Mahu Surfer
Neil S. Plakcy 

Reviewed by Christopher Carey

This is the second mystery novel by Neil S. Plakcy to feature Kimo Kanapa’aka as the main character. Kimo, who was just recently forced out of the closet in the first book, Mahu, is the only openly gay detective on the Honolulu police force. I have not yet read the first book, yet, but I recommend that those interested in this book first start out by reading Mahu. Though the author does a good job filling in the basics about the events in the previous book, since Mahu Surfer involves a lot of the same characters it would be wise to read them in order.

In Mahu Surfer, Detective Kanapa’aka is back on the job after being laid off for awhile due to his coming out experience. Homophobia had woven itself into the ranks of the police department, so Kimo is sent to report to a new boss, Lieutenant Sampson, in a different police district. Sampson sends Kimo on an undercover mission to find out who has been killing surfers in the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Kimo must lie to everyone he knows and loves about the truth of his job; while his family and friends believe Kimo was fired, he is still very much a detective. Sampson is the only other person who knows Kimo’s true intentions. Since the North Shore has some of the best waves in Oahu, and since Kimo was once a competitive surfer, he moves up to the North Shore under the ruse of “finding himself” and surfing.

Once there, Kimo runs into some old friends and acquaintances as he tries to penetrate a closely knit band of surfers (who also mistrust most cops) to find out who murdered Michael Pratt, Lucie Zamora, and Ronald Chang. He quickly finds connections between the three; crystal meth, greed, and love tied together these murders in some way or another.

Since the media exploited Kimo’s sexuality in the first book, most everyone in Hawaii knows Kanapa’aka as “the gay cop.” While solving the case, he runs into people that hate him and love him because of his coming out experience. Plakcy does a great job in showing how differently GLBTQ (gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender & questioning) people are treated in real life sometimes; gay slurs and evil looks were tossed Kimo’s way several times. On the other hand, some people viewed him a local celebrity and even a role model.

About half way through the book Kimo discovers two more bodies on the beach. One of the dead is a character I fell in love with right off. I was shocked and outraged by the death of this secondary character, though, it renewed my interest in the book and figuring out the identity of the killer. Kimo comes up with several suspects, but no solid lead seems to appear until the last couple chapters.