I am grateful to Net Gally and the publisher for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.
I liked this book, even though I took a little time to warm to it.
John has developed some great characters, especially Bernt, who is something of an enigma to begin and then slowly emerges as the pace of the book picks up. He develops into a fascinating and complex character
The storyline, an eco-thriller, was compelling with lots of twists and turns, and it is especially fantastic if you’ve been to Kauai. If you have, you’ll recognize all the locations and picture the scenes. If not, you can visualise just how things are on the island.
I thought the book gathered pace as it developed and kept me engaged until the end. It also made me think more generally about the interaction between society, nature and corporate businesses trying to make a profit, which is something I guess we should all do.
I would recommend this book to those who like this genre.

"They talk about shareholder value because they need to call it something. But there’s no accountability, not to shareholders, not to anyone. It’s chance. You can do everything right, but if there’s a drought in India and orders drop ten percent, you’ll be blamed. Unless you can get transferred in time for the blame to hit the next guy. And it goes all the way up. No matter what anyone tells you, or what they believe about themselves, all anyone is trying to do is make sure there will always be a chair for him to sit on when the music stops."
--------------------------------------
"'To quote Dr. Wilson,”'said Professor Higa, 'Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary. Can anyone explain?'"

Project Namahana is a book about responsibility. Who accepts it. Who ducks it. How it is spread around so thinly that it ceases to have any substance. Are you responsible if you shoot someone? Sure thing, unless they were shooting at you first. Are you responsible if people are killed because of decisions you made? It begins to get tougher. What if you'd known there was potential for harm? It can be difficult to assign personal blame, particularly when decisions are made by a range of people.

Jonah Manokalanipo takes his son and two cousins to a nearby dam for a swim. When he returns for them, after a heavy rain, he finds all three dead. What killed them? Jonah has an idea, and raises a huge fuss.

Micah Bernt is a military veteran, a loner mostly, seriously PTSD’d. He uses this to keep people at a distance, for their safety. He is not completely wrong to do so. Bernt is living on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, working selling outboard motors, renting a small place from a friendly older couple. He finds their comity off-putting, not wanting to get too attached and maybe expose them to his darker side. There is one. He did not get his screaming meanies from spending too much time in a knitting circle. There is plenty of guilt to go along with his unwelcome memories.

Michael Lindstrom is an exec with the Benevoment corporation, producers of GMO seeds and bespoke pesticides. There is a particularly promising project underway on Kauai that could yield major gains in production. But it is not quite ready for prime time, and the upstairs suits are eager to try something else, a different genetic mix, that would be particularly harsh on non-buyers. Lindstrom has been in charge of the older product line since its inception, and wants the company to hang on with it just a bit longer. But when it is implicated in the deaths of several local boys in the Namahana area of Kauai, Lindstrom is sent from the home office in Minnesota to get things sorted. Of course, there are additional complications as there might just be a connection to the several locals who have gone missing or worse.

"From the sociologist Robert Jackall I learned corporate managers make directives as vague as possible, forcing those lower down the chain to make ever more concrete decisions. And from Stanley Milgram, I learned it’s human nature to shift our model of morality when following orders, justifying actions we would never do on their own." – from Teschner’s Tor/Forge article

Bernt’s landlord, Clifton Moniz, is one of these. The circumstances of his death are seriously hinky. Moniz’s widow, Momilani, knowing that Bernt has some military police background, asks him to look into the death for her. And we are off to races.

Chapters flip back and forth, mostly between Bernt’s local travails and Michael Lindstom’s coming of conscience, as he begins to really feel responsibility for what his company might have done, recognizing that many of the relevant, bad decisions that had been made by the company had been his. He engages not only in an investigation of the problem at Namahana, but in considerable soul-searching.

"[the] novel was inspired by a NYT Magazine story of structural violence: for decades, as told by Nathaniel Rich, DuPont factories dumped toxic chemicals in West Virginia streams, abetted by permissive regulators and a corporate bureaucracy that distributed the action of poisoning other human beings into a chain of indirect decisions carried out by hundreds of employees." - from Teschner’s non-fic piece in the Tor/Forge blog

Both Lindstrom and Bernt are on roads that lead to the same place, literally, as well as figuratively. Micah and Michael (maybe the reason for the similarity in names?) are both in great need of redemption, Michael for his managerial sins, Micah for whatever crimes had gotten him discharged from the military with an honorable discharge but maybe not so honorable a final tour.

