I usually save reviews of this nature for the magazine, but my enthusiasm runneth over. Hence this post. I loved FIVE DECEMBERS, which is to be published on October 26, 2021. So go and pre-order it right now. This book has universal appeal. The story is epic and the writing is terrific. Here is my review:

FIVE DECEMBERS
by James Kestrel
Hard Case Crime, $22.99
Rating: A

Late November, 1941. Honolulu, Hawaii. Police detective Joe McGrady catches a late-night double murder case and when he goes to investigate the murder scene (for the second time) he has a shoot-out with a man whom everyone supposes is the murderer. The perpetrator is dead and Joe is unharmed. It turns out that one of the victims is a young Japanese woman and the other is the nephew of a Navy Admiral. They were murdered in a particularly gruesome way – apparently with a trench knife, a combination brass knuckles and knife in one.

It looks like the case is closed, even though McGrady thinks that there were at least two perps involved. Further investigation leads the police to suspect a very large man named John Smith was involved. But unfortunately Mr. Smith has flown to Hong Kong. So McGrady follows suit and flies to the same destination, which in 1941 entailed several stops along the way. When he reaches the stop-over island of Wake, Joe finds that a young soldier has just recently been found murdered in the same manner as his other two victims. Now he knows for sure he is on the right track.|

When Joe arrives in Hong Kong, he quickly tracks down “John Smith,” but before he can do anything about it December 7, 1941 arrives and war breaks out throughout the Far East and he finds himself in a very precarious position. To write more would give away too many surprises.

James Kestrel is the pen name of a writer of several novels and if FIVE DECEMBERS is any indication, he has gone from apprentice to master status. Everything about his book is terrific. It is mostly a novel of detection, but will also appeal to fans who like elements of romance and thriller fiction. The writing is smooth and flows without interruption. One grows to care deeply for the main protagonists. All is wound up in a very satisfactory climax.

This is a WOW book for me. When I turned the final page, I said (out loud), “Wow!”