Rating: 4.5🌈

I’ve reading Neil S. Plakcy’s Mahu series since the beginning, where the tag line, was simply “Surfing detective Kimo Kanapa’aka uncovers crimes in the shadowy parts of the Aloha State.”

Mahu, book 1, which has since been reprinted and retitled 18 times that I can find, was originally published in August 15, 2005, when I first read it. 

What struck me then and is still now as applicable, is how great Plakcy is at pulling the reader deep into the Hawaiian island identity and culture. From the moment we meet Kimo Kanapa’aka, a police detective, and journey with him, the reader begins to hear the voices of the island. The colloquialisms, the gestures, and fluidity of the island sounds as Kimo interacts with everyone around him, be it family, friends, colleagues or those he’s arresting or investigating for cases.

Plakcy has an intimate connection with the people and places here, not just with the beaches and touristy areas but the back lots, off the track areas, and zones most aren’t familiar with. 

And as a reader who’s followed Kimo’s journey through his struggles with coming out in the first book and with the rejection of the traditional law enforcement community through his real shaky history with firefighter Mike, to finding themselves finally a HFN partnership as a family, with an adopted troubled teenager and shared parenting of twins. That’s decades of realistic daily life struggles amidst law enforcement cases and firefighter duties. And in-law problems. 

So here we are at Blood Code, book 14, Kimo and Mike are older, their children are older, and they are facing new challenges in their lives. 

So too is Hawaii. The use of AI here within the storyline, the setting down of pros and cons with  the Technological World (as relayed by a scientist here) and the views by those who have seen their work co-opted, is extremely current. And sure to stir up discussion.

The murder investigation is interesting, but I really loved being back in Kimo’s world again. The way the various people and races are portrayed, and the spiritually that’s woven into the land and the culture.

Can a reader come into this without having read the other books? Yes. But reading the other novels gives you such a rich history and foundation that I highly recommend it. 

Just remember that although it says that book 1 was published in 2018, that the latest edition and doesn’t accurately reflect the time period it was written in. That would be 2005. Yes , it makes a difference. 

Mahu Investigations (18 book series):

Mahu: Mahu Investigation #1: A Hawai‘i Crime Thriller of Identity, Murder, and Coming Out

Mahu Surfer #2

Mahu Fire #3

Mahu Vice #4

Mahu Blood #5

Zero Break #6

Natural Predators #7

Children of Noah #8

Ghost Ship #9

Deadly Labors #10

Soldier Down #11

Unruly Son #12

The Virgin Homicides #13

Blood Code #14

Accidental Contact #15

Mahu Investigations 1-3: 3 gay police procedural mysteries in Honolulu Book 16

Mahu 1-6: Six Full Gay Mystery Novels: Hawaiian Homicide with Aloha Flair (Mahu Investigations Book 17)

Buy link

 Book 14 of 18: Mahu Investigations 

Blurb 

A cutting-edge startup. A dead founder. And secrets that shouldn’t have been coded.

When tech entrepreneur Noah Kim is found murdered outside his Honolulu office, homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka and his partner Ray Donne are called in to investigate.

Kim’s company, Kahola.ai, promised to transform medical care for Pacific Islanders—blending artificial intelligence with traditional knowledge.

Now someone wants that work buried.

As Kimo digs into the world of startups, research labs, and competing interests, he uncovers a network of ambition, secrecy, and ethical lines pushed too far. What began as innovation may have crossed into something far more dangerous.

And someone is willing to kill to keep it hidden.

At home, the pressure is just as intense. When fire investigator Mike Riccardi is injured on the job, Kimo is left juggling the investigation with caring for their twelve-year-old twins—forcing him to confront what it truly means to be a parent, and how far he’ll go to protect his family.

As the case spirals from high-tech labs to deeply rooted Hawaiian traditions—and into the volatile landscape of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park—Kimo realizes the truth could change more than one life.

If he survives long enough to uncover it.

Samwise Books

Publication date

June 2, 2025

Edition

1st

Language

‎English

Print length

280 pages

Book 14 of 18

Mahu Investigations