Organized crime and the dark underbelly of 1950s Chinatown is the setting for the series of novels written by local author Scott Kikkawa. His latest book, "Char Siu," centers on the exploits of a Japanese-American police detective in a time when the line between the law and the mob got very blurry.
Kikkawa is a current federal law enforcement officer and recently took a break from his crime-fighting job to talk with The Conversation about murder and mayhem during Hawaiʻi's territorial era.
"Part of what I wanted to do was to bring to light Hawaiʻi's territorial history, so that time in history between the unlawful overthrow of the monarchy and annexation and today, because it hardly gets a mention in popular culture," he said.
"I always tell people that there was a golden age of crime fiction and crime and it is not today. This is an age before DNA, before lawsuits. Those things changed law enforcement forever and it changed crime forever. Back then, people used to kill each other over cash," Kikkawa said.
He continues to work on this series of novels and is considering a series for young adults.
"Char Siu" is available through Bamboo Ridge Press.
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 2, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
