Dark Paradise - Hardcover

*Starred Review* Waiwaiole’s Wiley series, starring a Portland, Oregon, poker player and part-time detective, is nothing if not dark, but in this stand-alone thriller set on Hawaii’s Big Island, the author pulls the blackout curtains all the way down. Cop novels are rarely true noir, but this is no ordinary cop novel. Geronimo “Gee” Souza is a cop, yes, but the way his life is falling down around his ankles (wife problems, girlfriend problems, gambling problems), he seems more like the doomed hero in a David Goodis novel. And that’s before he gets caught in the middle of a meth war between native islanders (all childhood pals), Mexicans representing a cartel, and the Japanese Mob. Meanwhile, an old-beyond-her-years teenager is plotting revenge against her seriously abusive father, until she, too, becomes a pawn in the drug war (or so it seems at first). Waiwaiole has an Elmore Leonard–touch with his lowlifes, injecting plenty of pop culture and humanizing quirks, but these guys never seem unrealistically lovable the way Leonard’s rogues sometimes do. They’re more like the cut-to-the-bone characters in a Daniel Woodrell novel, or even early Pelecanos—say, King Suckerman—loose cannons careening about a confined space: it’s big, but it’s still an island, and in the end, there’s no place to run. Noir fans need to know about Waiwaiole right now. He’s the real thing, and he’s too good to miss. --Bill Ott

Set on Hawaii's Big Island, this fast-moving stand-alone from Waiwaiole (Wiley's Refrain and two other novels featuring a Pacific Northwest pro poker player) focuses on the battles over who will control the island's lucrative drug trade. In the middle of the muddle is criminal investigator Geronimo Souza, who simply wants to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. The many often reluctant players, only a few of whom stand out, include local distributors like Buddy Kai and Dominic Rosario; established Japanese suppliers Johjima and his ambitious aide, Kitano; and L.A.-based Mexicans, led by Jesus Fernandez, who are trying to gain a foothold. Geronimo's heroic attempts to control the chaos grow increasingly desperate. Violent and profane, this noir exercise draws a devastating picture of drug-induced carnage, though readers should be prepared for plenty of island patois (e.g., What da kine I fockin' wen tell you fo' watch?). (Apr.)
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