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Honolulu police detective Kimo Kanapu'aka is on the spot when a dead body is dumped behind a gay bar and the presumed killer drives off. Instead of quickly sounding an alert and cordoning off the area, Kimo reports the murder anonymously via 911 and leaves, unable to face explaining to his fellow officers why he happened to be at a gay bar. In checking for a pulse, however, he has left behind his clear thumbprint on the dead man's throat. Thus he inevitably outs his presence anyway. As a consequence, Kimo tackles the case of who killed tong member Tommy Pang with a double sense of remorse: that he has failed to live up to the standards expected of any police officer and that for the past 16 years he has been incapable of accepting that he is a mahu (the native term for a homosexual). A hallmark of many gay mysteries is having the detective solve two puzzles simultaneously: the case under investigation and the enigma of his own 'difference.' Kimo says: "That's the kind of detective I am -- I can't give up on a case until I finish," and he discovers, "Each thing I had to do to prove my case was taking me one step farther out of the closet." He emerges hesitantly but begins finally to forge his own identity rather than trying to fit in with the one imposed upon him first by his native culture and now by his colleagues. In doing so, like so many other gay as well as straight detectives, he comes to accept the existential loneliness of the human condition. Suspects in the leisurely-paced case include a fellow officer who has been showering his wife with gifts costing far more than he can afford on his salary. Then there is Tommy Pang's son and the son's lover, who are clearly involved in smuggling artifacts of various kinds off the island. And what is the role of Kimo's own family's friend of long standing -- though one with a shady aura about him -- his so-called Uncle Chin? And how does the aborted bust of a drug deal fit in? Generally the reader remains one step ahead of Kimo in putting together the pieces of the puzzle, but the author still manages to sneak in a number of entertaining surprises. The novel retreads ground that has perhaps been mined too often in gay mysteries. It avoids becoming a cliche, however, if for no other reason because of its setting. The author has a keen appreciation of the pleasures of the island, especially the joys of surfing. He has an even keener appreciation for the many cultures that make up Hawaii. Kimo says: "My family's such a melting pot that I never felt like there was a group I didn't have at least one relative in," though he admits that "being gay was different." The novel explores the strength of familial ties, in particular different kinds of relationships between fathers and sons. For a variety of reasons, then, the book can be recommended to a wide audience.
Reviewed by Drewey Wayne Gunn, September 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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