Trail of the Hana K'ilo

Skeptic Detective Book 2

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Pub Date 13 Aug 2019 | Archive Date 03 Sep 2019

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Description

Missing, Presumed Dead, and a Trail as Cold as a December Night in the Alaskan Wilderness

In the wilderness of rural Alaska, people tell the legend of an elusive water predator called the Hana K’ilo. It’s said to hunt from beneath the surface of rivers only to spring out, clutch, and drown its victims, including humans.

Harlan Holt is a scientist, a university professor, a skeptic of everything paranormal or fantastic, and the last person to put stock in a cryptid tale like that of Hana K’ilo. However, after a family of campers, a fisherman, and finally, a colleague of Harlan’s each mysteriously disappear, he, along with his girlfriend Genevieve, travel to a beautiful destination lodge near the territory associated with the mythical creature.

As the pair investigates, they find themselves surrounded by a small group of staff and guests who all seem to have something to hide. They’re isolated in an inhospitable environment in the dead of winter, and every answer they uncover seems to lead to more questions. Does the Hana K’ilo cryptid actually exist? Have any of the missing survived? And can Harlan and Genevieve uncover the truth before they too join the growing list of victims…

Trail of the Hana K’ilo is the second book in Whitaker’s Skeptic Detective Series.

Missing, Presumed Dead, and a Trail as Cold as a December Night in the Alaskan Wilderness

In the wilderness of rural Alaska, people tell the legend of an elusive water predator called the Hana K’ilo...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781950558025
PRICE $3.99 (USD)

Average rating from 22 members


Featured Reviews

I read the first book in this series and it was very good. This one is also engrossing and entertaining.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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5 stars

Harlan Holt a professor and skeptic of the paranormal and hoaxes is planning a surprise for his girlfriend Genevieve “Vieve” Freeman. It is a trip to Honolulu. However, when a teaching assistant of a Dr. Russell Bremer visits him saying that the professor hasn't returned from a weekend trip, and it's been some six weeks, Raina King begs him to help her. So...Harlan and Vieve instead wind up at a lodge in rural Alaska ( in the middle of winter), to track the missing professor down.

Imagine their surprise when they get to the lodge and Raina is already there. There are only six guests and four staff, so the odds are astronomical. What is going on? I got a little frustrated here that Harlan didn't tell Vieve right away what was going on, but he came clean later in the story.

Several people have disappeared and are presumed dead. The deaths are put down to the mysterious beast called Hana K'ilo. It is said to be a river beast and Dr. Bremer, a cryptozoologist, had a keen interest in finding the beast. Harlan, on the other hand believes it's all hokum.

What follows is an exciting adventure (in the snow and ice), and an action filled mystery. What happened to the people and children who went missing? Does the Han K'ilo really exist?

The lodge where Vieve, Harlan ans the others are staying is very nice. The owners are dedicated outdoors people, very kind and helpful and their helpers twin brother and sister who seem to love living there. The other guests are a mixed collection. From a couple who are celebrating their anniversary to a woman who seems to be traveling on her own.

Most of these characters have secrets – something to hide. As the story goes along, the reader gets a few surprises, some of them nice and some of them deadly.

What a wonderfully well written and plotted story - and a fun adventure. There were a couple of grammatical errors, but they passed by quickly. Mr. Whitaker writes a very good story with tension and drama, I enjoyed meeting the characters and was pleased to see the return of Harlan and Vieve. I enjoyed this book more than the last one and I heartily recommend it to anyone who likes adventure and mystery.

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this very fine book for me to read, enjoy and review.

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I really enjoyed reading this book, it has a setting that you don't see in every novel. The characters were great and I liked the world that was built.

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The story opens with the characters on the plane - it really helped to show the reader each character and their quirks and so by the time the main story started, I already knew who was who. Channing goes into detail about a video of Kamrar (the magician) and I genuinely felt like I was watching the magic show in my head with how descriptive it was and therefore how much imagery I gained from it. The video opened up so many possibilities to me and made the mystery even more mystifying.

I loved the fact the characters were in the 'haunted' mansion as part of a TV show - first book I've read where it's not just teenagers breaking inside of somewhere they shouldn't be, and I actually preferred it. It made for more realism for me.

I definitely connected with Harlan the most, who was the sceptic. I really didn't expect that as I myself believe in spirits, but he still has a way to draw you in with his kindness. Maybe it was the fact he was the one so interested in Vinton's journal. The others were interested too, but not to the point of Harlan. I, too, could imagine myself being the person to sit and read the entire journal.

Usually when a story flits between past and present, I find myself preferring one to the other, but in this case I genuinely was interested in learning about both. I got to excited when Harlan would read another passage from Vinton's journal, but I also wanted to know what was going on in the mansion.

A great read, I would definitely recommend it. The outcome is definitely one I didn't expect.

