Hawai'i Rage

Ranger Makalani Pahukula Mystery, Book 2

By: Tori Eldridge

A suspicious death on a Kohala Mountain ranch draws ranger Makalani Pahukula into a tangled family tree in an emotional and suspenseful adventure by the bestselling author of the Lily Wong series.

Makalani Pahukula, interpretive ranger for Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, craves some rejuvenating hard work on Hawai‘i Island. When cousin-in-law Rosie offers Makalani a chance to help at the Hiapo family ranch, it’s the perfect opportunity. But something else weighs on Rosie’s mind. Her father recently died in a gruesome accident—trapped and cornered in a pit by an aggressive bull.

The wrong place at the wrong time? Rosie suspects something more sinister.

Not long into her work, Makalani’s suspicions rise too. The Hiapos aren’t as close as Makalani thought. All family members—the grandfather, the widow, the adversarial brothers co-running the ranch, the sister who wants anything but a paniolo life for her son, and the cowgirl who becomes Makalani’s friend—are hiding secrets from one another. And from Makalani.

When more dangerous accidents occur, Makalani has no choice but to follow the clues that lead her into the dark history of Hiapo Ranch and draw out the culprit before someone else dies.

©2026 by Tori Eldridge. (P)2026 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Hawai’i Rage offers readers a fascinating deep dive into the ranching culture of Hawai’i’s Big Island, as grudges from the past lead to a brutal death in the present. Eldridge writes with passion and an insider’s knowledge, her love of the state where she was born and raised shining through on every page. If you love Hawai’i—and who doesn’t?—you’ll love Hawai’i Rage and Eldridge’s Ranger Makalani Pahukula Mystery series.”—Ellen Byron, USA Today and Agatha Award-winning author of the Golden Motel Mysteries

“Not just a novel, Hawai’i Rage is a deep dive into this country’s most beautiful and enchanting state. This well-paced, sweeping contemporary western transports readers into a vanishing and unknown chapter of island heritage that will surprise most of the mainland’s inhabitants. Not just a thriller, Tori Eldridge writes with a lyrical voice polished from firsthand knowledge of the people, history, and the land she loves. Her native legacy and grasp of the Hawaiian rancher’s way of life is a breath of fresh air in a literary world looking for something new and invigorating. Tori Eldridge first puts the reader into the real beauty of the Hawaiian experience, then reveals a dark side of detective work and crime that makes readers wonder how something so extraordinary can be spoiled by only a few.”—Reavis Z. Wortham, New York Times bestselling author of Comancheria