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Five Decembers
December 1941: America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn’t know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor.
This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it’s a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, Five Decembers is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.
This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it’s a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, Five Decembers is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.
429 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 2021
About the author
James Kestrel
2 books423 followersFormerly a bar owner, a criminal defense investigator, and an English teacher, James Kestrel is now an attorney practicing throughout the Pacific. His writing has won advance praise from Stephen King, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Meg Gardiner, James Fallows, Pico Iyer, and numerous other authors. A sailor and world traveler, Kestrel has lived in Taiwan, New Orleans, and a West Texas ghost town. He lives in Volcano, Hawaii.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,300 reviews
November 18, 2021
Wow! This one is a wow. What a heck of a read. I’d say hell of read but I’m not sure I can say hell in a review. This one is my favorite of the year. Hands down. Stunning. As soon as I started reading it I passed the word to reader friends, one of which, wondered like me, how this author slipped under our radar—how could this be a first novel? He researched it and found the author is none other than one of my favorites, the author of Poison Artist, (if you haven’t read Poison Artist you are missing a real treat. It’s up there with Chandler), Johnathan Moore.
This book reminds me a little of LA Confidential by Elroy. It’s epic and spans five years during world war two. It’s got romance, violence, and most of all good ol’ story telling. This is not one to miss.
The book is written in third person from one point of view. The historical time period, the setting takes on its own character with equal importance to the main character. Loved the details. The descriptions of Japan and the aftermath of the bombing is nothing short of brilliant and at the same time horrifying.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
This book reminds me a little of LA Confidential by Elroy. It’s epic and spans five years during world war two. It’s got romance, violence, and most of all good ol’ story telling. This is not one to miss.
The book is written in third person from one point of view. The historical time period, the setting takes on its own character with equal importance to the main character. Loved the details. The descriptions of Japan and the aftermath of the bombing is nothing short of brilliant and at the same time horrifying.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
October 9, 2021
This stellar Wartime Noir from James Kestrel packs an emotional punch that left me reeling, it is powerful, profound and moving, whilst defying genre classification. It is December 1941 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the hard boiled ex-military Detective Joe McGrady is called to a gruesomely macabre double murder scene, a young male victim, who turns out to be the much loved nephew of an American Admiral, and a Japanese woman who is much more difficult to identify. Joe is an outsider not trusted by his fellow police officers, feeling alone, channeling his emotions and love towards Molly. He has a hunch when he kills a man who returned to the scene of the crime, that there was someone else involved. Whilst his boss tries to dictate the murder inquiry, Joe is determined to go his own way, helped by the political heft of the grieving Admiral.
As another victim with a similar MO is discovered, Joe finds himself sent to hunt the killer, ending up in British ruled Hong Kong. For those familiar with WW2 history, you will know that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour is coming and leads to the entry of the U.S. into the war. As Joe finds himself in a Hong Kong prison, the U.S. consulate unable to help him, the war comes for him, and takes him to Yokohama in Japan where he becomes aware of the identity of the murdered woman and the surprising motive behind the killings. He is taken in and saved by Kansei and Sachi Takahashi, at great risk to their own lives. Trapped in their home for years, Joe learns Japanese from Sachi, and becomes intimately aware of the cost of war from a Japanese perspective, including the unprecedented horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Never once does Joe forget the murders, even on his return to Hawaii and the case has been closed, he pursues the killer, no matter what the cost.
