Honolulu Noir Book Launch Party

Join us at the launch of Honolulu Noir as the Aloha State enters the Akashic Noir Series arena with a riveting collection, exploring shadows and corners of Honolulu that will never be found in a tourist brochure. Come talk story with and hear select authors read their never before published short stories.

MORE ABOUT HONOLULU NOIR:

E komo mai to Honolulu Noir.

The Aloha State enters the Akashic Noir Series arena with a riveting collection, exploring shadows and corners of Honolulu that will never be found in a tourist brochure

FEATURING BRAND NEW STORIES BY: Don Wallace, Stephanie Han, Christy Passion, Morgan Miryung McKinney, Alan Brennert, Lono Waiwai’ole, Kiana Davenport, Mindy Eun Soo Pennybacker, Scott Kikkawa, Tom Gammarino, B.A. Kobayashi, Michelle Cruz Skinner, and Chris McKinney.

Two thousand miles away from the rest of the country, an American city evades the mind’s eye of the empire that claimed it, peddled it as paradise, then largely ignored it. And yet, Honolulu likes its anonymity. Tourists and outsiders corral themselves in hotels and resorts, vacation eyes glued to their beachfront sunsets and mai tais while the people who live here get on with their affairs. And sometimes it’s dirty business.

Honolulu Noir comprises stories about the people of the city, written by those who know this place best. The volume opens with a story featuring Chang Apana, the Native Hawaiian/Chinese real-life cop who was the inspiration for the controversial Charlie Chan. It ends with a supernatural journey from the Philippines to Hawaii. In between, readers will find multicultural tales of invasion (whether yakuza, ISIS recruiters, or vampires), madness, addiction, and M**der—all the stuff that many people don’t know happens here. Unbeknownst to the rest of the country, Honolulu can be a very dangerous place. Here, even the alluring crystal-blue waters might K*ll you.

Chris McKinney says, “When the opportunity to edit Honolulu Noir was presented to me, I jumped at the chance. I’d been aware of the outstanding reputation of Akashic’s Noir Series, and as someone who was born and has lived and worked in just about every neighborhood in this city, I felt up to the task.”

About the editor: CHRIS McKINNEY is a Korean, Japanese, Scottish American writer born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the author of the Water City Trilogy. Book one was named a Best Mystery of 2021 by Publishers Weekly and a Best Speculative Mystery of 2021 by CrimeReads. He has published six other novels: The Tattoo, The Queen of Tears, Bolohead Row, Mililani Lauka, Boi No Good, and Yakudoshi: Age of Calamity. In 2024, Honolulu Magazine named McKinney "Author of the Year" for his Water City Trilogy. McKinney currently resides in Honolulu with his wife and two daughters.

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