James Kestrel: Five Decembers, 9781789098679, paperback, Titan Publishing

" Five Decembers" by James Kestrel won the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the reason it caught my attention. A gripping story set in war time Hawaii, Hongkong and Tokyo between 1941 -1945,  it is one of these good old fashioned crime novels reminding me a lot of Chandler or John D. Macdonald,  both writers I loved reading. So naturally I took to "Five Decembers" like a duck to water

 Joe McGrady is a Hawaii homicide detective who is assigned to a brutal killing of two young people, one the nephew of his boss. When the murder trail leads him on a chase through the Pacific islands, he  gets trapped in Hongkong and Tokyo just when Pearl Harbour is bombed. What follows is a fabulous story with many twists and turns which ticks all the right boxes, love, betrayal, imprisonment and revenge. Loved it. Perfect reading over New years.