Five Decembers
Ratings21
Average rating4.5
Winner of the 2022 The Edgar Best Novel Award “War, imprisonment, torture, romance…The novel has an almost operatic symmetry, and Kestrel turns a beautiful phrase.”New York Times Five Decembers is a gripping thriller, a staggering portrait of war, and a heartbreaking love story, as unforgettable as All the Light We Cannot See. nominated for Best Novel in the 2022 EDGAR AWARDS NOMINATED FOR BEST THRILLER IN THE 2022 BARRY AWARDS FINALIST FOR THE HAMMETT PRIZE 2021 "Read this book for its palpitating story, its perfect emotional and physical detailing and, most of all, for its unforgettable conjuring of a steamy quicksilver world that will be new to almost every reader." Pico Iyer December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. 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.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor. This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it's a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.
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I was given an advance reading copy of Five Decembers by the publisher.
From the moment I started reading James Kestrel's Five Decembers, I was immersed in a time and place I've never experienced, but found entirely believable. Early 1940's Hawaii, Pacific islands, Hong Kong and Tokyo all come alive, giving this book a lyrical quality missing from many hard-boiled tales. Combine the setting with Hawaii PD Detective Joe McGrady's journey to solve two brutal murders while his life is set on fire by world war, and you have a story that makes for compelling, non-stop reading, all the way to the wintry conclusion. Five Decembers is a terrific addition to the Hard Case Crime library.
In his acknowledgements at the end of the book, Kestrel mentions that he has written seven books, but Five Decembers is apparently the first book with the byline James Kestrel. What is his real name? What are his other books? Asking for a friend who wants to read them!
I subscribe to Hard Case Crime???s newsletter and was offered a free copy of the book on the condition that, if I liked it, I???d tell my friends. Well, I certainly liked it and I will be telling my friends. It???s one of the best thriller/mysteries I???ve read in a while. I???m going to be keeping an eye out for future James Kestrel books and I???m going to pre-order this one for my dad for his birthday. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Five Decembers is quite a good if rather odd crime novel. Joe McGrady, a Honolulu police detective, starts investigating a brutal dual murder in December of 1941 just before the start of WW2. His investigation takes him West to Hong Kong. There the events of the war take him in an unexpected direction and put his investigation on hold during the war. After the war in 1945 he resumes his investigation and takes it to a conclusion five Decembers later.
That makes the story sound simple. It is anything but. We get a complicated mystery involving more than just the murders and requiring tenacious police work. We get violence, brutality, betrayal, do-or-die situations, and unexpected romance.
For me one of the key aspects of the story is Kestrel's attention to detail. That and Edoardo Ballerini's excellent narration made me feel like I was back in the early 1940s in Hawaii and the Far East during those terrible times.
Solid 4 stars.
