Elaine Hatfield

Richard L. Rapson

Deadly Wager: A Kate MacKinnon Murder Mystery Elaine Hatfield & Richard L. Rapson Book Description A crack of gunfire and Ace MacKinnon, a Narcotics/Vice detective with the Hawaii Police Department lies dead. A few hours later, his daughter Caitlyn MacKinnon, a Hawaiian Studies graduate student, hears from her mother Annie that her father has been killed. Kate is perplexed to discover that Chief Fixxxa Nishida has advised her mother that, although the evidence suggests that Ace committed suicide, he will arrange things so that the death looks like an accident. What is going on? In the course of Kate's investigation, she meets an old friend, Detective Sergeant David Ka ala Gresham. Although Kate is determined not to get involved romantically with Ka ala, he is an invaluable asset in searching for her father's killer. Their search takes them through the dark political murk of Hawaii politics, cultural clashes, honor-systems within honor-systems, racial tensions, and criminal wheeling-and-dealing in the 50th State. In the end, when Kate and Ka ala have given up all hope of ever discovering who killed Ace MacKinnon, they stumble on a crucial bit of evidence a starburst Christmas decoration that casts a new and blinding light on Ace's shocking past. The answer to the mystery of "Who killed Ace MacKinnon" is not one they would have hoped for, however. Deadly Wager is different from most crime stories both in character and locale. Kate and Ka ala are both Native Hawaiians. In the course of the investigation we learn a great deal about Hawaiian history and customs, the story of an ancient princess, the Hawaiian sovereignty fight, culture wars, K-bars, police connections to organized crime, illegal gambling, and cockfights. The exotic locale and atmosphere of this detective tale contributes to its fun . . . and suspense. This story is unique, in that (since the Charlie Chan mysteries in the 1930s) there has never been a detective series set in Hawaii. The detectives on the two big TV shows that were produced: Hawaii Five-0 and Tom Selleck's Magnum PI, were Caucasians; Ka ala is a full-blooded Hawaiian and Kate MacKinnon is a part-Hawaiian (a hapa-haoli) and a Hawaiian sovereignty activist. This book will give you a vivid sense of life in 21st century Hawaii.

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