I’m kind of struggling for what to say in this review. This is my first exposure to this author and although this book was well written, I just didn’t like the story and couldn’t connect with this character, Kimo. I was aware that this was not a "romance" novel. It is a gay fiction story about a Hawaiian detective struggling with his sexuality. It is also an ongoing story in a series. What I enjoyed about this book was the performance of Joel Leslie in bringing a ton of different characters to life; various accents and dialects. I also liked Kimo’s friend Harry and his Mom, but that was about it.
I tried to enjoy Kimo’s journey of self discovery but found myself constantly rolling my eyes at his decisions and wanting to smack him. I swear throughout the book if there was a decision to be made that would make his life harder, he made it. Then I was frustrated when his words had no relation to his actions. For example, if you proclaim throughout the story that you don’t want to be known as the "gay cop" then you probably shouldn’t suggest giving a suspect a BJ to get a confession, REALLY!!?? Or when his brother gay bashes someone to the point they are in the hospital and after his initial outrage, it is brushed off as no big deal. It bordered on TSTL actions. In addition the, IMHO, poor police procedures and OTT homophobia just turned me off. He just doesn’t come off as a competent law enforcement officer. Maybe it gets better as the series progresses, but this just didn’t work for me.