Spam Sushi: A Big Huna Novel
About this audiobook
Meet the Weasel: a wiry 40-year-old native Hawaiian surfer. By day, he rides the turquoise waves of Waikiki, and sells primo bud on the beach--with the help of a colorful parrot, Captain Morgan and a majestic white cockatoo named Snowballs. Come nightfall, the salty air of the beach trades places with the smoky ambience of a Waikiki strip club. There, the Weasel loses himself in the seductive glow of the stage, mesmerized by Bonnie Lim, a Chinese dancer with a smile that could melt coconuts and a tongue sharper than a coral reef.
One fateful evening, opportunity arises in the form of a shifty Korean ice dealer lurking in the club's restroom. While Bonnie Lim sizzles on stage, the Weasel scores a gram, the promise of a quick high too tempting to resist. He ducks into a metal stall, its cramped quarters offering dubious privacy. But fate, like a rogue wave, crashes down harder than any he's ever caught. While hidden in the metal toilet stall, Weasel heard his connection get murdered. He didn't see who did it, but he could hear. Emerging from the toilet stall, the Weasel stumbles upon the same dealer laying on the floor with his throat slit in a pool of blood.
Being a coward, Weasel was in a panic, but ever the greedy pragmatist, Weasel figures a dead dealer wouldn't need his stash anymore. A quick check reveals three more grams, a welcome bonus. But before he can celebrate his morbid fortune, the door bursts open with a bang. Standing there, wide-eyed and frozen with terror, are two military men. One glance at the Weasel, now towering over the murdered man with incriminating evidence in his hand, they turn around and flee for their lives—and the Weasel knows he’s a world of trouble. Now, with a killer on the loose and the cops breathing down his neck, the only person who can help, is a 330-pound Hawaiian detective they call the Big Huna.
Spam Sushi (first book in the Big Huna series) is a darkly comedic crime caper that proves paradise isn't always as sunny as the postcards make it seem. Prepare for a wild ride through the underbelly of Waikiki, where the waves aren't the only things that can knock you off your board.
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About the author
A Life Lived in Ink:
From the Federal Prison System to Saint Petersburg: The Unconventional Path of a Crime Novelist
When asked recently about the background behind my Dmitri Petrov Crime Novels, it made me reflect on my unusual journey. My path to becoming an author is perhaps not what you would expect.
For over three decades, I served two 14-year sentences in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for bank robberies. The federal system is a unique environment, a melting pot of individuals from every corner of the globe. In 2004, as I was beginning my last sentence, I decided it was time for a profound change. I felt a new path calling me, and I believed that as an author, my past would not and should not define my future.
In 2010 I was transferred to Butner, North Carolina. It was a smaller medical facility, and my unit of sixty inmates, and the prison's total population of around six hundred, provided an intimate, and in many ways, an unprecedented classroom. I shared that space for seven years with some truly infamous figures, including Bernie Madoff, Jonathan Pollard, Nicky Scarfo, and Carmine Persico—and that’s only a small glimpse of the experiences I had there.
During those twenty years, I dedicated myself to an intense study of Russian, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Spanish, along with my native English. I would seek out foreign inmates from those countries, intentionally "zoning in" on them to test my language skills. I believe that when you make the effort to learn someone's language, it opens doors to understanding that remain firmly shut otherwise. It was in this unique educational environment that I met a number of Russian vory, or "thieves," in the BOP.
One Thief-in-law at Butner, a man who had his own reputation, was so taken with me that he hired me to ghostwrite his life story. The money he paid me was vital—I saved every penny for my release—but the real value was the education he gave me. What I learned about the inner workings of organized crime in the Russian Federation was more valuable than any textbook could ever be. He would often tell me my Russian was terrible, but he'd add with a laugh, "when you imitate a Russian trying to speak English, you are spot on."
Since my release, that foundation has served me well. I have now published twenty-eight novels across seven different series. But the one that remains closest to my heart is my Dmitri Petrov Crime Novels, which I began in that very unit. Dmitri Petrov is an inspector for the Saint Petersburg Police in the Russian Federation. The first book, Vodka Express, introduces his world, and the second, White Nights, immerses him in the city's famous festival. Red Star is the third, and I am thrilled to announce that the fourth novel in the series, Russian Roulette, is now available.
My journey is proof that inspiration can be found in the most unlikely of places. The lessons I learned—about language, culture, and the complex human beings on all sides of the law—continue to fuel my writing. It's a reminder that every experience, no matter how unconventional, can be a tool to create something new. I am now a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the Crime Writers Association in the U.K.
