Wiley is a man who's drifting through the remains of his torn-up life like a ghost, playing poker to make ends meet but always on the edge of the abyss, not quite sure whether his minimal efforts at life are worth the trouble.
When the estranged daughter he hasn't spoken to in a year turns up gutted with a sharp knife in a cheap motel room, Wiley's solitary life spins out of control and a violent showdown with both the killer and with his own bloody conscience becomes inevitable. He stalks the nasty underside of Portland's sex industry, jumping at every shadow and taking two steps back for every forward stride. But Wiley is determined to do this one thing right, perhaps to make amends to his lost daughter, or maybe to make peace with his own battered soul.
Brutal, heartrending, ultimately a story of remorse, renewal, and the flickering possibility of redemption, WILEY'S LAMENT signals the emergence of a significant and compelling new voice in the grand tradition of American noir.
Praise for WILEY'S LAMENT ...
Noir aficionados will embrace Waiwaiole's impressive if slightly unwieldy debut, a somber, violent tale of loss and redemption. β Publishers Weekly
Author Lono Waiwaiole makes it all worthwhile... plus the kind of writing that tears at the heart. β Chicago Tribune
Hard-hitting, down-and-dirty prose characterizes this first novel, set largely in the dirtier side of Portland, Oregon. A safe bet. β Library Journal
It's a gritty world that debut Portland writer Lono Waiwaiole portrays very effectively ... Wiley's a character to watch. β Seattle Times
The noir is so dark in Lono Waiwaiole's first novel, WILEY'S LAMENT, you'll need a trenchcoat and a fedora. β The Oregonian