I thought this story was rushed and the audiobook was way too long in my opinion. I wasn’t a huge fan of the storyline.

From the description, I thought this sounded like a good story to get lost into, possibly a bit of an Agatha Christie meets modern detective story – in Hawaii. It had a little bit of everything, greed, corruption, heritage preservation, cultural racism to tie into why Ralph Fortunato was killed. The main character - Kawika – has a lot of growing up to do from an investigative point of view, looking back, I feel that it might have been better if he had been a PI than a working detective.
I had some “really??” moments, like I’m pretty sure you don’t bed the person who discovers the body, it doesn’t matter if at the end you discover that she is/isn’t the murderer…
It might also have been better had I’d read the book rather than listened to the audio version as while the narrator has a nice voice and sets a good pace, his character voices are a bit annoying, especially for the females as my brain envisioned a teletubby or an anime talking which distracted me from the story, one of those times when at least two narrators might have made a better presentation.

Overall, I’m on the fence with this book. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good, if you are looking for something that is different from the normal police procedural this would be a good option but I’d be wary of the audiobook version.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to listen to the Bones Of Hilo in return for an honest review.

In all honesty, I've never been a fan of audiobooks simply because I find it hard to pay attention to them and wind up rewinding multiple times to make sure I don't miss anything. That was not the case for Bones of Hilo. The narrator's calming voice and careful pronunciation of words made it easy to follow along with the story. Eric Redman has done an amazing job writing a story that's the perfect balance of thriller/mystery mixed with enticing chapters that keep you keen to know what's going to happen next. While the story takes a little while to get into, it's worth the slow build up and is perfectly balanced with drama. I'd suggest listening to this in one or two sittings if you're able to, perhaps on a long drive or a day of traveling so that you can enjoy the goosebumps each chapter brings.

This is a police procedural that focuses on a young and largely inexperienced Detective Kawika Wong. He is assigned a murder case specifically because he is "Hawaiian". He grew up splitting his time between Hawaii and the mainland. As a result, he is not accepted in either society. He struggles to solve the crime and gets involved with two women along the way. He relies on his father's knowledge of Hawaiian tradition which I found interesting. This story is less about the murder to be solved and more about the varying versions of societal prejudice and/or racism he faces as he tries to solve the case. He is likeable enough as a character. The story spends more time telling us rather than showing us via the plot that he faces this racism. It had the elements of a good story but needed better development.

I read this as an audiobook, and the narration was quite good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for the ALC of this book. My opinion is my own.

Kawika Wong is a fledgling detective in Hawaii, having made some cultural mistakes in his first job in Seattle. The issues with cultural understanding resonate throughout the book, as Kawika struggles with his ancestry: part Chinese, part Hawaiian, and part Caucasian. His boss, a Japanese man, has taken him under his wing and the relationship between the two plays a critical role in the plot. His longstanding Hawaiian girlfriend and a new lover from the mainland further complicate his search for identity.

As he deals with trying to figure out who he is at his core, Kawika is given the lead role investigating the murder of a wealthy real estate developer in Hawaii, which further complicates cultural issues as the man was killed using an ancient Hawaiian spear in what appears to be a ritual killing. The author, Redman, does a great job of describing the conflicts Kawika uncovers: cultural, personal, financial, and moral. The characters are well developed and the landscapes are beautifully rendered.

In most cases, I expect that listening to a book with culturally diverse characters will be an advantage over simply reading the book. In this case, however, I'm not sure the reader's rendition was a positive addition. The voices that he used for the various characters were distracting rather than helpful and when a native Hawaiian was speaking, the narrator almost always gave him or her a sort of angry tone. I liked the book very much, and there was certainly no trouble following who was speaking with the different voices assumed by the narrator, but I would have better enjoyed a less strident tone for the native Hawaiians.

All in all, the book was entertaining, keeping my interest well into the night as I stayed up to find out how it all ended,

Book Review: Bones of Hilo
By Eric Redman

Bones of Hilo is a mystery novel about a young Hawaiian detective and a troubling case involving a dead real estate developer.

Kawika Wong is given the Fortunato murder case while the rest of the department is working on solving another high profile series of murders. His commanding officer is hoping his status as a resident native Hawaiian will help give him the edge on this touchy case of a real estate developer murdered with an ancient Hawaiian relic. Instead Detective Wong is dragged into a case complicated with sex, greed, corruption, heritage sites and native rights.

