Cult of Ku: A Hawaiian Murder Mystery

ISBN-13: 9781539877714 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 274 str.

Bill Fernandez

Opis

In 1920 Honolulu, a series of human-sacrifice style murders of the elite occur, some of them at heaiu (temples). Thehooded killer leaves notes promising more murders to come and are signed: "Cult of Ku." Grant Kingsley, son of a prominent sugar baron, returns home to the islands after his heroic military service in World War One. His grandmother is angry with him because his mother left a death bed note which suggests his father was Hawaiian, not his sugar planter father. When she is brutally murdered Grant is arrested. Released from jail, Grant knows he must clear his name quickly because of public pressure. More such murders occur, each in the same brutal style, each with the same note from "Cult of Ku." His frantic search leads him to the Chinese criminal underworld, Hawaiian martial arts lessons, plantation labor union violence, the Bishop Museum, and a unique Honolulu detective who carries a whip. Grant comes close to capturing the killer and races his car down city streets to catch him. A famous Hawaiian swimmer and surfer friends befriend him and bring relief from the tension as he learns to enjoy the ocean sports. His elite world did not include Native Hawaiians. When a navy officer suggests that Japan is possibly preparing for war, Grant finds himself recruited to be a spy. Grant worries about losing his sugar baron father's love because of the clouded ancestry. Torn by his love for his father but discovering the brutal side of the sugar industry toward its workers, Grant struggles for an answer. A Euro-Asian scholar helps him in his search. As Grant races to try to prevent another murder, he accosts the killer at a seaside heiau (temple) where they battle amidst crashing waves. The discovery of the identity of the killer and his motive stun him.