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Mahu #1-6
Mahu Box Set
The first six novels in the award-winning Mahu Investigations series. Mahu, Mahu Surfer, Mahu Fire, Mahu Vice, Mahu Blood and Zero Break showcase a dedicated Honolulu homicide detective probing deep into the shadows of the sunny Aloha State to root out criminals and predators. Lots of sunshine and surfing along with murder, arson, domestic terrorism and much more.
2394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2021
257 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Neil S. Plakcy
244 books653 followersI have been a voracious reader all my life, mostly in mystery, romance, and science fiction/fantasy, though a college degree in English did push a lot of literary works into my list of favorites.
Quick note: sign up for my newsletter at plakcy.substack.com to get free prologues, epilogues and short stories.
I began writing seriously in high school after an inspiring assignment with A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I didn't know I was gay then, but I knew I was longing for an emotional connection with a best friend. That desire shows up across my writing, from romance to mystery to adventure. I am lucky to have found my special person, and I want to inspire readers to make those connections, to one person or a found family.
It took getting an MFA in creative writing to kick-start my career. That's where I honed my technical skills and began to understand what kind of storyteller I am.
I remember reading Freddie the Detective about a very smart pig inspired by Sherlock Holmes. I’ve always believed that dogs make the best detectives. They notice what humans miss — a faint scent, a subtle shift in body language, the hidden treat in your pocket. That belief inspired my Golden Retriever Mysteries, where Rochester helps his human, Steve Levitan, nose out the truth.
My passion is telling stories where community, loyalty, and sometimes love solve problems just as much as clues do. Whether it’s a cozy mystery in Bucks County, a thriller on the streets of Miami, or a romance unfolding under the Mediterranean sun, I want readers to feel the heartbeat of the place and the people.
I write because stories helped me feel less alone growing up, and now I want to give readers that same feeling: a companion, a puzzle, and maybe a laugh.
When I’m not writing, I’m probably walking one of my own goldens, teaching writing, or daydreaming about my next story.
Since then I've written dozens of books, won a couple of treasured awards, and enjoyed the support of readers.
Every place I’ve lived has made its way into my fiction: the rolling hills of Bucks County, the neon heat of Miami, the beaches of Hawaii, the cobbled streets of Europe. I love exploring how communities work — from a café where dogs guide healing, to a fraternity house in South Beach, to a police unit in Honolulu.
My goal is simple: to write stories that feel grounded in real people and real places, but with enough twists, romance, or danger to keep you turning pages late into the night.
I hope you'll visit my website, where you can sign up for my occasional newsletter, and also follow my author page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/neil.plakcy.
Quick note: sign up for my newsletter at plakcy.substack.com to get free prologues, epilogues and short stories.
I began writing seriously in high school after an inspiring assignment with A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I didn't know I was gay then, but I knew I was longing for an emotional connection with a best friend. That desire shows up across my writing, from romance to mystery to adventure. I am lucky to have found my special person, and I want to inspire readers to make those connections, to one person or a found family.
It took getting an MFA in creative writing to kick-start my career. That's where I honed my technical skills and began to understand what kind of storyteller I am.
I remember reading Freddie the Detective about a very smart pig inspired by Sherlock Holmes. I’ve always believed that dogs make the best detectives. They notice what humans miss — a faint scent, a subtle shift in body language, the hidden treat in your pocket. That belief inspired my Golden Retriever Mysteries, where Rochester helps his human, Steve Levitan, nose out the truth.
My passion is telling stories where community, loyalty, and sometimes love solve problems just as much as clues do. Whether it’s a cozy mystery in Bucks County, a thriller on the streets of Miami, or a romance unfolding under the Mediterranean sun, I want readers to feel the heartbeat of the place and the people.
I write because stories helped me feel less alone growing up, and now I want to give readers that same feeling: a companion, a puzzle, and maybe a laugh.
When I’m not writing, I’m probably walking one of my own goldens, teaching writing, or daydreaming about my next story.
Since then I've written dozens of books, won a couple of treasured awards, and enjoyed the support of readers.
Every place I’ve lived has made its way into my fiction: the rolling hills of Bucks County, the neon heat of Miami, the beaches of Hawaii, the cobbled streets of Europe. I love exploring how communities work — from a café where dogs guide healing, to a fraternity house in South Beach, to a police unit in Honolulu.
My goal is simple: to write stories that feel grounded in real people and real places, but with enough twists, romance, or danger to keep you turning pages late into the night.
I hope you'll visit my website, where you can sign up for my occasional newsletter, and also follow my author page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/neil.plakcy.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 23, 2024
Entretenido, divertido, interesante
Kimo es un detective de policía gay que está en negación, pero tiene que afrontar sus sentimientos hacia otros hombres cuando presencia un crimen fuera de un bar gay.
Es este boxset, besos como Kimo va desde un policía gay descubriendo su sexualidad, a un hombre gay con una pareja fija, todo mientras resuelve casos de homicidio con su compañero.
Estas son unas de esas historias que resultan entretenidas y divertidas, de las que te enamoras del personaje y quieres saber más de el. Pero que también maneja la solución de misterios de una forma interesante, logrando soluciones que nunca te hubieras imaginado al principio.
Me gustó mucho esta serie, y es que la seguros más adelante.
