Five Decembers

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.