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Pilikia is My Business

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Fans of the detective or private eye genre should read this book. Mark Troy has created an original and interesting character in Val Lyon, the woman who works as a private investigator in this novel. Many different and fascinating characters live in this story, which deals with serious issues of child abuse, and Church and corporate corruption. Val Lyon herself is an entertaining and very believable character, who spices up the book with salty dialogue that reminds me of the popular Stephanie Plum mysteries. This book was a fast, entertaining read. I highly recommend it to any mystery fan.

Review of "PILIKIA IS MY BUSINESS" by Mark Troy

"Palapala (Writing)Is His Business!"

Usually, my penchant is not for detective novels. However, "Pilikia" has definitely altered my taste. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Troy's riveting Hawaiian mystery!

Most impressive was the author's ability to manipulate his interesting cast of characters, allowing the narrative to glide to a suspense filled crescendo. Also, he was able to create his scenes with a minimum of detail. His familiarity with Hawaii enabled him to blend the Island's character and uniqueness into his novel, thereby enhancing the overall setting.

If you're in the market for an interesting and unique mystery read, I definitely recommend Mr. Mark Troy's "PILIKIA IS MY BUSINESS."

Posted by Brad Bradbury

Written by 2002 Shamus Award Nominee Mark Troy, this fast paced and suspenseful novel revolves around Hawaii based private investigator Val Lyon. An ex cop, ex-con, and former pro basketball player, Val Lyon doesn't tolerate idiots and has little patience for those who don't do the right thing. Her latest case brings her to the office of Brian Magruder who used to work in the Honolulu Public Defender's Office before going out on his own.

Part of the wealthy and politically connected Magruder family, Brian is a bit of a black sheep of the family as he has gone his own way. Among his many clients is Jean Pfeifer whose case has turned into a media firestorm. Jean claims that her ex-husband, Jason "Jock" Pfeifer abused their son, Nathan. Jean has stopped the visitations and has hidden their son in an effort to protect him from further abuse from his father. She faces contempt charges and jail time unless she brings Nathan back out of hiding and lets him see his dad. Something she isn't going to do.

This strikes a chord with the media and the viewing public causing a media firestorm with Jean and her attorney at the center of things. Numerous groups get involved making Jean and by extension Nathan part of their agendas. That also ratchets up further the media scrutiny. Brian Magruder initially just wants Val to be part of the security team, and to protect Jean at a public rally the next day. With emotions running high on all sides, something is sure to go bade and it does. Soon, a simple body guard job morphs into a case involving death threat, blackmail, extortion and a missing child as well as the beginnings of a romance between Val and Brian Magruder.

While occasionally reminiscent of the Stephenie Plum type character because Val is also a woman with a sarcastic wit, Val is a much better character. Not only does she have a deeper and more complex background, she also learns from what happens and takes precautions as opposed to Stephanie who makes the same fundamental mistakes in book after book after book. Val is an evolving character over the course of the novel and one that builds quickly on experience.

That fact, coupled with a steady pace, plenty of twists and turns, and characters that come alive for the reader, it is no wonder this book was a Shamus Nominee. It is a very good one.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright)2009

Apparently nobody else out there has thought to use the Hawaiian word for trouble in a book title, because if you type just "pilikia" into the amazon search engine, it takes you straight to this book. And this title does make good use of the word. The story is set in Hawaii, and the protagonist, Val Lyon, is a private investigator who does indeed encounter her fair share (and then some) of pilikia in a day's work.

This particular pilikia begins when a lawyer from a prominent island family hires Val to find the adolescent son of his client, who is being jailed for contempt for failing to produce the boy during a messy custody battle. The mother claims that her ex-husband has abused the boy and that, although she sent him away for his safety, she doesn't know exactly who has him or where he is. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Val, the mother lets slip the name Harriet, and the hunt is on. Before long, Val finds herself entangled in much more than the search for the missing child. For one thing, people start getting killed, and Val is almost one of them. Then she discovers that the family of the lawyer who hired her has a lot of connections (none of them very pleasant) to the case at hand. It doesn't help any that she also starts falling for her lawyer client.

This is some deep pilikia that Val has to wade out of, but she does so admirably, even if she becomes terribly wounded in the process. One of the most striking things about this book is Val's character, which is complex and intriguing and very realistic. If I didn't know Mark personally, I'd swear he was a woman writing under a male pseudonym, because he has a clear understanding of female characters. The male characters are good, too, but sometimes they seem a little limited by the roles they have to play in the story.

The story line is another of the book's strengths. It is suspenseful and manages to be complex without descending into the sort of confusion that happens when authors just dump cartloads of red herrings wherever they can. Just a tiny bit of what may be a spoiler, however: if you have any more than a passing interest in genetics, you will probably be a few steps ahead of Val once the clues start turning up. That doesn't detract from this great tropical thrill ride, though, and I look forward to reading more of Val's adventures. Before long, I suspect pilikia will be Val's middle name, not just her occupation.

**Adapted from a Skullduggery review**

This is the best Private Eye novel I've read in a long time. I highly recommend it. Great story (kept me up late finishing it). It's set in Hawaii, and the author does a good job of incoprorating Hawaiian culture into the storyline.

Sparse words used wisely with GREAT dialogue, this book is a real page turner. It will satisfy every reader of hard core detective novels. Can't wait to read about what Val will be up to next in Hawaii.