Second in a highly entertaining series and hoping for many more. This can read as a standalone. This has a serial killer, believable dialog and an intriquing lead character set in a beautiful local...Hawaii.

A riveting Hawaiian murder mystery and second in the series. The writing is atmospheric and the reader will feel transported to Hawaii and following along on Detective Wong’s investigation.The pacing is perfect and the tension builds throughout.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fun fact:the title made me thin of a sci-fi series and not of a mystery. It's a good police procedural with a strong sense of place and a solid mystery.
I enjoyed the story that kept me guessing and liked the characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Past and present collide in this thriller- the second in a series that will be just fine as a standalone. Detective Kawika Wong has a secret from 12 years ago and someone out there wants to use it against him. He, however, is focused on finding a serial killer who is disrupting life in Hilo. You'll know who did it (not a spoiler) and that adds to the chase. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Deep and factual true crime based.

As someone who used to live in Hilo, I know a lot about this case. Well, between true crime podcasts and honestly, small island rumors, this case is the one that goes bump in the night.

It was written well and in a respective manner. I learned new things about the case that still sends shivers down my spine.

Thank you #netgallery

"ITW Finalist Eric Redman is back in this thrilling second installment of his Hawaiian murder mystery series, perfect for fans of Anne Hillerman.

When bodies start piling up and the list of suspects growing long, Detective Kawika Wong must dig into his own past to solve a Big Island murder.

It's been twelve long years since Detective Kawika Wong was tasked with solving the brutal murder of the infamous real-estate developer Ralph Fortunato - a case that led to more bodies than answers and a slew of complicated and ancient secrets, a case that made his career. Now, the once rookie detective is next in line to be Honolulu's next Chief of Police. But all is not well on O'ahu or the Big Island.

For weeks, Kawika and his team have failed to catch an elusive serial killer known as the "Slasher." He strikes quickly and efficiently, and he doesn't make mistakes. But when a freshly decapitated body is found at a previous dump site, Kawika's gut tells him something isn't quite right. Who is this victim, and why does Kawika feel that this one doesn't belong to the Slasher?

To make matters worse, a hungry young journalist, Zoë Akona, is investigating the questionable outcome Kawika and his then-superior Terry Tanaka produced in the Fortunato case, and her snooping leads to an official review that jeopardizes everything Kawika's worked so hard for.

But Detective Wong knows that, no matter what, he must find a second murderer even while the "Slasher" continues to strike. The investigation takes him back to the Big Island - and to the long-dormant case the reporter Zoë Akona won't leave alone. Kawika is about to discover what happens when the secrets of the past catch up with the promises of his future."

To get that Magnum P.I. fix in your life. But you know, the darker episodes with the Phil Collins music.

4 stars for a police procedural that is more a thriller than a mystery, since the killer is revealed about halfway through. This is book two in the series. I have read book one and recommend that you read it first, because plot elements from book one carry over into this book.
Kawika Wong is the chief of the Honolulu detective division. He is called to the scene of a headless body. There had previously been several bodies dumped in the same place by a serial killer. Kawika and his team do solve the murder. There are some developments in his personal life.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
DeathinHilo #NetGalley

I adore the city of Hilo so once I saw that in title I had to read. I have not read the first book in this series but I don’t think I needed to.
I was nervous at first that there were so many characters but in end didn’t matter and was able to distinguish them from each other.
Some parts seemed illogical in the fact that a killer does something they would not have done. Yeah part was to keep cops off but to a point it didn’t fit with what happens.
.There are clues sprinkled throughout but doesn’t spoil it and can figure out along.
It was a fun book and didn’t need to read first to enjoy this. I will definitely read the first one which I had already bought but had not read yet.
This book was fast paced and I was never bored.
Thank you to Net Galley, Eric Redman and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Major Kawicka Wong is on the hunt for a serial killer in Honolulu when a body drops that doesn't fit the killer's pattern. At the same time, a young reporter dredges up a decade-old case from Kawicka's past that wasn't done exactly by the book. The cases old and new intertwine and find Kawika ping-ponging back and forth between Oahu and the Big Island. A tragic death midway brings some excitement to the story. Kawicka is high up the food chain at the police department so the serial killer investigation is mainly tackled by a task force he heads from a distance which dilutes the action. A long epilogue wraps up the book, but I wish more of that resolution had been incorporated in the main story. One culprit is never revealed and it makes me wonder if it was revealed in a previous book or if the author is holding that for the next book in the series.

