Ilium Books

Pilikia means "trouble" in the Hawaiian language and pilikia is exactly what private investigator, Val Lyon, finds on the mean streets of Honolulu. What starts off as a simple assignment to find a young boy who is the object of a custody battle turns into a fight for survival as death threats come in and bodies drop. Val's task pits her against a prominent feminist activist, a politically-connected clergyman, and a powerful local family. The case takes Val from the canyons of downtown Honolulu to the leper colony of Molokai and back with a killer dogging her footsteps the entire way.

Mark Troy is the author of the Val Lyon private eye series. Val’s beat is Honolulu where she deals with the wreckage of human lives in a section of paradise tourists rarely see. ＂Pilikia Is My Business,＂ the first novel in the series, was published in 2001. It was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America for Best 1st P.I. Novel. Seven short stories in the series feature Val mixing mayhem and sport. ＂Teed Off,＂ in ＂Fedora: Private Eyes and Tough Guys,＂ was named one of the 50 Best American Mysteries of 2001 by Otto Penzler and James Ellroy, editors of ＂Best American Mystery Stories＂ The most recent Val Lyon story, ＂Horns,＂ can be read on The Thrilling Detective (http: //www.thrillingdetective.com) Another of his short stories, ＂The Montressor Hit,＂ won the Edgar Allan Poe Sesquicentennial Homage Award by the Short Mystery Fiction Society on the 150th anniversary of Poe’s death. Mark is the president-elect of the Brazos Writers, an organization of writers in the College Station/Bryan area of Texas.. He is an active member of The Private Eye Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mo., Mark lived in Thailand and Hawaii with his wife and sons before moving to Texas. The Troys live in College Station where Mark is Associate Director of Measurement and Research Services at Texas A&M University. Website: http: //www.marktroy.net Blog: http: //hawaiian-eye.blogspot.com