Five Decembers

by James Kestrel

First published 2022

Detective Joe McGrady works a homicide case in Honolulu during December 1941. The murder investigation pulls him into a web that will drag him across the Pacific Ocean, away from Hawaii and the woman he loves. McGrady doesn't know that Japanese warships are already moving toward Pearl Harbor. The case transforms from local crime into something far more dangerous as America enters World War II. McGrady faces imprisonment and torture while pursuing justice across a theater of war. His survival depends on his determination to solve the original murder and return to the life he left behind. The story follows McGrady through the entire span of World War II, tracking his journey from detective work to wartime survival. Romance drives him forward even as the conflict threatens to destroy everything he values. The novel combines crime investigation with the brutal realities of war in the Pacific.

Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, mystery, crime, detective, action

Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water

Setting: Honolulu, Pacific Ocean

Period: December 1941, World War II

425 pages · Paperback · Hard Case Crime

Content warnings: violence, war

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