Mahu - Tapa blanda

"This is a dynamite read, tackling the double-pronged challenge of a well-plotted mystery and the complex social issues of being gay" - EdgeBoston.com "Neil Plakcy's novel combines the tension of the most adroit police procedural with the depth of characterization, sensitivity, and careful writing that any novelist might envy." - Les Standiford"

The tropics get steamier in this sizzling murder mystery. Honolulu police detective Kimo Kanapa'aka is the best on the force, but he lives with a secret he barely acknowledges even to himself. His days are spent serving and protecting Hawaii, surfing the waves and bedding female tourists. One night, he inadvertently sees someone dump a body in an alley outside a gay bar, and, because of his own inability to come to grips with his sexuality, makes a decision that threatens all that is important in his life. As Kimo and his partner search the tropical paradise for the killer, he struggles to find his way as an openly gay man in a macho world. Unable to deny the truth any longer, Kimo begins the process of coming out, of understanding and accepting his homosexuality, all while trying to find answers to a mystery that involves his own family. Mahu - a negative Hawaiian term for homosexuals - introduces a unique character to detective fiction. Kimo Kanapa'aka is a handsome, mixed-race surfer living in Honolulu, a police detective confronting his homosexuality in the atmosphere of macho bravado within the police force. A man of intelligence, strength, honesty, resourcefulness and intense dedication to the people of Hawaii, Kimo is a hard-boiled hero readers will never forget. Fast-paced, intricately plotted and thoroughly enjoyable, this is a sexy, surprisingly moving mystery that is as much about discovering oneself as it is about catching a killer.