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Honolulu police detective Kimo Kanapa'aka's cases have a way of intersecting with his personal life. The present case begins when his father's former business property is torched by an arsonist. The act sets off a whole series of discoveries about illegal activities being run by a shadowy figure. Before he is brought to justice, Kimo will discover that his own backside has been displayed prominently in a sexually exploitive photograph posted on the web, that his brother is indirectly implicated in hiring illegal aliens, and that one of his father's late friend's former mistresses is deeply involved in a prostitution racket. Not to mention that the boyfriend with whom Kimo broke up after the former refused to come out of the closet but then gave him an STD, the handsome firefighter Mike Riccardi, is the one assigned to the arson case. Or that his best friend works as a security guard at a firm newly managed by one of the suspects. There are yet other connections. None of these in the context of the novel, however, seem overly coincidental as Oahu comes across as a small village. This is the fourth Mahu procedural (the other three are all reviewed on RTE), and in some ways it is the most satisfactory case so far. I like the details of an investigation, the way the nonessential jostles against the essential, leaving detective (and reader) to sort out which is which. Kimo is now working with a new partner, the very laid-back but quite competent Ray Donne. He has recently come to the island from Philadelphia, his wife having decided to pursue a graduate degree at the university. Unlike some of the other cops, Ray has no problem working with a "mahu" (the local word for gay). Kimo has been wallowing in self-pity and sexual excess as the result of his breakup with Mike. The trouble is that he can't quite get Mike out of mind or heart, and he now takes the opportunity of their working together to explore the possibility that perhaps the romance is not finished. The novel explores the nature of trust and forgiveness in a straightforward manner. It also touches on the sometimes thin line between what is a momentary slipup and what is out and out criminal. I do confess that, much as I like details, there is more about Kimo's sexual activities here than I need. Quite a number of readers, however, will find there's not enough information. The novel also becomes de facto an examination of the multi cultural diversity that is clearly the hallmark of the new America. Most of the characters come from the mingling of Asian, European, and Polynesian roots — even Ray is Italian American — and all of them are the healthier for the fact. Cultural diversity seems to promote a greater understanding of basic humanity and lead to a sense of tolerance. It is a "purebred" Chinese man who is most bigoted of all the characters we glimpse.
Reviewed by Drewey Wayne Gunn, September 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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