There is considerable local color, showing a part of Hawaii that is not on the postcards or tourism brochures. Teschner lived on Kauai for seven years, so, while not a native, he knows a bit about the place. This includes not only elements of the local economy, but the relationships among the residents. There is considerable use of local lingo. I read an EPUB, so do not know if the final version includes a glossary. You might have to do some looking-up, but not at a problematic level.

"Literally millions of people visit Hawaii every year, but I venture to say that few will find anything familiar in here except for the landscapes. The tourism industry on Hawaii has been so successful, the unique culture of the island itself is almost completely hidden by the stereotypes and the carefully managed visitor experience."- from the Big Thrill interview

Teschner may have presented us with a purely evil Benevoment ag-biz corporation, but his company exec is much more nuanced. We get that he is a well-meaning sort, who sees his work as helping ease world hunger, even if there might be some collateral damage in getting from place A to place B on that road. Micah Bernt is also a good-hearted soul, even if that soul may have acquired some indelible stains. These internal conflicts give the leads some depth. That said, we do not learn enough about Micah Bernt’s challenges while in the military.

Project Namahana looks at systemic, institutional violence foisted on locals by higher-ups in government, the corporatocracy, or both, looks at how personal responsibility fits into that, and fits his two leads with a need for expiation. It is fast-paced and action-packed, with the requisite twists and turns, and even a complicated love interest for Micah. We get to see both the welcoming aloha tradition and the darker side of a brilliant place. It is a fine first novel, showing some serious talent. I expect that the proper reaction to this book is to say Mahalo.

"The newest version was the most effective yet, but the tweak in chemistry had made the volatility worse. Morzipronone wouldn’t stay where it was sprayed: a slight breeze carried it miles. It didn’t matter what they put on the label; no application guidelines could prevent drift onto neighboring fields. Any crop that wasn’t genetically modified to resist it would cup and die after just a few exposures."

Review posted – July 22, 2022

Publication date – June 28, 2022


I received an eARE of Project Namahana from Tor/Forge of Macmillan in return for a fair review, and some of that wonderful Kona coffee. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.

For the full review, with links to interviews and other material, please go to Coots Reviews or Goodreads

I've learned I cannot resist dark and gloomy mystery/thriller covers. Especially if they involve the sea, it's a weakness, I suppose. Naturally, this means that I snatched up John Teschner's Project Namahana.

Is it possible to work in a corporation and not be affected by its greed? What about the horrors those corporations can cause (intentionally or not). Will those scrape by, or will you feel each and every one?

Two men, both corporate employees, are connected – through death. There have been a series of deaths and disappearances on the island they call home. It doesn't take long before the men, Brent and Lindstrom, begin to suspect the role they had to play in these deaths.

Ohhh. I was so curious about Project Namahana. I've seen plenty of corporate/thriller novel combinations, but nothing like this. It's a different take on the plot of greed and corruption, though it has familiar tones here and there.

The whole concept of Project Namahana makes me think of the quote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Brent and Lindstrom could have looked away from these deaths – it would have been easier (for them) if they had. Yet they didn't. There's a lesson in that.

Admittedly, while I wanted to like Project Namahana, it took me a little while to get invested in the story. It was probably a few chapters (maybe a bit more) before I felt like I was getting into the story, mainly because it has a bit of a slower start.

On the bright side, I loved the way John Teschner tackled complex situations and concerns, especially those revolving around (as mentioned above) corporate greed and corruption. It's something that we should be discussing more, which feels like the whole point.

I really enjoyed this book! It kept me interested and engaged throughout! One of those "marathon reads" for me.

Great storyline, interesting characters, and I could not stop reading!! Grab this one now! Perfect for a weekend read, with all the thrills and chills of a perfect mystery.

Project Namahana is a story about corporate greed affecting islanders who are used to living a simpler and easier life. The plot is good, however, the excessive use of local words - not always easy to understand or to locate in dictionaries - and the descriptions of places sometimes too long made the story difficult to relate to and read.
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, John Teschner, and Forge Books for the opportunity to read this book! It releases on June 28th, 2022.

