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Ghosts of Waikiki

by Jennifer K. Morita

A murder investigation amid Hawaiʻi’s changing landscape

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    2025 Lefty Award Winner for Best Debut Mystery Novel

    Winner of the 2025 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A murder investigation amid Hawaiʻi’s changing landscape

Maya Wong’s return to Hawaiʻi begins as a practical job: ghostwriting a biography for a controversial land developer after her journalism work dries up. The developer’s family becomes the center of a homicide investigation when its patriarch is found dead, drawing Maya into clue-hunting alongside the complications of working with her former partner, Detective Koa Yamada. Family dinners and reunions with old friends keep her connected to home as the case raises questions about who benefits when locals are priced out. The mystery’s personal and professional tensions are closely tied to its setting, making Hawaiʻi’s changing communities part of the investigation’s context.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Mystery readers interested in a woman sleuth drawn into a homicide investigation.
  • Readers who enjoy mysteries that connect family and relationship tensions with the investigation.
  • Readers interested in stories addressing the effects of rising costs on local communities in Hawaiʻi.

Themes

Homicide investigationJournalism and precarious workFamily and former relationshipsHousing affordability and local displacement in Hawaiʻi

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

2025 LEFTY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST DEBUT MYSTERY NOVEL!

In this atmospheric debut mystery, an out-of-work journalist and the homicide detective who broke her heart must cipher out a murder before the clock runs out, perfect for fans of Naomi Hirahara and Jane Pek.


After the newspaper she works for folds and the freelance assignments no longer pay the bills, Maya Wong reluctantly returns to her native Hawaiʻi to ghostwrite controversial land developer Parker Hamilton's biography. But when the Hamilton patriarch is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Maya is unwittingly drawn into the investigation.

Maya's family and friends aren't happy about her work for Hamilton. And now, with her ex, Detective Koa Yamada, on the case, she's forced to contend with the very person she was determined to avoid.

All too soon, Maya is dodging assailants and digging for clues while juggling girls' nights out with her old BFFs and weekly family dinners. Convinced the police are after the wrong man, Maya is determined to stop the killer before it's too late.

Exploring timely issues in Hawaiʻi, including locals getting priced out of paradise, Ghosts of Waikīkī is an engrossing mystery in the vein of The Verifiers.
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Customer reviews

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AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.