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Hokuloa Road

By: Elizabeth Hand
Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
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Publisher's summary

A young man is drawn into the dark side of paradise in this haunting and "perfectly crafted" mystery (Grady Hendrix), about the eerie secrets of one Hawai’ian islandand the lengths some will go to keep them.

On a whim, Grady Kendall applies to work as a live-in caretaker for a luxury property in Hawaiʻi, as far from his small-town Maine life as he can imagine. Within days he's flying out to an estate on remote Hokuloa Road, where he quickly uncovers a dark side to the island’s idyllic reputation: it has long been a place where people vanish without a trace.

When a young woman from his flight becomes the next to disappear, Grady is determined—and soon desperate—to figure out what's happened to Jessie, and to all those staring out of the island’s “missing" posters. But working with Raina, Jessie’s fiercely protective best friend, to uncover the truth is anything but easy, and with an inexplicable and sinister presence stalking his every step, Grady can only hope he'll find the answer before it's too late.

Perfect for fans of Peter Heller and The White Lotus, and from award-winning writer Elizabeth Hand, a master of crime fiction known for her magnetic characters, seductive prose, and fearless excavations into the darkest corners of our world, comes a chilling and illuminating new novel about a place unlike any other—and the deadly cost of keeping it so.

"Set in a Hawaii so vividly imagined I'm still shaking sand out of my shoes."—Grady Hendrix

“Twisty and dark . . . easily one of the best thrillers I've read.” —Rachel Hawkins

“This is the perfect book for your summer beach bag—an evocative mystery set in a tropical island paradise . . . I was completely enthralled!” —Jason Rekulak

©2022 Elizabeth Hand (P)2022 Mulholland Books
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Critic reviews

“Elizabeth Hand has been one of my favorite authors since Wylding Hall, so when I opened Hokuloa Road I knew I'd get her signature mix of deeply evocative prose, sinister surroundings, and fascinating characters. I was right, but even as a long time Hand Fan, I was completely blown away by this book. Hokuloa Road is twisty and dark, easily one of the best thrillers I've read, but it's so much more than that, too. It's thoughtful and pensive, smart and scary, and exhilarating as you realize that you're in the hands of a master storyteller. After reading this book, I promise, Elizabeth Hand is going to become one of your favorite authors, too.”—Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of Reckless Girls and The Wife Upstairs
"Set in a Hawaii so vividly imagined I'm still shaking sand out of my shoes, Elizabeth Hand's perfectly crafted ghost story is exactly the comfort-destroying read you need on a long, lonely night."—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group
“This is the perfect book for your summer beach bag—an evocative mystery set in a tropical island paradise. The locals warn that Hokuloa Road is dangerous, but I was completely enthralled by its scenery and secrets!”
Jason Rekulak, author of Hidden Pictures

What listeners say about Hokuloa Road

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Beautiful novel!

I didn’t know what to expect, but I couldn’t stop listening. The story was compelling!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

“There’s something happening here…”

….what it is ain’t exactly clear”. The story is weird. There are some spooky parts but the plot drags. Very disappointing. But good narration.

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21 people found this helpful

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Good Story, Terrible Dialog

The story was good - somewhat suspenseful, kept you guessing a little, and generally good. The downfall is the dialog between characters. Not at all natural and just simply terrible. The narration was excellent and really contributed heavily to me finishing the book. I got this book on sale - but would have returned it if I had spent a whole credit...

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A listener born in Hawaii

I moved from Maui to PA at the age of three. My “Hawaiian-Portagee” mother had an accent and spoke in the vernacular— how I enjoyed Kaleo Griffith’s performance— some good yeah?! Enjoy this Audiobook.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good premise and reader. Resolution lacking something.

I enjoyed the atmosphere and characters of the book. I also enjoyed the final scenes, However, the confrontation seemed a little weak.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great imagery

I loved listening to this novel. It held my interest and the reader did a wonderful job with expression.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Hawaiian Gothic

After a slow start, in which I almost abandoned the audio book, the narrative picked up, although I can't say I was ever enthralled by it.
The best part of the book to me is the portrayal of a dark Hawaiian island, full of homeless and poverty, where even the nature has an overpowering sense of decay and corruption.
The main character is, by choice, very bland and not all that likeable.

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Birds & Murder

What an interesting story, well written, fine narration
Hawaii is an underused location
well done !

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fantastic narrator!

The story was a little fantastical for me, but I so appreciate the narrator! Unlike other narrators of audible books set in Hawaii, Kaleo knows how to pronounce Hawaiian words and uses the correct inflection when speaking. Mahalo!!!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

So What Happened? And so what?

During Covid lockdown, a kid from Maine, Grady, looking for a fresh start, moves to a fictitious Hawaiian island to be a caretaker for an eccentric gazillionaire. Strange things start happening, including the disappearance of a girl he met on the airplane, along with many others. Grady tries to figure out what is happening.

I got this book as a Daily Deal because I've grown obsessed with the idea of moving to Hawaii myself. The depiction of the island, which sure matches Maui to a tee, is the best part of the book -- so too the lockdown setting, which allows the island to be viewed without the Heisenbergian presence of hordes of tourists. The connection to Hawaiian folk myths, on the other hand, meant to evoke elements of horror, is the worst part of the book.

So what exactly happens? Is the horror a red herring for the mystery, or is the mystery a set up for the horror? It would help if the author decided which way to go -- trying to walk a fine line between the two, both the horror and the mystery end up being, well, not sure exactly what, but so what? By the end we don't really care anymore.

Neither apparently did the author, because it all wraps so quickly, without any concrete reveals, and with one story line about human trafficking completely abandoned and left inconclusive, even to the point where we never learn what happened to one key missing person. The authorities also don't seem to care that so many people have gone missing and never found -- sure, crime against natives in the U.S. is scandalously under-investigated and under-reported, but the apathy of authorities in this instance, with tourist dollars on the line, is laughable.

I often read a good novella and wish it was a full length book. This time, there is so much wasted time, I feel like maybe it would have been better as a novella. Judging by other reviews, if you're already a fan of the author, you may like this one too, but if like me you have no preexisting connection to her, meh.

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3 people found this helpful