Wiley's Refrain

Wiley is a professional poker player in Portland Oregon who walks the seedy streets of the city's darker side. He's a man who knows how to use violence to get what he wants, but he's got a good heart and a noble streak that his friends and family know is a mile long. His enemies often see a streak of a different sort, though, and so Wiley is simultaneously beloved and feared among those who know him.

Wiley is also a man who solves problems for friends. The murder of a young musician who is close to his extended family puts Wiley in a vengeful frame of mind. He follows the evidence through the darkest corners of the city. When the trail points to Hawaii, a place Wiley has never set foot but which seems lately to be calling him home, he reluctantly agrees to head for the land of his ancestors in the hopes of finding justice for his young friend.

Reminiscent of the classic noir masters James M. Cain, Dashiell Hammet, and even the early novels of George Pelecanos, Lono Waiwaiole's Wiley series has already garnered a cult following that's won him a dedicated audience among crime readers and a palpable buzz in the mystery world.