The end of the war allows for him to complete his investigation which takes him again back and forth across the Pacific. Kestrel seems to have anticipated this by including brief detours in time and point of view to add historical context about the offensive campaigns that loom over the plot. As an ex-soldier with no family to speak of, Joe is a loner who didn’t grow up in Hawaii so he’s seen as an outsider even by his fellow cops, and it’s evident from the start that he’s not entirely trusted by them.

Dafür ist die Geschichte nicht spannend genug, die Sprache zu simpel und die Klischees zu zahlreich.The novel’s title, Five Decembers, is a clever reference that the story will move from crime thriller to war epic after the Japanese launch their offensive across Asia.

For a book that tried to be all these things at once, Five Decembers succeeded in every way, telling a fascinating mystery that has more sides than a prism, telling a war story that shows how destructive the war was personally to people on all sides, and offering a touching but tragic romance. While relying on actual world events as a catalyst can make the story feel more real, those not familiar with the period may not fully appreciate the magnitude of the circumstances. The descriptions of Japan and the aftermath of the bombing is nothing short of brilliant and at the same time horrifying.I did feel like at the end of the day there was not much there there with Joe, he is wholly in service to the plot, it doesn't feel like he existed before the novel or that he'll continue existing afterwards. It’s a Hard Case Crime novel set in Hawaii just weeks before the infamous Pearl Harbor attack occurs on December 7, 1941. I went into it thinking I was going to read a story about a Detective who was investigating a murder on the Island of Hawaii during the time of WWII, and it kinda was, but wasn’t. Along the way McGrady finds himself in some extraordinary situations but it never gets unbelievable and the ending is like no crime thriller ending you've ever read before. Arriving in early December 1941, Joe’s boots are barely on the ground before he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit and thrown in the slammer.

In another World War I campaign, Dashiell Hammett was rushing around the battlefield aiding the wounded while serving in the Motor Ambulance Corps.

I love Dashiell Hammett (think he doesn’t get credit for being one of the great American novelists of the 20th century) and looked forward to the rest. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that was so page-turning yet also filled with so much beautiful pathos. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.