Neil S. Plakcy has 13 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 2 narrators. The most-rated is Whom Dog Hath Joined.
Mahu Vice
Summary
Openly gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka is faced with a new murder that comes dangerously close to his personal life. About a year and a half has passed since the flames engulfed Waahila Ridge State Park at the end of Mahu Fire. During that time, Kimo and fire investigator Mike Riccardi dated for about six months, but with Kimo so visible, and Mike still in the closet, the pressures on them increased to the point where their relationship ended. When a fire breaks out at a shopping center Kimo's father used to own, and a young boy is killed, they are forced to work together - and to acknowledge that the embers of their relationship are still hot. A lot stands in the way of their getting together once more, including Mike's identity issues, a mysterious man who knows how to exploit Kimo's sexual fantasies, and a deadly little thing called murder.
©2011, 2019 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S. Plakcy
Mahu Surfer (A Mahu Investigation)
Summary
Mahu Surfer, the second book in Neil Plakcy's Mahu Investigations mystery series, sends gay Honolulu homicide detective Kimo Kanapa’aka back to his surfing past. His new boss asks the former competitive surfer to go undercover on Oahu’s North Shore to find the killer of three surfers. The catch: He can't tell any of his family or friends that he has returned to the force, causing him to lie, when he has just come out of the closet and begun to tell the truth about his life. In his return to the North Shore, Kimo discovers trouble in paradise, from an epidemic rise in the use of crystal meth to increasing pressure on real estate prices. He also rekindles an uneasy friendship with a man whose sexual assault drove him into the police academy, and further into the closet, six years earlier. Listeners will enjoy an exotic locale, plenty of aloha spirit and a dash of surf culture, as well as a slam-bang ending. Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for best gay mystery. Perfect for fans of Joseph Hansen, Michael Nava, and John Morgan Wilson.
©2019 Neil S Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S Plakcy
Mahu Blood
Summary
Openly gay Honolulu homicide Detective Kimo Kanapa’aka and his partner, Ray Donne, are on duty at a rally in downtown Honolulu organized by Kingdom of Hawai’i, one of many competing groups that seek reparations from the US for the loss of land and independence. An elderly woman is shot dead there, only a few feet from where Kimo’s mother and nephews are taking part in the demonstration, and Kimo and Ray take the case. At the same time, Kimo’s dealing with domestic difficulties, having just moved in with his partner, fire investigator Mike Riccardi. Since both are alpha males, the transition to shared living space isn’t easy, especially because Mike’s parents live next door. As Kimo and Mike struggle to adapt to living together, they begin to forge their own ohana - a Hawaiian term that means family, as well as community. The theme of ohana resonates through both Kimo’s personal life and his investigation of the murder as Kimo and Ray follow clues through a labyrinth of competing groups, uncovering a trail of gambling, money laundering, and mental illness. The title refers both to the blood spilled in three murders, as well as the blood ties that link native Hawaiians to each other. People come together in many ways here - through native heritage and family ties as well as love and fellowship. “Plakcy’s storytelling is tight, flawlessly executed, eminently interesting and inspiring.” (George Seaton, Out in Print.) “To the mystery genre, Kimo Kanapa' aka is a refreshing tropical breeze.” (Janie Franz, MyShelf) Books in the Mahu series have reached the finalist stage for the Lambda Literary Awards as well as winning mystery fan awards and acclaim from mainstream publications such as Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal.
©2020 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S. Plakcy
Finding Freddie Venus
Summary
Aidan and Liam’s new client is former gay porn star Freddie Venus, who survived an epic slide and now lives a solitary life in a restored farmhouse outside Nice. He hires bodyguards when he begins to believe he is being stalked. Newt Camilleri is a sad, overweight 50-year-old who writes gay unicorn porn but has no romantic life. He has fled his dead-end job and old life to start again on the Riviera. When he spots Freddie, his porn idol, in a grocery store, he kicks off the plot that will bring them together. But Freddie's past is about to come back to haunt him. Will Aidan and Liam be able to save Freddie, and help him and Newt start a new story together?
