Following on the heels of his critically acclaimed début noir novel, Kona Winds, Scott Kikkawa resumes his depiction of 1950s Honolulu Police Department Detective Sergeant Francis “Sheik” Yoshikawa, a Japanese American Nisei veteran of World
War II. Handsome, street smart, literate, and haunted by memories of his military service in the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Sheik must solve a murder case that begins with the discovery of a burned and dismembered body found in a sugarcane field. Investigating the victim’s life to see who would have wanted him dead leads to a local communist study group that’s being hunted down by the federal government. A compelling mystery with a breathtaking, unexpected ending.

“Scott Kikkawa’s riveting new murder mystery, Red Dirt, transports readers back to 1953 O‘ahu, when bodies were buried in cane fields, and a Red Scare rippled all the way to these territorial shores. Packed with colorful characters, intrigue, and masterfully crafted twists and turns, Red Dirt is an illuminating reminder of how much Hawai‘i has changed, and how much it hasn’t really changed at all.”

—Chris McKinney author of Midnight, Water City