Kestrel details man's inhumanity in war, as things becomes ever bleaker, amidst a devastating horror of mass deaths, heartbreak and losses, it is love that holds people together, a reason to live, and this is all too painfully true for Joe too. The wide ranging cast of characters in the story is what grabs the reader, from the likes of Molly, Emily Kam, to the Takahashis and Kate, they had me invested right from the beginning, up to the final pages of that poignant ending. This is unforgettable historical fiction, a mesmerising noir that turned out to be one of my books of this year, and which, if there is any justice in the world, should be hugely successful. A book for everyone, and one I strongly recommend. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
As another victim with a similar MO is discovered, Joe finds himself sent to hunt the killer, ending up in British ruled Hong Kong. For those familiar with WW2 history, you will know that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour is coming and leads to the entry of the U.S. into the war. As Joe finds himself in a Hong Kong prison, the U.S. consulate unable to help him, the war comes for him, and takes him to Yokohama in Japan where he becomes aware of the identity of the murdered woman and the surprising motive behind the killings. He is taken in and saved by Kansei and Sachi Takahashi, at great risk to their own lives. Trapped in their home for years, Joe learns Japanese from Sachi, and becomes intimately aware of the cost of war from a Japanese perspective, including the unprecedented horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Never once does Joe forget the murders, even on his return to Hawaii and the case has been closed, he pursues the killer, no matter what the cost.
Kestrel details man's inhumanity in war, as things becomes ever bleaker, amidst a devastating horror of mass deaths, heartbreak and losses, it is love that holds people together, a reason to live, and this is all too painfully true for Joe too. The wide ranging cast of characters in the story is what grabs the reader, from the likes of Molly, Emily Kam, to the Takahashis and Kate, they had me invested right from the beginning, up to the final pages of that poignant ending. This is unforgettable historical fiction, a mesmerising noir that turned out to be one of my books of this year, and which, if there is any justice in the world, should be hugely successful. A book for everyone, and one I strongly recommend. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
April 29, 2022
**Floating this review because it just won an Edgar Award for best novel. Also, it's been officially revealed that James Kestrel is a pen name for Jonathan Moore, an author I've been reading for several years now. If you liked this one, check out other Moore novels like The Poison Artist and Blood Relations.**
I received a free advance copy of this from the author.
It’s a Hard Case Crime novel set in Hawaii just weeks before the infamous Pearl Harbor attack occurs on December 7, 1941. I pretty much feel like that’s all I need to say to convince people to check it out.
But fine, if you want to know a little more, then keep reading…
Joe McGrady is a police detective in Honolulu who is called to a gruesome double murder. Things get complicated when one of the victims turns out to be a relative of a prominent Navy admiral and the other is a young Japanese woman. 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. However, the outbreak of World War II derails the investigation as well as Joe’s life.
This is one of those books that’s tricky to review because I don’t want to say much more about the plot because it takes some surprising twists that end up being the best part of the of the story. So I don’t want to spoil those, but then I can’t really dig into some of the particulars.
What I can say is that this is a novel built on making readers feel like they’re in a particular time and place, and James Kestrel does a superior job of that. From describing the streets and people of Honolulu in 1941 to several other locations, you get all of the atmosphere without it feeling like a bunch of regurgitated facts from a history class.
The plotting is also very well done as it mixes the realistic grind of detective work with some of the historical details of the setting. For example, one clue revolves around how there were no Packard dealerships in Hawaii at the time so that type of car was very rare on the islands, but trying to track down a particular one means spending hours reviewing car registration records. There’s a lot of great procedural bits about trying to track down a killer in the era before computer databases and modern forensics. Even the methods of communication play a part with cables being a key element to how things unfold.
Character work is another strong element with Joe McGrady being the kind of complex figure you want at the center of this kind of story. 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. The feeling goes both ways as Joe deals with the agenda of his boss and others. His one real connection is his growing feelings towards the woman he’s been seeing, Molly.
The story also plays off the readers knowing that World War II is about to start to good effect. 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 makes the whole thing one of those books where you’re tensed up the entire time, and just wish that you could warn everyone in it what’s coming.
It’s a fantastic crime novel that takes the classic tale of a determined detective hunting a killer and turns it into the tragedy of one man who gets caught up in epic historical events.
I received a free advance copy of this from the author.
It’s a Hard Case Crime novel set in Hawaii just weeks before the infamous Pearl Harbor attack occurs on December 7, 1941. I pretty much feel like that’s all I need to say to convince people to check it out.