Kimo es un detective de policía gay que está en negación, pero tiene que afrontar sus sentimientos hacia otros hombres cuando presencia un crimen fuera de un bar gay.
Es este boxset, besos como Kimo va desde un policía gay descubriendo su sexualidad, a un hombre gay con una pareja fija, todo mientras resuelve casos de homicidio con su compañero.
Estas son unas de esas historias que resultan entretenidas y divertidas, de las que te enamoras del personaje y quieres saber más de el. Pero que también maneja la solución de misterios de una forma interesante, logrando soluciones que nunca te hubieras imaginado al principio.
Me gustó mucho esta serie, y es que la seguros más adelante.
May 25, 2024
O.K. I'm hooked. This is a lovely series as it truly focuses on a storyline in each volume and the sexual orientation of the main characters and their relationship are part of the storyline rather than the main focus. Because of this they're more believable characters. I'm not sure that there is a need to explain how Hawians describe directions in each volume, but that is likely a remnant of the volumes being published individually and readers jumping into the series mid way through. I'm looking forward to reading the next six volumes.
November 1, 2021
Interesting
At first I didn’t realize that the story line was about gay men. However, it opened my eyes to understand that the LGBT community has the same insecurities that heterosexual individuals have. They’re just having to deal with it more often.
The books were interesting and kept me focused on what was happening to the main characters on a daily basis in their home lives and to keep track of things in their professional lives.
At first I didn’t realize that the story line was about gay men. However, it opened my eyes to understand that the LGBT community has the same insecurities that heterosexual individuals have. They’re just having to deal with it more often.
The books were interesting and kept me focused on what was happening to the main characters on a daily basis in their home lives and to keep track of things in their professional lives.
June 1, 2021
👍 Big Thumbs Up 👍
This series kept me glued to my iPad. Six books in three days. Phew! The last book in this box set kept me guessing right up until the end. Lots of twists in Kimo’s emotional and physical love-life. This is a man who’s gone through huge ups and downs. Highly recommend.
This series kept me glued to my iPad. Six books in three days. Phew! The last book in this box set kept me guessing right up until the end. Lots of twists in Kimo’s emotional and physical love-life. This is a man who’s gone through huge ups and downs. Highly recommend.
May 1, 2023
am i new to Neil's writing. ...i am ...i found this ...i read a kindle copy ...found it for free thanks to Bookbub one day ...got around to when i was traveling to read it. love reading ...really love reading while traveling ...so awesome. brain quiet and and take it all in. so that is cool to find a new author to you ...please check Bookbub for that reason. read on please. check ya later.
April 10, 2021
I'm finished with book 2 out of 6, and I've enjoyed the writing, the mystery, and good characters. But I sure wasn't ready for all the graphic gay sex! Whew! Couched in terms like he's just getting used to it, gosh, will I always be this horny, etc. So not a necessary addition to the plot, in my opinion. The delicate treatment of a cop coming out is well-done, otherwise, as a learning experience for some and a compassionate support for others.
May 23, 2021
Great stories and characters
Kimo is an out gay cop and these are the beginning stories of f his investigations.
The characters are well developed and the storylines nicely complex and intriguing. It’s nice to read a gay romance without the explicit sex scenes.
Kimo is an out gay cop and these are the beginning stories of f his investigations.
The characters are well developed and the storylines nicely complex and intriguing. It’s nice to read a gay romance without the explicit sex scenes.
March 12, 2022
don’t waste your time
Very slow storyline. The Characters are very predictable and boring. Extremely liberal philosophy portrayed throughout the story. No excitement or entertainment whatsoever.
Very slow storyline. The Characters are very predictable and boring. Extremely liberal philosophy portrayed throughout the story. No excitement or entertainment whatsoever.
May 18, 2023
This book is more mystery and less romance which is what I was looking for.
The romance is there but it isn't over done like so many other books.
Sadly, this author likes to repeat himself in his books. Once you get to the second book and so on, you could remove about quarter of the book as just a rehash of fact from previous books. I like the books but this author is lazy in my opinion - how many times do I need to read about the color his boss's shirt, or that a thread is loss but it would be to gay for him to remove it.
The romance is there but it isn't over done like so many other books.
Sadly, this author likes to repeat himself in his books. Once you get to the second book and so on, you could remove about quarter of the book as just a rehash of fact from previous books. I like the books but this author is lazy in my opinion - how many times do I need to read about the color his boss's shirt, or that a thread is loss but it would be to gay for him to remove it.
May 8, 2021
Books are not for me
This maybe good for some audiences but not for me.I didn't know that that's what those were about when I got the books.
This maybe good for some audiences but not for me.I didn't know that that's what those were about when I got the books.
July 15, 2021
Please see individual stories for review.
January 30, 2022
Good read. Author has done a great job of blending lifestyle with mystery.
April 13, 2022
I will be reviewing the Mahu series on each individual book's page, so see those to find my opinion on the first 6 books. I like having them all together, though. Worth the price of the set in my opinion. Plakcy is a master mystery writer.
September 13, 2025
I borrowed this on Kindle Unlimited, then got an offer for the 6-11 book set for free. About halfway through the first set, I bought it, because I was enjoying reading (for the second time, after 10 years) about Kimo and his friends and relatives. So I got good value and many hours of reading enjoyment. Thank you, Mr. Plakcy. :)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews