Mahu Vice by Neil Plakcy

I read the four books in Neil Plakcy's Mahu series one right after the other and really enjoyed the opportunity to do so.  It's not often I get to move from one story right into the next.  Following Kimo over the first three books as he came to terms with the very public knowledge that he is gay was fascinating and often gut-churning. Mr. Plakcy added so much emotional detail about what Kimo was going through that I was, on occasion, almost overwhelmed; he definitely provided a very strong voice.  I also loved the police investigations in which Kimo found himself working.  I'm a big fan of the genre and the excellent amalgamation of the various elements really makes this a series that I will go back to over and over again.
All I can say is that Kimo Kanapa'aka has a fan for life as does Neil Plakcy.  I've now managed to acquire all his books, in both formats if available. 

 If you've not read anything by this author, I strongly suggest you do; if you want more romance, then definitely try either Gaylife.com or Three Wrong Turns in the Desert.  If out-and-out romance isn't your cup of tea, I highly recommend the Mahu series with Kimo Kanapa'aka.  But whichever you choose, you can be sure that you will be on the receiving end of an excellent story.

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The fourth book in the series is
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Book Info:

NEIL S. PLAKCY; Mahu Vice; Alyson Books; August 2009

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SEX AND VIOLENCE COLLIDE UNDER THE TROPICAL SUN


Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa'aka went into a tailspin after the breakup of his hot, heavy affair with fire investigator Mike Riccardi. Now that Kimo's beginning to recover, he's forced to work with Mike again on an arson homicide at a shopping center built by Kimo's father. The investigation takes them into dangerous territory, with love, sex and death at stake.

Some of my favourite authors - OR - What Ethan Day's Gay Day has done to my TBR

I've gotta say that Ethan Day's Gay Day is responsible for the huge increase in my TBR and my TBB; actually before Gay Day last September I didn't even have a TBB list.  But there you have it. 
The authors that show up on Ethan's Gay Day to tease and tantalise us poor lowly readers are phenomenal.  And many of them have become favourites:  Ethan Day, well Ethan's been a favourite of mine for over a year and each story just cements his place there.  But I've also found other authors (and they're in alphabetical order... no way can I put one ahead of another... they're all my faves for a reason!):

• Adrianne Brennan
• P.A. Brown
• Leiland Dale
• Jason Eddings
• S.J. Frost
• KImberly Gardner
• Andrew Grey
• Jambrea Jo Jones
• Geoff Knight (aka A.J. Ryan, aka Sam Cross)
• AJ Llewellyn
• Clare London
• Lynn Lorenz
• DJ Manly
• Z.A. Maxfield
• Patric Michael
• AKM Miles
• Johnny Miles (still waiting for May 15!)
• Jet Mykles
• Willa Okati
• Sloan Parker (just waiting for it to be released)
• Neil S. Plakcy
• Devon Rhodes
• Jaime Samms
• Lex Valentine
• Nix Winter 

and Amanda Young predates Ethan... actually I *found* Ethan through an interview that Amanda did with him.  Best. Interview. EVER! 

So, yes when I say that my TBR is unmanageable, I have the above authors to thank!  And a few more that I've kind of stumbled onto either through my own blind luck or have been led to by others.  But that's a whole different story--all about Book Sluts & Book Man Whores.  *grin*

Mahu Fire by Neil Plakcy

Not sure what it was, but there was a little spark missing in this, Neil Plakcy's third book in his MAHU series. But that's not to say that it wasn't still an excellent story; honestly I don't think this man can write a bad story. I really do enjoy following the adventures of Kimo; but there's so much more to the stories than just Kimo and his police magic. There's his family and friends, there is the desire to find that special someone, something that most of us can identify with in one way or another. And there's always a mystery that keeps the reader spell-bound and unsure of just who is doing what and why; at least until the end.


Another excellent story in Neil Plakcy's outstanding series.

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Book Info:

Neil S. Plakcy; Mahu Fire; Alyson Books; April 2008

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WHERE THERE'S SMOKE...THERE'S DEATH
 Honolulu heats up, as passions rise and murder comes calling. Homicide detective Kimo Kanapa'aka is attending a local charity event in support of gay marriage when a bomb disrupts the gala. Someone is out for more than blood...they want victims. With hunky fireman Mike Riccardi at his side--day and night--Kimo digs through the ashes to find that, not only is heat dangerous for the heart, but that fire can burn through the hottest of motives.