©2018 Neil Plakcy (P)2019 Neil Plakcy
Dog Knows
Summary
When semi-reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan learns that a girl who was kind to him in high school is accused of three murders, he and his clue-sniffing golden retriever Rochester are on the case. Could sweet, ambitious Peggy Doyle be guilty of killing three husbands? Or is someone out to make it look that way? As teens, Steve admired Peggy because of the way she fought back from a difficult childhood to travel to France and aspire to a college degree and a career as a lawyer. When he discovers she’s been addicted to drugs, danced at a strip club, and married a biker, he’s surprised. How could the girl he knew grow up to be the woman the media are calling “The Black Widow of Birch Valley”? Can he and Rochester dig up the clues that might acquit Peggy, while avoiding the slippery slope of hacking that could cause him to lose everything he cares for? Trust Rochester to keep Steve on the straight and narrow, and bring the real killer to justice.
©2018 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2019 Neil S. Plakcy
A Litter of Golden Mysteries
Summary
Stop by for some comfortable visits to Stewart's Crossing, where reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan and his crime-sniffing golden retriever Rochester are nose to the ground in this collection of mystery short stories that take place between novels. In the first of these stories, Steve is learning to love the big, goofy golden he has inherited on the death of his neighbor, and Rochester shows him how to open his heart and his home to his sweetheart Lili. From then on, Rochester tugs Steve along on a roller coaster of cases, from theft to murder to the discovery of an abandoned baby. Familiar characters from Stewart's Crossing drop by, including Steve's best friend, SCPD detective Rick Stemper. Of course there are a lot of opportunities for Rochester to tussle with his BFF, Rick's Aussie Rascal. Check in with old friends like Gail Dukowski, the owner of the Chocolate Ear, and Steve's childhood piano teacher Edith Passis. Joey Capodilupo, Mark Figueroa, and their snow-white golden Brody are here, along with Lili's ex, journalist Van Dryver, who makes a surprising appearance to help out with an investigation into Amish puppy mills.
©2020 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S. Plakcy
In Dog We Trust
Summary
Forty-two-year-old Steve Levitan has lost everything that matters to him: his marriage, his home, and his career. After finishing a brief prison term for computer hacking, he returns to his home town of Stewart's Crossing, PA, with his tail between his legs. With his parole officer peering over his shoulder, Steve begins a technical writing business and takes a part-time job as an adjunct professor of English at his alma mater Eastern College. He reconnects with an old friend - the local police detective - hangs out at a coffee shop, and enjoys the natural beauty of Bucks County and the stimulating college environment. Starting over helps him numb the pain of all he's lost, including the two unborn children his ex-wife miscarried before their divorce. The last thing he needs in his life is a shaggy, bossy golden retriever. But when his next-door neighbor Caroline Kelly is murdered, Steve becomes her dog's temporary guardian. Rochester seems determined to solve the mystery of Caroline's death, digging up clues and pushing Steve to investigate. As they nose through Caroline's past, her friends, and her career searching for motives, the bond between man and dog grows. But it's only when Steve uncovers a connection between Caroline's death and some uncomfortable situations between his students and his colleagues that Steve realizes that in order to save his own life, and the life of the dog he's come to love, he's going to have to come face-to-face with a killer with nothing left to lose.
