Mahu
Surfer
A Kimo Kanapa'aka
Mystery
Neil S. Plakcy
Alyson Publications (Trade
Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-59350-007-6 (1593500076)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59350-007-8 (9781593500078)
Publication Date: August 2007
List Price: $14.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Mahu is a generally negative Hawaiian term for homosexual, and for police detective Kimo Kanapa’aka, being gay doesn’t make for an easy life. Especially when you are publicly outed. Now, semi-retired, Kimo must go undercover and stop a brutal killer. Already three surfers have been shot dead, and Kimo must infiltrate the close-knit surfing community, knowing his only way back to active duty is to catch a killer he may know all too well.
Review:
Neil S. Plakcy's second mystery to feature gay Honolulu police
detective Kimo Kanapa'aka, Mahu
Surfer, hits all the right notes as a mystery yet misses
the mark as an overall novel.
Someone has killed three surfers on the north shore of Oahu (Hawaii)
and Kimo, a surfer himself, is sent undercover to determine who is
behind the murders and why. Kimo is asked to portray an ex-cop who has
left the force because he was "outed" and who has retreated to the
north shore to do a bit of surfing and soul searching. He quickly
determines the three deaths are related and that there is no shortage
of suspects. The motive behind the murders, however, eludes him until
his probing puts his own life in danger.
Plakcy has crafted a fine murder mystery that is well thought out, with
clues to its solution scattered throughout the story. Kimo conducts an
intelligent investigation, and regularly summarizes (for the reader)
what he knows and what conclusions he has drawn to that point. Yet in
the end, the identity of the killer will likely come as a surprise.
That, in and of itself, is sufficient to recommend this book. In this
regard, it's really quite well done.
But there are a few minor problems with the rest of the book that are
troubling nonetheless. The first third of Mahu Surfer reads
like an early draft of a screenplay from the Keanu Reeves surfing
mystery movie Point
Break.
It's not all that credible. And it's hard not to picture Keanu playing
the role of Kimo. (In retrospect, that may actually not be a bad
thing.) Plakcy also fails to convey a sense of what it's like to surf,
or even to visit, the north shore of Oahu. Anyone who has done so, or
who has watched the opening credits to Hawaii Five-O, will wonder if
the story actually takes place there. And finally there are the sex
scenes which are not an integral part of the plot or even contribute in
any meaningful way to character development, but can at best be
described as gratuitous. At one point Kimo says, "I was going to have
to learn to keep my personal life separate from my job. I needed to
practice some restraint; I needed to keep my pants zipped for a while.
Not just for my job, but for my own sanity." Plakcy should have taken
Kimo's advice and applied it to his writing.
Special thanks to Breakthrough Promotions for providing a copy of Mahu Surfer for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Mahu
Haworth Press (Trade Paperback), September 2005
ISBN-10: 1-56023-533-0 (1560235330)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56023-533-0 (9781560235330)
Mahu
Surfer
Alyson Publications (Trade Paperback), August 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59350-007-6 (1593500076)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59350-007-8 (9781593500078)
Mahu
Fire
Alyson Publications (Trade Paperback), May 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59350-079-3 (1593500793)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59350-079-5 (9781593500795)