Honolulu Noir

It’s 13 cases of trouble in paradise for the characters in Akashic’s solid latest regional crime anthology (after West Jerusalem Noir), which shrewdly exposes the underbelly of Hawaii’s capital city. Subjects range from a dystopian near future overrun by AI to an unsettling riff on an Agatha Christie classic. The highlight is Alan Brennert’s “Apana’s Last Case,” set in Honolulu’s Chinatown, which features real-life police officer Chang Apana (the inspiration for Charlie Chan) investigating a 1918 missing persons’ case involving a white woman from the mainland. Tom Gammarino’s “It Entered My Mind” comes in a close second. In it, an unnamed human forensics specialist, operating in a near future where so-called “Synthetic Intellects” do most of the work matching crime scene evidence to potential suspects, tackles a killing involving a Christian minister and a former rock star with divergent views on SI technology. Another standout is Stephanie Han’s “The Swimmers,” which features a father in the midst of a bitter divorce who contemplates an act of shocking violence. Taken together, these stories successfully probe beneath the surface of a locale best known for its “white sandy beaches and crystal-blue waters.” It’s a smart balance of thrills and cultural insight. (Nov.)