But fine, if you want to know a little more, then keep reading…
Joe McGrady is a police detective in Honolulu who is called to a gruesome double murder. Things get complicated when one of the victims turns out to be a relative of a prominent Navy admiral and the other is a young Japanese woman. 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. However, the outbreak of World War II derails the investigation as well as Joe’s life.
This is one of those books that’s tricky to review because I don’t want to say much more about the plot because it takes some surprising twists that end up being the best part of the of the story. So I don’t want to spoil those, but then I can’t really dig into some of the particulars.
What I can say is that this is a novel built on making readers feel like they’re in a particular time and place, and James Kestrel does a superior job of that. From describing the streets and people of Honolulu in 1941 to several other locations, you get all of the atmosphere without it feeling like a bunch of regurgitated facts from a history class.
The plotting is also very well done as it mixes the realistic grind of detective work with some of the historical details of the setting. For example, one clue revolves around how there were no Packard dealerships in Hawaii at the time so that type of car was very rare on the islands, but trying to track down a particular one means spending hours reviewing car registration records. There’s a lot of great procedural bits about trying to track down a killer in the era before computer databases and modern forensics. Even the methods of communication play a part with cables being a key element to how things unfold.
Character work is another strong element with Joe McGrady being the kind of complex figure you want at the center of this kind of story. 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. The feeling goes both ways as Joe deals with the agenda of his boss and others. His one real connection is his growing feelings towards the woman he’s been seeing, Molly.
The story also plays off the readers knowing that World War II is about to start to good effect. 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 makes the whole thing one of those books where you’re tensed up the entire time, and just wish that you could warn everyone in it what’s coming.
It’s a fantastic crime novel that takes the classic tale of a determined detective hunting a killer and turns it into the tragedy of one man who gets caught up in epic historical events.
March 16, 2024
This one has been on my kindle for a little while, and I’m not actually sure how it got there. Well, I know I bought it, but I can’t recall what prompted me to do so. The cover picture suggests it’s a hardboiled crime fiction novel – not a bad thing in itself – but that’s not really the case. It actually feels more like a piece of historical fiction, with a murder mystery buried within. It opens with a scene set in Hawaii in 1941, with America on the brink of war. Joe McGrady is a detective asked to investigate his first murder case, a gruesome killing of a young man. What he discovers when he attends the scene is disturbingly described.
We’re to follow Joe through the war years as he ploughs his own furrow in a surprising way. The murder case itself is ever present here, but bigger events intrude and the tale starts to take on a more complex character. Joe will travel widely and meet really interesting people: some helpful and others very much the opposite. He is aided, misled, threatened and beaten. A third of my way through this book I had no idea where it was all taking me, but I did know that I’d found a character, in Joe, who was imbued with enough grit and virtue to carry me with him, wherever that turned out to be.
The descriptions of time and place are superb. At one point Joe finds himself in Kowloon and he takes the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island and then onward and upward, travelling on the funicular railway to the summit of The Peak. I completed such a journey some years ago and the author captures superbly the wonder I had felt at the wild mix of scenes that passed before my eyes and the intoxicating buzz of being caught up amongst so many people. I knew then that I trusted Kestrel’s eye and could rely on him to bring alive other places we were to visit.
This is tale of determination, of patience and forbearance. It’s a big story that still manages to shine a light on the smaller story within. It's a tale that held me totally enthralled throughout. 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. definitely one to grab and steal away to a quiet spot and enjoy without threat of being disturbed. My favourite read in some considerable time.
We’re to follow Joe through the war years as he ploughs his own furrow in a surprising way. The murder case itself is ever present here, but bigger events intrude and the tale starts to take on a more complex character. Joe will travel widely and meet really interesting people: some helpful and others very much the opposite. He is aided, misled, threatened and beaten. A third of my way through this book I had no idea where it was all taking me, but I did know that I’d found a character, in Joe, who was imbued with enough grit and virtue to carry me with him, wherever that turned out to be.
