From Hawaii's Big Island to the wilds of Washington's North Cascades, a novice detective uncovers a hoard of ancient secrets at the heart of a grisly murder.
A young, inexperienced detective from the wet, working-class side of Hawaii's Big Island, Kawika Wong faces an uphill battle to gain the respect of his more seasoned colleagues. And he has the chance of a lifetime when Ralph Fortunato, the Mainland developer of an unpopular resort on the island's tourist side, is found murdered on a luxury golf course, an ancient Hawaiian spear driven through his heart.
With the other detectives desperately trying to solve another string of grisly killings, Captain Terry Tanaka has no choice but to send Kawika to investigate. As Kawika joins forces with his father and girlfriend to help read the signs and make sense of the ritualistic murder scene, they uncover a cache of secrets reaching far back to the Island's ancient past. And the journalist who found the body has her own theories about Fortunato's demise--but do they line up with the evidence?
On a perilous journey that stretches from the Big Island to Washington State and back, Kawika finds danger at every turn. But he still has much to learn about Hawaii, and about the rugged terrain of the North Cascades. And he'd better learn it fast, because his instincts may not be enough to catch a killer who's closing in even faster.
Bones of Hilo is a modern police procedural set in Hawaii by Eric Redman. Released 8th June 2021 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
This is a well written procedural with a stately moving plot, lots (and lots) of cultural and scenic background intertwined with an intricate murder and fraud on a large scale complete with subplots which reverberate back to the time of Hawaiian cultural independence.
There are a large number of characters, but the author does a skillful job of keeping them distinct from one another. The dialogue and characterization are much better than average and I enjoyed reading Detective Kawika's challenges both personal and professional. He's an intelligent and likable guy and importantly, a believable character who sometimes lets his actions get the best of his better nature, which gets him in trouble.
The denouement was satisfying and mostly believable. The language throughout is about average for a modern procedural (R-rated) and it includes some potentially triggering non-consensual sex and some light body horror with ritualistic overtones and a spot of mutilation at the very end of the book.
The author is a fine writer and writes deftly and intelligently. Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
