The story carries on till December 1945 and ends then after 5 winters with a show down between McGrady and the prime suspect. 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.

At the station, McGrady learns that there was a brutal murder on a dairy farm on the other side of Oahu.The story has a nice old-fashioned noir flavor and I welcomed the less graphic love-making scenes I found them more romantic and much more poignant.

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 .The murder case itself is ever present here, but bigger events intrude and the tale starts to take on a more complex character. 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. But I was surprised nonetheless when Hard Case Crime’s publisher Charles Ardai invited me to preview an upcoming release-Five Decembers by James Kestrel.

There are a couple of neat twists towards the end and the book builds to a suitably tough and exciting climax.

Kestrel does a marvellous job of maintaining suspense and keeping the story ticking over at a good pace. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. rating, for reasons noted below, yet I am forced to move it up or down, and after reflecting on this, decided to move it down. But here, the attacks on Tokyo in 1945 are barely mentioned- some explosions in the distance, Sachi runs away because she saw McGrady kill someone. Don't let that put you off, this is no gung ho pulp fiction, there's a very clever plot that is often moving and thought-provoking.

Titan Books will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing. With tensions high, Joe’s boss just wants the case solved as quickly and quietly as possible, and McGrady ends up hot on the trail of the killer across the Pacific. As told by James Kestrell, revealed to be the pen name for author Jonathan Moore, this noir crime novel is set at the precipice of America's engagement in the Second World War.

Joe McGrady immediately finds himself fighting for his life and then is whisked across the Pacific to find a small clue in the Far East as the war in the Pacific erupts and there's no way home. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.