Project Namahana by John Teschner is a thriller revolving around corporate greed. On the island of Kaua’i, there have been mysterious deaths and disappearances. There are corporate farms on this island and two men, Bernt and Lindstrom, seem to suspect that they are behind the deaths. However, investigating this corporation will not be easy. The locals are scared because the corporation–Benevoment, will stop at nothing to cover their tracks. But if someone doesn’t expose them, more people will die.

The premise of this book is SOOOOO GOOD!! I really, really, wanted to love it. It took a while to get into the story, for me, it was at least 5-6 chapters. I had no idea what was going on for a while but I pushed through. There are some good descriptions of the island, but some of the other descriptions were so unnecessary. They would take me out of the story too because they just didn’t need to be there. The dialogue was very much the same way. It was very stilted with no emotion. Now for the characters… I know their names, but I can’t tell you about them besides what they do in the story. There is no characterization. They are just names on a page.

BUT. As I said the premise of this book is great. The author really shines a light on corporate greed and the dangers that they bring to the environment and to the locals. Because of their wealth, it is easy for them to cover up any mistakes or silence them. Since this book takes place on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, it really dives into how these corporations came in and destroyed the land and the people, and the evils of colonization. He did a great job at including the impacts on the locals, as well as their culture. I truly wish this book had better “bones” so to speak because this would have been a phenomenal book otherwise. I would normally rate this 2 stars, but I decided to bump it up because I enjoyed the premise so much.

I chose this book as I loved visiting Kauai and wanted to read a story set there, but I just could not get into it. The use of local slang was hard to figure out exactly what was meant with no translation for those of us unfamiliar with the words.
The storyline of a corporation causing harm was something I thought would be interesting, but it did not hold my attention. I found myself annoyed with the pace, the language and the overall feeling like I was wasting my time reading it so I stopped and did not finish.
thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This book wasn’t really for me. Although I was intrigued by the synopsis I couldn’t really get into it. It started off confusing; it took me a while to get a grasp of the storyline. The local dialect being used didn’t help with that either. Normally I would love that as it gives more authenticity to the story. It missed a bit of the thrill I was hoping for. I did like the topic of local struggles and corruption being woven into it. Interesting read but just not for me.
⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Corporate corruption
Short chapters
Hawaiian Jungles
Local dialect and struggles

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳...

𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘢𝘶𝘢‘𝘪. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦-𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺-𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯, 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴-𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘢𝘶𝘢‘𝘪; 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘺𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢; 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.

I struggled with this book a lot. I didn’t particularly care for it at all. The book starts off very confusing and it takes a while for it to make sense. The author decided to write a very descriptive book, but I’m not someone who loves useless description in books. I want action. I found myself very bored while reading, to the point where I had to force myself to read it. Due to this, I was never fully engaged in the storyline. Another downfall for me was the use of the local slang. I don’t mind local dialect in a book, as it gives the book authenticity, but what I would prefer authors to do is to provide a small definition of the slang just one time so that readers that are not familiar with the local dialect doesn’t have to spend the time to look it up, or just glazes those sections. There was one small aspect of the book I did like and that was Lindstrom’s internal struggle. This book has been listed as general fiction/mystery and thriller. I think it’s best described as general fiction.

I started this book but had a hard time getting into it. It got better as it went along.
Murders, a tight community and a love/hate relationship with corporate power are at the center of the book. An intriguing books

Free ARC from NETGALLEY

This author has done us better in the past

Not a lot of "flesh" on the bones of the characters that can make following who is saying what a bit difficult

Big Corporation evil theme lines I thought were kind of tired with a flat ending

Sorry John

Nothing stays hidden forever...
Project Namahana by John Teschner is A compelling story, intriguing, well written novel.
A story kept me turning pages until the end.
The characters were strong and there were surprises and revelations throughout until the tense and unexpected ending.
I read this book in one day! I didn't want to put it down… Kept me guessing until the very end.
The setting and vivid descriptions held me captive and my eyes glued to my Kindle!
The dark twist, all the deep secrets, corporate power, and sickening revolutions comes to light in this compelling debut novel!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Forge Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.