Mahu Surfer

Mahu Surfer, Neil Plakcy’s second mystery novel, sends openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka back to his surfing past. Rather than announce Kimo’s public return to the HPD after the events of Mahu, his new boss asks the former competitive surfer to go undercover on Oahu’s North Shore to find the killer of three young surfers. In his return to the North Shore, Kimo discovers trouble in paradise, from an epidemic rise in the use of crystal meth to increasing pressure on real estate prices. As well, he rekindles an uneasy friendship with an old friend whose sexual assault drove Kimo into the police academy, and further into the closet, six years earlier. Mahu Surfer showcases a handsome, sexy hero who struggles to overcome personal troubles and makes private sacrifices for the public good. Throw in an exotic tropical locale, plenty of aloha spirit and a dash of surf culture, as well as a slam-bang ending that puts Kimo and the people he cares about in danger, and you’ve got the makings of a page-turning mystery. A finalist for the 2007 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Mystery