Honolulu Noir Exposes the Dark Side of the City

A new collection of short stories shares tales of crime, murder and mayhem.

November 1, 2024

Diane Seo,

Photo: Getty Images, PetrStransky; composited by Christine Labrador

Those of us who live here know life in Honolulu is far more nuanced than its tropical paradise image. There’s an edgy, dark side, and a new collection of short stories, titled Honolulu Noir, reflects this mysterious undercurrent. With all stories set on O‘ahu, 13 writers share tales of crime, murder and mayhem involving such characters as an Islamic State group recruiter and real-life Native Hawaiian/Chinese cop Chang Apana, who was the inspiration for Charlie Chan.

Published by Akashic Books, Honolulu Noir features never-before-published stories from writers Kiana Davenport, Scott Kikkawa, Alan Brennert, Stephanie Han, Christy Passion, Morgan Miryung McKinney, Lono Waiwaiole, Mindy Eun Soo Pennybacker, Tom Gammarino, B.A. Kobayashi, Michelle Cruz Skinner, HONOLULU contributing editor Don Wallace, and Chris McKinney, who served as the compilation’s editor. This is the first of Akashic’s global “Noir” series set in Hawai‘i.

“Being dark was really the only requirement, and the gamut of stories is wide,” McKinney says. “Alan Brennert wrote a story set in early 20th century Downtown, then you have Tom Gammarino who wrote a futuristic story set in the Ala Moana area, which is half underwater because of climate change. Michelle Skinner wrote a magical realism story about the voyage from the Philippines to Honolulu, and there’s also weird stuff with vampires.”

On Nov. 23, Da Shop will host a public book release party for Honolulu Noir, with several authors featured in the collection in attendance. Honolulu Noir is available at Da Shop and at akashicbooks.com.

Hn2404 Ay Writers Chris Mckinney 4147 McKinney said he worked closely with all the writers to edit pieces, including his daughter, Morgan, a college student and Gen Zer. “My biggest hope is for readers to see how many different voices exist in a small place,” he says. “The initial reaction might be, this is kind of weird, all over the place, but I think that’s actually its strength. You have all the ethnicities and genres, and that encapsulates Honolulu and Hawai‘i.”

Also recently published this fall by Mutual Publishing: Honolulu Stories Today: An Anthology of Modern Hawaiian Fiction. The collection of short fiction is an abridged version of a book Mutual published in 2008, with 1,000-plus pages of short stories, poems, songs and much more.

“We decided to just do short fiction and stories that took place after statehood,” says Jane Gillespie, Mutual Publishing’s production director who served as the book’s editor. “I was really impressed with the writing, and that a lot of the new writers are younger. I hope this helps people see Hawai‘i as a dynamic literary place.” The book is available at mutualpublishing.com.

SEE ALSO: HONOLULU Book Awards