The descriptions of time and place are superb. At one point Joe finds himself in Kowloon and he takes the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island and then onward and upward, travelling on the funicular railway to the summit of The Peak. I completed such a journey some years ago and the author captures superbly the wonder I had felt at the wild mix of scenes that passed before my eyes and the intoxicating buzz of being caught up amongst so many people. I knew then that I trusted Kestrel’s eye and could rely on him to bring alive other places we were to visit.
This is tale of determination, of patience and forbearance. It’s a big story that still manages to shine a light on the smaller story within. It's a tale that held me totally enthralled throughout. 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. definitely one to grab and steal away to a quiet spot and enjoy without threat of being disturbed. My favourite read in some considerable time.
October 19, 2021
"Five Decembers" is one book that's even better than advertised. In an absolutely breathtaking exciting thriller scheduled for an October 2021 release, James Kestrel (a pseudonym for a current author) offers us in one fell swoop a Hardboiled mystery, a historical war story, a star-crossed romance, and just an endless adventure that you never want to end. For a book that tried to be all these things at once, Five Decembers succeeded in every way, telling a fascinating mystery that has more sides than a prism, telling a war story that shows how destructive the war was personally to people on all sides, and offering a touching but tragic romance.
It all starts (although it doesn't end there) in pre-war Honolulu in the days leading up to that one fateful day when the bombers appeared over the lush Hawaiian skies and awakened a sleeping giant. But, this is not a military story about the men who went off into battle. Rather, it's the story of a civilian -a local Honolulu police detective given the most unsolvable case ever -a murder out in the hills that barely makes sense.
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. Wherever Joe thought this would lead, he could never have imagined the twists and turns his life would take over the next five Decembers.
Over the course of these years, Joe has to come to terms with who he is and what he is capable of. What is a man when he is floating without a life preserver bereft of all that grounds him in this world?
The writing style was fantastic, drawing the reader into every page. There was no moment in the story not wound up with tension, with excitement, with anticipation. It authentically felt like a novel from the postwar era, not something brand new. It's impossible to say enough good things about this work.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
It all starts (although it doesn't end there) in pre-war Honolulu in the days leading up to that one fateful day when the bombers appeared over the lush Hawaiian skies and awakened a sleeping giant. But, this is not a military story about the men who went off into battle. Rather, it's the story of a civilian -a local Honolulu police detective given the most unsolvable case ever -a murder out in the hills that barely makes sense.
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. Wherever Joe thought this would lead, he could never have imagined the twists and turns his life would take over the next five Decembers.
Over the course of these years, Joe has to come to terms with who he is and what he is capable of. What is a man when he is floating without a life preserver bereft of all that grounds him in this world?
The writing style was fantastic, drawing the reader into every page. There was no moment in the story not wound up with tension, with excitement, with anticipation. It authentically felt like a novel from the postwar era, not something brand new. It's impossible to say enough good things about this work.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
March 25, 2021
I am the publisher of this book, so I'm hardly unbiased -- but before I choose to publish a book I'm a simple reader, and I only choose books that knock my socks off when I read them, and this one knocked my socks so far off, I think they're in orbit right now. What an exceptional piece of storytelling this book is. I don't remember another book I've read in years that had the powerful emotional impact this one has. It goes places I could never have guessed it would; it makes you fear for the main character's fate, and grieve with him, and hope with him, in ways that are rare indeed. I found it a literally breathtaking book, and I hope other readers will give it a chance when it comes out in October. (I know that asking people to try a book by an author they've never heard of is asking a lot -- there are just so many books and no one has the time to read more than a small fraction of them. But when, once in a very long while, a book this good, this special, comes around...it's worth it.)
February 9, 2023
Five Decembers by James Kestrel
Synopsis /
In this novel of World War II, an American police detective trapped while trailing a killer overseas struggles to survive with only the help of a total stranger and his daughter, who risk their lives to protect him.
December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor.
