It’s an interesting perspective on WWII b/c the historical era is present and yet, it’s also such an original “take” on it and not the usual European arena either. The only murder suspect boarded a plane headed to Hong Kong on a fake passport and has apparently tortured and gutted a Marine on Wake Island, a military outpost and refueling spot for flights to East Asia. Es spielt an Orten wie Honolulu, Hongkong und Tokio vor den kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen USA und Japan von 1941 bis 1945.

Full disclosure—I am a huge fan of the Hard Case Crime line of books—I’ve read all of them from day one. He's intricate when it comes to police procedure in the 1940s while keeping a fast pace, plausibly sending McGrady across the Pacific on a killer's trail. Five Decembers' feels like it could have been written during the golden age of noir… hugely satisfying. 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.Kestrel drops a few well-placed ominous hints that foreshadow that the whole world is about to go sideways even as Joe is hoping to get the case wrapped up in time to spend a romantic Christmas with Molly.

It merges elements of hardboiled crimefiction into a tale of survival and a sweeping historical novel that looks at little known issues, such as Japanese pacifism and more. 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. The uncle and daughter, Kansei and Sachi Takahashi, provide a safe haven for McGrady for the duration of the war. He’s one of the many strong, damaged men in pulp-style wartime thrillers, seeking vengeance in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds.McGrady is captured and imprisoned (on a trumped-up charge of aggravated rape) by the Hong Kong Police. I received a copy from Hard Case Crime, via Edelweiss+, and this does not impede the free expression of my opinion. Having completed the book – which comes with an ending that’s pretty unforgettable in and of itself – I was amazed to discover that it was only written in 2021; I’d assumed that it must have been penned perhaps seventy years earlier. The author has created a very likeable character in Joe McGrady and when you finish the book, you leave Joe with regret, wondering what his life will be like after.