What could have been a pretty straightforward police procedural novel with a lot of good information about Hawaii and it’s people is sadly weighed down by the main character’s love life. For some inexplicable reason he decides to start a sexual relationship with the woman who discovers the body. Her entire character and how she propositions him over dinner is the most “male wish fulfillment” plot device I’ve come across in a long time. If that’s not enough he’s two timing his pretty serious girlfriend while he also uses both women for help with the case. So, basically he’s gross.

I wish I could have enjoyed this more but I found the case increasingly convoluted and the portrayal of the female characters off-putting. I didn’t find any of the additional details about the detective’s love life (and the sex scenes) helpful to the plot or pushing it forward at all.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Couldn't get into this one, ended up being a DNF for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Not really sure how i feel about this book, it was pretty good but long.

The description of this book had me super excited about this book. Unfortunately, I found it dry and a bit boring. I was able to finish it but it took me several days.

For this being a legal thriller I was not thrilled.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio ARC copy of this book in exchange for my review.

I am one of very few who don't dream of living in or vacationing in Hawaii - it's a beautiful state to see photos of, but I've never had a desire to go there. But, I find books, movies & tv set in Hawaii very interesting. The overall attitude of people there, their way of life and just Hawaiians in media. I've read a few books about Hawaiian folk lore and mythology and really enjoyed them. So I was excited to get approved to listen to this book and review it.

While I didn't find the main characters or the story development so much different than the other police procedural books, adding the Hawaiian angle was very enjoyable for me. And it was interesting to have a main character cop who didn't quite fit in, needing help and working to solve the crime.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little different police procedural book or is just interesting in trying out something a little different. And the audio narration was well done. It added a nice touch to the overall story. Will certainly look for the author and narrator again.

4.33 stars

When Ralph Fortunato, an unpopular and controversial Mainland developer, is murdered with an ancient Hawaiian spear driven in a golf course, new detective Kawika Wong finds his chance to prove himself.

I read Bones of Hilo as an audiobook produced by Dreamscape Media and narrated by Kurt Kanazawa. His narration was terrific. He kept a good pace, and I appreciate learning the pronunciation of words I did not know. It helped with the imagery, and it drew me in. I usually prefer two narrators or more, but Kurt brought it in, and I was satisfied with the way the story was told.

Bones of Hilo is a great thriller that feels fresh, compelling, and original. I have never read a book that had murders based on Hawaiian folklore. This book didn’t shy away from grittiness at times, and it didn’t try to sugarcoat acts of violence, prejudice, and racism that happen off-page. At the same time, Redman brought in a work of fiction that is fast-paced and filled with fleshed-out, multidimensional characters. I loved Kawika’s ARC. He is a half Chinese, half Hawaiian man who spent most of his life in the mainland. Even though his dad has never left the islands and Kawika is familiar with parts of the culture, there is a lot he doesn’t know. Being an outsider policeman in Hawaii means he has a lot to learn and a lot to prove. The author did a great job using his journey to organically explain concepts and parts of the culture to the reader that are relevant to the mystery.

The mystery itself was entertaining. To me, it felt like a cross between Law and Order Criminal Intent and Death in Paradise. The crime is gruesome, but the characters were so likable. There is an inviting lightness to them, especially Kawika, his parents, and girlfriends.

I hope Redman continues to write because I would love to continue to follow Kawika in his Hawaiian journey.

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to NetGalley, Eric Redman, and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of Bones of Hilo.

My thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to review this audio.

Detective Kawika Wong is called upon to solve the murder of developer of Ralph Fortunato by his boss, Captain Terry Tanaka. What's odd about it? The victim has an old Hawaian spear thru his heart! With the assistance of his father, and one of the witnesses to the crime, he tries to solve the murder.

I thought this was just ok for me. The premise of the murder drew me in, but then I felt I was getting to much information on the personal life of the detective, which I didn't need as much, like him.cheating on two women. Some of the Hawaiian back history was very interesting, but it lost me a bit to the story.

I wanted to love this one, and I think the plot and characters were great. I love the idea of there being serious issues with non-native Hawaiians building on sacred Hawaiian lands. However, there was so much Hawaiian/Japanese language in this book that it made the audiobook cumbersome to listen to. I may actually end up re-reading this book in print because seeing the words and the character names may make it much easier to follow rather than listening and losing some of the plot because I'm concentrating so hard on the names and places and jargon thrown in. Overall, I really liked it but I can't say I would recommend the audio version.