My Thoughts /
I’m totally flummoxed. This has a Goodreads star rating of 4.49. Let me say that again. Four. Point. Four. Nine. It has literary awards: Hammett Prize Nominee (2021) and the Edgar Award for Best Novel (2022). A plethora of reviews, most of which expound on the collective argument about just how good this book is. Well, I declare! My thoughts are all cattywampus. There is no doubt about it. There is no other conclusion. They all must have read a different book than the I read. I’m not even going to suggest I’m an outlier. I’m so far further out than an outlier; I’m the most outlierest outlier that there ever was.
I picked this one up after I read the blurb. I know, rookie mistake; so that’s on me. But really Titan Books did we need this? This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it's a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.
One of my more major problems with the book was that I didn’t know how to categorise it. Was it murder-mystery; murder-crime; historical; romance; political; WWII? It was a jack of all trades but a master of none. I went into it thinking I was going to read a story about a Detective who was investigating a murder on the Island of Hawaii during the time of WWII, and it kinda was, but wasn’t. It was just bizarre.
Honolulu, Hawaii, Thanksgiving weekend 1941, and Detective Joe McGrady has been called out to a crime scene. On arrival, McGrady finds the body of a young (white) male. He’s been stripped, gutted, and been left hanging upside down from the rafters. As if that’s not gruesome enough, McGrady finds the body of an Asian woman. Her limbs have been bound and her throat has been cut. She’s been left to bleed out. The young male victim turns out to be the nephew of a high-ranking military identity with plenty of political clout – US Navy Admiral Kimmel. The young female victim it turns out, was much harder to identify. With the connect made to Admiral Kimmel, McGrady is thinking along the lines that this was a professional hit. McGrady is partnered up on this investigation with Detective Fred Ball, who’s a good cop, albeit a little heavy handed. The two detectives soon realise that the killer they are hunting has already left the Island, headed for Hong Kong. McGrady, hot on the heels of the suspects trail, leaves for Hong Kong.
It's at this point where things get a little too complicated. Remember that the time-period is December 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service conducted a surprise coordinated military strike on both Hong Kong and across the ocean at Pearl Harbour. McGrady is captured and imprisoned (on a trumped-up charge of aggravated rape) by the Hong Kong Police. Time goes by, blah, blah, blah and then McGrady, aided by Kansei Takahashi (a Japanese official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) escapes prison; only to live like Julian Assange….a fugitive in the house of Takahashi and his daughter. For three years he hides in their house, not even daring to venture out into the backyard for fear the neighbours might see him. He spends his time learning Japanese from Takahashi’s daughter, Sachi (among other things – yes, they develop ‘feelings’ for each other – insert eye roll here). With the eventual defeat of the Japanese Empire in August of 1945 McGrady returns ‘all guns blazing’ ready to recommence his investigation into who killed his double murder victims. What the actual???
At 446 pages, in my opinion, this book is way too long. Cut out the guff in the middle about his capture and romantic entanglements – that added zip to the main plot. It was pointless and didn’t advance the plot one bit. Keep to the murder investigation – it was way more interesting. Funnily enough, at the end, the author’s note suggests that there were at least 60,000 words cut from the final draft before publication. A decision well worth making IMO.
Synopsis /
In this novel of World War II, an American police detective trapped while trailing a killer overseas struggles to survive with only the help of a total stranger and his daughter, who risk their lives to protect him.
December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor.
My Thoughts /
I’m totally flummoxed. This has a Goodreads star rating of 4.49. Let me say that again. Four. Point. Four. Nine. It has literary awards: Hammett Prize Nominee (2021) and the Edgar Award for Best Novel (2022). A plethora of reviews, most of which expound on the collective argument about just how good this book is. Well, I declare! My thoughts are all cattywampus. There is no doubt about it. There is no other conclusion. They all must have read a different book than the I read. I’m not even going to suggest I’m an outlier. I’m so far further out than an outlier; I’m the most outlierest outlier that there ever was.
I picked this one up after I read the blurb. I know, rookie mistake; so that’s on me. But really Titan Books did we need this? This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it's a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.