©2009 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S. Plakcy
Dog Willing: A Golden Retriever Mystery
Summary
When his neighbor is accused of murder, reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan and his golden retriever, Rochester, are asked to sniff out clues to prove her innocence. Who could have killed bookstore owner Darlene Nowak? One of the food trucks venders she angered when they parked in front of her store? Someone from the writer’s critique group she sponsored? Did a self-published author she refused to promote write her into a real murder mystery? Steve knows that cooks and creative folks are very sensitive about criticism - but could one of them be angry enough to kill? "The golden retriever mysteries are barking good!” (Sparkle Abbey, author of the Pampered Pet mystery series)
©2020 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S. Plakcy
Dog Is in the Details
Summary
When a young man suffering from mental illness disrupts the blessing of the animals at Steve Levitan's synagogue, he and his golden retriever Rochester are launched into an investigation that will take Steve back into the past of his family, his congregation, and the Jewish population of the city where he was born. In the 8th book of the golden retriever mysteries, Steve and Rochester nose out suspects and dig up clues to present-day crimes - and ones in the past that still influence the living. From the rabbi's Talmud study group to a homeless shelter in Trenton, our two intrepid sleuths are on the trail of someone with deep secrets, and the will to kill to protect them.
©2017 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2018 Neil S. Plakcy
Honest to Dog
Summary
When his college friend Doug moves to Stewart's Crossing after an ugly divorce, reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan sees a way to pay forward the help he received under similar circumstances. But when Doug dies under mysterious circumstances, Steve and his crime-solving golden retriever Rochester have a new goal; find the truth behind Doug's death, even if Steve has to risk the freedom he has fought so hard for to do it. Contains Ponzi schemers, a Quaker funeral and cute jump drives shaped like llamas.
©2016 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2016 Neil S. Plakcy
Dog Have Mercy
Summary
Christmas approaches and reformed hacker Steve Levitan tries to help a fellow ex-con now working at the vet's office in Stewart's Crossing. His curiosity, and the crime-solving instincts of his golden retriever, Rochester, kick in when liquid potassium ampoules are stolen from the vet and Steve's new friend is a suspect. Is this theft connected to a drug-running operation in North Philly? Or to a recent spate of deaths at the local nursing home? And can Steve continue to resist his computer-hacking impulses or will his desire to help others continue to lead him into trouble?
©2015 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2015 Neil S. Plakcy
Dog's Green Earth: A Golden Retriever Mystery
Summary
A murder in Steve Levitan’s gated community is bad enough - but when someone puts out rat poison that innocent dogs could consume, he’s fired up to track down the villain and make his world safe for people and their canine companions. With over 20,000 trade paperbacks and e-books sold, and hundreds of glowing reviews, it’s clear that Rochester, the hero of Neil Plakcy’s Golden Retriever Mysteries, has captured the hearts of dog lovers and mystery fans. When his golden retriever Rochester discovers a body during one of their nightly walks, reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan must look to his neighbors for suspects. Could a killer be lurking along the oak-lined streets? Steve inherited his townhome from his father, and it’s more than just a house to him - it’s the place where he recovered from the loss of two miscarried babies, the pain of losing his parents and the misery of his brief incarceration. Now that he has a new sweetheart, and a loving dog, protecting his home is even more important. Could someone in the homeowner’s association be sabotaging efforts to keep River Bend a well-maintained place to live? It’s up to Steve and Rochester to dig up the clues to bring a murderer to justice, and protect the place they call home.
©2019 Neil S Plakcy (P)2020 Neil S Plakcy
Whom Dog Hath Joined
Summary
Reformed computer hacker Steve Levitan still gets a thrill from snooping into places online where he shouldn't be. When his golden retriever Rochester discovers a human bone at the Friends Meeting during the Harvest Days festival, these two unlikely sleuths are plunged into another investigation. They will uncover uncomfortable secrets about their small town's past as they dig deep into the Vietnam War era, when local Quakers helped draft resisters move through Stewart's Crossing on their way to Canada. Does that bone Rochester found belong to one of those young men fleeing conscription? Or to someone who knew the secrets that lurked behind those whitewashed walls? Steve's got other problems, too. His girlfriend Lili wants to move in with him, and his matchmaking efforts among his friends all seem to be going haywire. Whether the death was due to natural causes, or murder, someone in the present wants to keep those secrets hidden. And Steve and Rochester may end up in the crosshairs of a very antique rifle if they can't dig up the clues quickly enough.
©2014 Neil S. Plakcy (P)2014 Neil S. Plakcy