Bones of Hilo

DEBUT Resort developer Ralph Fortunato has been found dead at Hawai’i’s Mauna Lani hotel, stabbed through the heart with an ancient spear. South Kohala’s police chief asks for a native Hawaiian investigator to help on the case, and he’s sent Kawika Wong, a young, inexperienced officer who spent summers in Hawai’i with his father, but grew up in Seattle with his mother. Wong doesn’t know much about Hawaiian culture or history, and his controversial past with the Seattle police only alienates him from other Hawaiians, who largely oppose the resorts. Wong seeks out background on the ongoing fight against development; his sources include the journalist who found the body (and soon becomes Kawika’s lover), and his girlfriend, a PhD candidate who understands Hawaii’s story. As he investigates, Wong is targeted by a PR campaign and a killer, so he’s sent to Seattle, where he uncovers Fortunato’s past as a fraud, cheat, and murderer. But Wong can’t outwit the small group watching him in Hawai’i.