Mahu Surfer by Neil Plakcy

Neil Plakcy has, in Kimo Kanapa'aka, created a character that comes to life. In his struggles with his outing, his desire to be just Kimo Kanapa'aka, former surfer, now homicide detective, he's finding that, to many people, he's more--or to some, less. He's a real person dealing with frustrations that most of us will never have to go through. Even more, he's still a cop and a good one at that. It's driving him crazy that his notoriety is both a help and a hindrance.



Mr. Plakcy's mystery writing is superb, his characterisations wonderful and his storytelling stellar. On so many levels this author has gained my appreciation; and as a writer he's fabulous!

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Book Info:

Neil S. Plakcy; Mahu Surfer; Alyson Books; August 2007

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SURF'S UP... AND SO IS THE BODY COUNT

On the North Shore of Oahu, three young surfers have been murdered--shot by a high-powered rifle while riding the waves. For Kimo Kanapa'aka, the only openly gay detective in Honolulu--and one-time competitive surfer--tracking the killer is his way back to respectablility within his own department. Infiltrating the close-knit surfer community, Kimo discovers more than trouble in paradise. He finds pure evil under the sun.

Mahu by Neil S. Plakcy

I love mysteries and I love Neil Plakcy's books. Up until I read his Mahu series, I'd only read two of Mr. Plakcy's books, but they really struck a chord with me. So when I found that his first book was a police procedural and that the main character, Kimo Kanapa'aka is a gay homicide detective, I knew I had to get it... and the three following stories as well.

I am pleased to say that I was NOT disappointed! As far as I'm concerned Neil can write just about anything and I'm going to enjoy it.

Kimo Kanapa'aka is a seriously engaging character and following as his life is turned upside-down and topsy-turvy is a rollercoaster ride where you can't see what's coming up next. And Mr. Plakcy keeps the tension honed to a fine edge; but he's also very good at letting us breathe once in awhile.

All I can say is, Neil Plakcy has joined my top favourite and auto-buy author's list... and I've already made excellent headway on collecting all his books.

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Book Info:

Neil S. Plakcy; MAHU; Alyson Books; 2009 (reprint)

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A TROPICAL PARADISE CONTAINS DEADLY SECRETS


Honolulu becomes the site for murder and deception. When handsome, mixed-race surfer (and closeted homicide detective) Kimo Kanapa'aka leaves a Honolulu gay bar late one night and stumbles onto two men dropping a dead body in an alley, he has no idea hat he is about to begin the journey of his life--into danger, passion and self-awareness. Kimo's pursuit of this case takes him from the seamy underside of Chinatown to the elegance of million-dollar homes in Maunalani Heights, from gay bars where young men stride naked down runways to bloody crime scenes. The murder has the potential to publicize his personal life and wipe-out everything he has worked for.

Neil S. Plakcy and the MAHU series

Over the Christmas holidays I finally made time for the four books in Neil Plakcy's MAHU series and I'm so glad that I did. After having read Three Wrong Turns in the Desert and Gaylife.com I knew that I'd love these books. They're not romances but there are romance elements; but even so, I was in alt when I finally got down to reading about Kimo Kanapa'aka. I love mysteries and I love stories about police detectives ~ and my favourite television shows are still Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. There's something about the good guys getting the upper hand and making the evil-doers, if not pay, at least have their faces and names put to the crime.

So yes, even though I bought these Print books without having much knowledge about them, I must say how pleased I am to have them on my shelves! 
And I will be posting reviews for each of the books in the series shortly... I'm off to pick my daughter up from school...

Some of the books I've read... Oh my!

The joys of reading have never been as evident to me as they have been over the last few weeks. I admit it, I'm a Book Slut ~ and darned proud of it too!~ and being a fairly new reviewer for Ebook Addict and Dark Diva Reviews has been a slice of heaven! While not all of my heavenly reads have been from my review work, a fair bit has.  I've slowly been making sure that I add long-time-eTBR books to my reading list.  I really wish that there were more hours in the day... and that I could dedicate them to just READING.  But, alas, my family does come first and they do like to eat, so.... :grin:

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• I finally made a place for Z.A. Maxfield's Notturno in my line-up and it was everything ~ and even a bit more ~ than I had thought it would be.  Sometimes the lead-in to a story ~ aka other people's comments, raves and reviews ~ end up leaving me with a slight to severe let-down. Let me say that I've not seen ANYTHING that comes close to the power of Notturno... and that's saying a LOT!
  I'm not making mention of ZAM's Blue Fire 'cause I've just recently reviewed it here... :sigh: My oh my... Adam and Jared
  
  
  
• T.A. Chase's Nowhere Diner: Finding Love has been in my TBR since its release... I know! And while I knew that I was going to love it ~ everything else that I've read by this marvelously talented author has been fabulous ~ it still managed to take my breath away. I'm sincerely hoping that this is only the first in a series of stories featuring Cookie's diner... I could spend a long, long time there and never be bored!
  

