'MAHU VICE' BY NEIL S. PLAKCY; ALYSON BOOKS (320 PAGES, $14.95)

Hollywood author Neil S. Plakcy keeps a tight reign on his well-plotted fourth novel in his series about Kimo Kanapa’aka, an openly gay Honolulu detective. Plakcy dips into sexual obsession, control issues and arson while maintaining a perceptive look at gay life in Hawaii and the importance of unconditional love from family and friends in Mahu Vice.

Kimo’s investigation into a fire in a strip shopping center that kills a teenager leads to a subculture that exploits the innocent. The shopping center has a soft place in Kimo’s heart — his father used to own it, his brother keeps the landscape bright and the detective is still a customer of the hair salon. The fire appears to have started in an acupuncture business, but the boy who was killed was living in the back of the hair salon.
The case forces Kimo to work with arson investigator Mike Riccardi, his former boyfriend. Their breakup was emotional for both men, although each still loves the other. The two men must put aside their feelings to find out who set the fire. The acupuncture business had been a front for a prostitution ring that has operated under the radar. Other fires and deaths related to the prostitution ring take Kimo and Mike’s investigation to a different direction.
Plakcy’s strength in creating believable characters shines. The author shows all aspects of his characters, from their relationships to their sex lives. Plakcy contrasts Kimo’s openly gay status to Mike’s closeted life. Being openly gay has enhanced Kimo’s life especially with his close-knit family, his partner on the police force and his friends. Mike lives in fear.
Plakcy also subtly parallels Kimo’s vulnerabilty when he was first outed — quite publicly, by the way — with the helplessness of the victims who are being targeted by the killer.
The Florida-based Plakcy will make readers want to pack their bags for Hawaii. He captures the essence of Hawaii and the surfing culture in “Mahu Vice.”
Plakcy’s last novel, “Mahu Fire” won the Hawaii Five-O award for best police procedural, presented by Left Coast Crime, and was a finalist for the 2008 Lambda Literary Award for best gay mystery.