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This is one of those stories that creeps up on you until you discover you can't stop reading. It was a little slow at first, but picked up action on number of plot threads. It has mystery, romance, academic conflict, and wild environments. There is much to scare the reader and much to enjoy. Everything is natural. The characters are diverse and interesting. I went to Amazon and bought the first book in this series after reading this one.

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Mysterious And Fun!

Harlan Holt is a university professor and a skeptic of the paranormal and there happens to be an associate scientist who is also a renown cryptozoologist and has seemingly disappeared under mysterious circumstances while investigating the claims of the "Hana K'ilo" legend in rural Alaska. Within recent years several people have gone missing and many of the community seem to believe that this cryptid predator may responsible for the disappearances. Harlan and his girlfriend (Genevieve) book a trip to the beautiful vacation resort where his colleague had stayed before he went missing, hoping to find answers to why this man disappeared and why was this cryptid legend was so important that he would have carelessly traveled alone to research this unusual water predator.

I have now become a fan of Channing Whitaker and am looking forward to the first book in this series and I hope that there will be many more books to come. Harlan Holt is a wonderful character to bases a series around and I am so glad I found this book on Netgalley. The story was a great adventure into Alaska in the dead of winter and the writing was so wonderful that I could almost feel the icy wind and shivering cold that the characters would face. The book is full of mystery, creepiness and also great tension. I highly recommend this book and have given a rating of 4 Cryptid 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

I want to thank the publisher Books Go Social and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific book for an unbiased opinion!

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I really enjoyed this book!

Not only were the character so complex that I was suspecting anyone of anything at literally any time, but I also learnt a lot.

I never knew what a cryptid was. Now I do. I've always heard about strange legendary creatures, most of them African in origin so I learnt about new legends, or are they myths? The Hana K'ilo....

Did it kill all the people the blog says it did? Or is it merely a scary monster to keep kids safe?

As you read you will surely wonder who is a monster and who isn't - and don't forget to read how the author found the Hana K'ilo. It's right at the back of the book.

Excellent story! Thank you to Netgalley and he author for allowing me to read this book. I try to review every book I read.

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4 stars

I was really looking forward to reading this book, which is the second in Whitaker’s Skeptic Detective series, and it did not disappoint!

Whitaker paints a vivid picture of the settings of each of his books. This time round we are taken to Alaska in the depths of winter. Harlan and Vieve are staying in a lodge to investigate the disappearance of one of Harlan’s work colleagues who recently took a trip out there to investigate the possible existence of a cryptid known as the “Hano K’ilo”.

Some parts were a little slower than others (for instance there is a lot of description about the activities the guests get up to during the day) which didn’t add anything to the story. Overall, I enjoyed how the story developed and I think Whitaker tied everything up well.

I look forward to reading more of Whitaker’s work.
Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

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Trail of the Hana K’ilo is a mystery crime story about Harlan, a professor who plans to go on a vacation with his girlfriend, however, changes it when a student gives him a letter, telling him that his colleague is missing.


Harlon is dedicated in his mission as this isn’t the first person who has gone missing at the destination. The wintery conditions do not help the situation, and as they discover the Hana K’ilo Cryptid, they realize secrets that they never thought existed. Trail of the Hana K’ilo is a mystery crime story about Harlan, a professor who plans to go on a vacation with his girlfriend, however, changes it when a student gives him a letter, telling him that his colleague is missing.


Harlon is dedicated in his mission as this isn’t the first person who has gone missing at the destination. The wintery conditions do not help the situation, and as they discover the Hana K’ilo Cryptid, they realize secrets that they never thought existed.



The literature was descriptive in its nature and explained the scenes in a very visual way. The suspense and tension embedded in the story were vital to the mystery side of the book, and I believe the author managed to pull that off splendidly.



I would have preferred a stronger bond between Harlan and Genevieve at first, but the characters grew on me, and so did their relationship.



I believe this story would suit people who like to read on supernatural thrillers and paranormal suspense books.

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The Second Book in the Skeptic Detective series, this one was as enjoyable as the first. Secrets, mystery and paranormal (or maybe not) events.

This series has an echo of the Pendergast series from Lincoln and Child, in my opinion. The handsome, intelligent MC who tries to unravel the mystery and prove that there is nothing paranormal. Lots of fun, crazy events happen along the way that keeps the readers interest.

I’d definitely recommend this series if you love mystery and adventure and are looking for something a little different!

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A great new installment in the Skeptic Detective series. This time we're headed to Alaska, where Harlan and Genevieve have a new mystery to unravel. There's a lot on the line, and Whitaker did a great job of building up the tension and suspense, as well as moving things along at a decent pace. The imagery really brought the whole story to life, and it was like stepping into the midst of everything as it unfolds. Highly recommend for anyone who loves amateur detective mysteries!

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