A few of the review books that I've read lately out-and-out blew me away.  I've come to find that there is a plethora of amazing, talented and just-plain-fantastic, ebook authors around and it's been a thrill to find so many of these and add them to my favourite-and-auto-buy list.  The latest additions, in no particular order:

• Chrissy Munder ~ Fair Wind
• Nicki Bennett ~ Flight
• Neil Plakcy ~ Three Wrong Turns in the Desert

which led me straight to Mr. Plakcy's Gaylife.com (which has been in my TBR since its release)

• Shawn Lane ~ Beyond the Norm
• Mychael Black ~ As Above, So Below
• Jet Mykles ~ About Something
• Rowan McBride ~ One Shot
• Rosalie Stanton ~ Firsts

I'm not including here books that I've read and reviewed by authors that I already collect; the above are all new-to-me authors that have blasted their way into my heart and onto my list... Thank heavens! The tried and true favourites:

• Ethan Day ~ As You Are
• Josh Lanyon ~ I Spy Something Wicked

I actually waited to read "Wicked" because Mr. Lanyon's I Spy Something Bloody was also a long-time resident of my eTBR (I know, I know....); once I figured out that "Wicked" was a sequel novella to a book in my TBR... well, I'm not crazy... much.

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So I decided that today was a great day to at least catch up on my book list; at least here.  My poor eHarlequin blog is starting to collect all kinds of spiders and ghostly sounds.  Ah well... I'll get better at the time organization thing... I hope!

Three Wrong Turns in the Desert by Neil Plakcy

Three Wrong Turns in the Desert was an amazing, adventurous and sensual story.  I really hadn't known what to expect; the only other Neil Plakcy story that I had read was in the Best Gay Romance anthology edited by Tom Graham ~ Mi Amor, Mi Corazon, Mi Cielo.
It was a wonderful and yet humourous romance and it really set me up to like anything by Mr. Plakcy.  So when the opportunity arose to read his story Three Wrong Turns in the Desert, I jumped at it.  I was glued to the pages as Aidan and Liam's relationship began, grew and developed. And the exciting elements of intrigue reminded me of Robert Ludlum and the manner in which he mesmerized his readers. Mr. Ludlum is still, in my mind, one of the very best in the genre ~ and here I found the same intensity in a romance... wow!
I absolutely adored Aidan, a man who found himself in circumstances that he could neither have forseen or knew how to deal with, but with Liam by his side, all was possible.
Liam was more of a mystery, but as the story progressed Neil Plakcy slowly peeled back the layers behind which Liam had hidden himself. I loved watching as he and Aidan found something together that neither of them had ever expected to have. Beautiful, heart-pounding, erotic and always a story that will be a joy to return to again and again. 
Here's hoping that there will be more stories featuring Aidan and Liam; I for one will get them as soon as they're out!

And I've already ordered, and received, Mr. Plakcy's Mahu books... really looking forward to sitting down, digging in and letting go.

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BOOK INFO:
Neil Plakcy; Three Wrong Turns in the Desert; Loose Id; September 2009


BOOK DESCRIPTION:


From the moment he sees handsome Liam McCullough showering naked behind a Tunisian bar, ESL teacher Aidan Greene wants to screw the sexy bodyguard. At first, though, a dead courier and beefy hired thugs get in the way. But Liam soon convinces him -- with wiles and smiles and solid logic -- to join him on a race across the desert for a rendezvous with a Tuareg tribe at a remote oasis. Then nothing can stop them from getting naked and getting it on. Together they explore the passion Liam hid from as a closeted Navy SEAL, and the love Aidan's missed after his long-term boyfriend kicked him to the curb.


From the back of a motorcycle to a Turkish bath to a remote dune in the desert, these two Romeos find ways to bring each other to the heights of pleasure. So what if they’re carrying the password to a million-dollar Swiss bank account and being chased by Libyan intelligence agents determined to stop them at all costs? Love and lust fuel their passion and not even three wrong turns in the desert will keep them from surviving this adventure alive -- and together.


Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable. Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.