One of my more major problems with the book was that I didn’t know how to categorise it. Was it murder-mystery; murder-crime; historical; romance; political; WWII? It was a jack of all trades but a master of none. I went into it thinking I was going to read a story about a Detective who was investigating a murder on the Island of Hawaii during the time of WWII, and it kinda was, but wasn’t. It was just bizarre.
Honolulu, Hawaii, Thanksgiving weekend 1941, and Detective Joe McGrady has been called out to a crime scene. On arrival, McGrady finds the body of a young (white) male. He’s been stripped, gutted, and been left hanging upside down from the rafters. As if that’s not gruesome enough, McGrady finds the body of an Asian woman. Her limbs have been bound and her throat has been cut. She’s been left to bleed out. The young male victim turns out to be the nephew of a high-ranking military identity with plenty of political clout – US Navy Admiral Kimmel. The young female victim it turns out, was much harder to identify. With the connect made to Admiral Kimmel, McGrady is thinking along the lines that this was a professional hit. McGrady is partnered up on this investigation with Detective Fred Ball, who’s a good cop, albeit a little heavy handed. The two detectives soon realise that the killer they are hunting has already left the Island, headed for Hong Kong. McGrady, hot on the heels of the suspects trail, leaves for Hong Kong.
It's at this point where things get a little too complicated. Remember that the time-period is December 1941. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service conducted a surprise coordinated military strike on both Hong Kong and across the ocean at Pearl Harbour. McGrady is captured and imprisoned (on a trumped-up charge of aggravated rape) by the Hong Kong Police. Time goes by, blah, blah, blah and then McGrady, aided by Kansei Takahashi (a Japanese official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) escapes prison; only to live like Julian Assange….a fugitive in the house of Takahashi and his daughter. For three years he hides in their house, not even daring to venture out into the backyard for fear the neighbours might see him. He spends his time learning Japanese from Takahashi’s daughter, Sachi (among other things – yes, they develop ‘feelings’ for each other – insert eye roll here). With the eventual defeat of the Japanese Empire in August of 1945 McGrady returns ‘all guns blazing’ ready to recommence his investigation into who killed his double murder victims. What the actual???
At 446 pages, in my opinion, this book is way too long. Cut out the guff in the middle about his capture and romantic entanglements – that added zip to the main plot. It was pointless and didn’t advance the plot one bit. Keep to the murder investigation – it was way more interesting. Funnily enough, at the end, the author’s note suggests that there were at least 60,000 words cut from the final draft before publication. A decision well worth making IMO.
January 20, 2024
My introduction to the fiction of James Kestrel is Five Decembers. Anyone who's been searching for pulp fiction done the right way--lurid action, disillusioned men in search of purpose, mysterious women in need of help, exotic locales--needs to stop reading my review and read
this novel, recently published by Hard Case Crime with plaudits from Megan Abbott and Meg Gardiner among others. I went into the reading blind, unaware of when it was written or takes place, and was rewarded with one surprise after another. In short, this is a book that preserves everything I love about 1940s pulp fiction and replaces everything I don't love with a contemporary sensibility.
Published in 2021 and the first under Kestrel's name (he wrote six crime novels as Jonathan Moore), the story begins in Honolulu of yesteryear, where Army veteran and police detective Joe McGrady is summoned by his captain from the shot glass he's searching for fulfillment in. Short staffed due to Thanksgiving, bachelor McGrady is assigned his first homicide, a dead body on the land of a dairy farmer. McGrady is the first on the scene and shortly after discovering a young man cut open, confronts a man trying to destroy the crime scene and shoots it out with him. McGrady discovers a woman's body on the scene and gets the impression the criminal he shot was not working alone.
Present at the autopsy on Fort Shafter is a U.S. Navy admiral whose search for his missing nephew has come to a conclusion where McGrady's investigation begins. The detective discovers that the woman--who appears to be Japanese but has no identity as of yet--was killed after the admiral's nephew, as if whoever did it wanted her to see. McGrady is assigned a partner in Fred Ball, who's never detained a suspect he couldn't beat an answer out of, and following a lead to Guam, assures his lovely girlfriend Molly that he'll be home soon. Closing in on a suspect in Hong Kong, McGrady is caught in the city on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacks mainland China and takes over.