Wow! This was such a good book. It was a murder mystery. Detective Kawika Wong and his wife Elle were at the center of the story. There were three murders 12 years previous that Kawika and his then supervisor Tanaka had covered up. Currently, there was a slasher who had killed six people. This was Kawika's case. And then there was the case of the murder of Keoni Parker, which was Tanaka's case.

Complicit in the murders was one Emma Gray Phillips. She had been the daughter of one of the three who had been killed 12 years ago, Thomas Gray. She had also been Keoni's boss.

So anyway, Elle has seen Emma when she went to visit her father-in-law who had had a stroke and couldn't speak but was able to communicate nonetheless. After Emma left, Elle's father-in-law, Jarvis, was able to get the point across to Elle that Emma's last name had been Gray. So Elle decided to go and visit Emma. Elle had known all about the three murders because Kawika had told her all about it, including who the true killers were. So she decided to pay Emma a visit. She didn't tell anyone where she was going, but after her husband hadn't heard from her in several hours he became worried. As it turns out she had disappeared.

The cases that needed to be solved were that of the slasher, Keoni's murder and Elle's disappearance. It turns out that Keoni was the son of J.K. Parker who was one of the three who had been killed.

The ups and downs and ins and outs of the story were such that it held my attention and even kept me on the edge of my seat. There was a twist, in that the slasher was someone who was never suspected. The characters were well developed and the plot was carefully thought out. This author did a fabulous job telling the story. It's killing me not to tell all the secrets, but of course that would spoil it. Suffice it to say that it was one spell binding thriller. I gave it five stars.

Interesting and engaging mystery that keeps you on your toes! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

I really like this series. In fact, I think this is a much better book than Bones of Hilo, although (surprisingly) the character development in the first book may outshine the development of the characters introduced in book #2. In addition, there is one story reveal that just falls flat, it seems far too simple and even the writing falls short. This is not generally the case with a story that flows past, the ending coming much faster than you want it to. I highly recommend these books to mystery lovers, Hawaii lovers, or fans of great books.

2014, writers, witty, banter, family-dynamics, friendship, Hawai'i, historical-places-events, history-and-culture, cultural-exploration, cultural-heritage, law-enforcement, multiple-murder, journalist, secrets, lies, unputdownable, crime-fiction, procedural, protests, telescope, observatory*****

This series is definitely a thinking person's mystery!
A past case comes to haunt Major Wong and the Homicide detectives at the same time that a possible copycat serial killer arrives on the scene. And that's not all that's messing with life on the islands.
Detective Kawika Wong has a Hawaii cop for a father who has been devastated by a stroke, and a mother from Washington state now married to a judge, which meant that he spent his school years on the mainland and summers in Hawaii. Also he loves the old school mystery detectives and Poe.
I was riveted! I geek history and this one is just full of well researched cultural and social history with a side order of the linguistics of the islands' language. I came for the mystery (and Hawaii) but stayed for the mystery, characters, history, and some intangibles.
I requested and received a free temporary copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I felt as if I were right beside Kawika Wong attempting to solve the “Slayer” murder while attempting to deal with a seemingly closed case opened by a very young aggressive reporter. If you enjoy a mystery which makes you think, this book is for you. I received an ARC from NetGalley, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Gripping story that I enjoyed immensely. Would recommend to others for sure!! A great new author to add to my list.