office is moving across town, her family is demanding quality time, and she's discovered a mother cat with a litter of kittens to contend with.
  
  Upon discovery of the first two victims' visual similarity to KO, Detective Lee and his partner Shimano, attempt to lure the murderer to KO's side through late nights at the local bars, where the killer found his previous victims. Unfortunately, he doesn't take the bait, and Lee and KO must find another way.
  
  Everything about this novel was well done. Besides a few choppy spots in the plot and a couple of characters getting lost along the way, the story was fantastic, the characters well-developed, and the final climactic moments thrilling. If you're a fan of Sue Grafton, you won't be disappointed.