Five Decembers reminded me of the movie Cast Away if instead of climaxing when Tom Hanks returns to civilization, tasked his character with solving the murder investigation he was working when he was shipwrecked. Not just any murder, but one our protagonist realizes changed the entire course of history while he was marooned, including his life and the lives of those nearest to him: the girlfriend who gave him up for dead, and the daughter of the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose father springs McGrady from a prison camp for his help finding the men who murdered his niece, hiding him in Tokyo until the conclusion of the war.
Kestrel does everything extremely well in this novel. He paints a vivid picture of Honolulu and Hong Kong before and after World War II without bogging the reader down in historical research. 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. After reading a plethora of thrillers that hinge on text messaging, it was so refreshing to read one revolving around telegrams. The dialogue is terse while containing emotional resonance. Kestrel clearly establishes the necessity each character has in their relationships with others. I looked forward to getting back to the book every time I put it down.
For a long time, the novel I'd bring up if anyone asked what I thought would make a good TV mini-series was Kindred by Octavia Butler. FX on Hulu finally got around to that. My new great book begging for an adaptation is Five Decembers by James Kestrel.
Opening sentence: Joe McGrady was looking at a whiskey.
Memorable prose: The first night in Yokohama, he could have listened to Takahashi's pitch. Then he could've walked away. Back down the steel stairs, back to his place in the line of naked prisoners. None of the other men from the ship had been given any kind of choice. They had to take whatever the Japs decided to dish out. He could have taken it, too. Maybe he'd have survived. Or maybe not. But in either case his name wouldn't have been on the wrong Red Cross list. If people asked him what had happened in Japan, he'd be able to answer with some kind of dignity.
And everything would be different.
this novel, recently published by Hard Case Crime with plaudits from Megan Abbott and Meg Gardiner among others. I went into the reading blind, unaware of when it was written or takes place, and was rewarded with one surprise after another. In short, this is a book that preserves everything I love about 1940s pulp fiction and replaces everything I don't love with a contemporary sensibility.
Published in 2021 and the first under Kestrel's name (he wrote six crime novels as Jonathan Moore), the story begins in Honolulu of yesteryear, where Army veteran and police detective Joe McGrady is summoned by his captain from the shot glass he's searching for fulfillment in. Short staffed due to Thanksgiving, bachelor McGrady is assigned his first homicide, a dead body on the land of a dairy farmer. McGrady is the first on the scene and shortly after discovering a young man cut open, confronts a man trying to destroy the crime scene and shoots it out with him. McGrady discovers a woman's body on the scene and gets the impression the criminal he shot was not working alone.
Present at the autopsy on Fort Shafter is a U.S. Navy admiral whose search for his missing nephew has come to a conclusion where McGrady's investigation begins. The detective discovers that the woman--who appears to be Japanese but has no identity as of yet--was killed after the admiral's nephew, as if whoever did it wanted her to see. McGrady is assigned a partner in Fred Ball, who's never detained a suspect he couldn't beat an answer out of, and following a lead to Guam, assures his lovely girlfriend Molly that he'll be home soon. Closing in on a suspect in Hong Kong, McGrady is caught in the city on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacks mainland China and takes over.
Five Decembers reminded me of the movie Cast Away if instead of climaxing when Tom Hanks returns to civilization, tasked his character with solving the murder investigation he was working when he was shipwrecked. Not just any murder, but one our protagonist realizes changed the entire course of history while he was marooned, including his life and the lives of those nearest to him: the girlfriend who gave him up for dead, and the daughter of the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose father springs McGrady from a prison camp for his help finding the men who murdered his niece, hiding him in Tokyo until the conclusion of the war.
Kestrel does everything extremely well in this novel. He paints a vivid picture of Honolulu and Hong Kong before and after World War II without bogging the reader down in historical research. 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. After reading a plethora of thrillers that hinge on text messaging, it was so refreshing to read one revolving around telegrams. The dialogue is terse while containing emotional resonance. Kestrel clearly establishes the necessity each character has in their relationships with others. I looked forward to getting back to the book every time I put it down.
For a long time, the novel I'd bring up if anyone asked what I thought would make a good TV mini-series was Kindred by Octavia Butler. FX on Hulu finally got around to that. My new great book begging for an adaptation is Five Decembers by James Kestrel.
Opening sentence: Joe McGrady was looking at a whiskey.
Memorable prose: The first night in Yokohama, he could have listened to Takahashi's pitch. Then he could've walked away. Back down the steel stairs, back to his place in the line of naked prisoners. None of the other men from the ship had been given any kind of choice. They had to take whatever the Japs decided to dish out. He could have taken it, too. Maybe he'd have survived. Or maybe not. But in either case his name wouldn't have been on the wrong Red Cross list. If people asked him what had happened in Japan, he'd be able to answer with some kind of dignity.
And everything would be different.
February 24, 2022
Don’t let the “pulp fiction” cover deter you from reading this book! The covers for “hard case crime” books is what actually draws me to them since the covers are a throwback to the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and I’m a great fan of those time periods.
I’ve been in an perpetual reading slump ever since the pandemic! No book that I was reading during that time held my interest and I was getting more and more frustrated! And then I found Five Decembers and all bets were off!
From the very first page James Kestrel had me hooked! Great characters, great story.
Don’t want to give anything away but this is a must read for all who like hard case crime books!
Enjoy!
I’ve been in an perpetual reading slump ever since the pandemic! No book that I was reading during that time held my interest and I was getting more and more frustrated! And then I found Five Decembers and all bets were off!
From the very first page James Kestrel had me hooked! Great characters, great story.
Don’t want to give anything away but this is a must read for all who like hard case crime books!
Enjoy!
October 21, 2022
The lurid cover hearkens back to the days of Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammet, but this tale overtakes the classics by leaps and bounds. If Spillane's hero Mike Hammer were to encounter a foreigner, it's dollars to doughnuts he'd first punch him (or her) in the face and then mock them for their funny accent. How refreshing, then, that the hero of this story instead travels to foreign climes, learns the local language and uses charm and manners to get the information he needs. Start with this badly-overdue refresh of the hard-boiled detective story and add in a sensitive reading of locales and a non-Neaderthal attitude towards women. (Some tropes endure. Every woman who crosses his path seems to fall in love with him, more or less instantly, and there's, as usual, the boss who is an idiot and messes everything up.)
WWII was a huge conflict that touched (or ended) hundreds of thousands of young American's lives, and, given the nature of statistics, there must have been a few people whose stories from those years were completely beyond the pale. (Try reading a biography of Audie Murphy to see what I mean.) The events in this story seem unbelievable -- but then, with so many people involved in the war, somebody could have had experiences like this.
The magic in this book lies entirely in the plotting. The author is updating the genre, but not reinventing it -- no literary tricks here, just economical relaying of a mind-bending and ultimately entertaining plot. There are a few scenes that far transcend the genre. Sometimes, that's just the ticket.
WWII was a huge conflict that touched (or ended) hundreds of thousands of young American's lives, and, given the nature of statistics, there must have been a few people whose stories from those years were completely beyond the pale. (Try reading a biography of Audie Murphy to see what I mean.) The events in this story seem unbelievable -- but then, with so many people involved in the war, somebody could have had experiences like this.
The magic in this book lies entirely in the plotting. The author is updating the genre, but not reinventing it -- no literary tricks here, just economical relaying of a mind-bending and ultimately entertaining plot. There are a few scenes that far transcend the genre. Sometimes, that's just the ticket.
August 7, 2023
Joe McGrady is a detective for the Honolulu Police Dept. It’s November 1941 and he is investigating a double homicide.
Part of his investigation takes him away from Honolulu and the girlfriend he has fallen in love with. He is sent to Hong Kong and that is where he is when Pearl Harbor gets attacked.
Police investigation/crime novel, combined with WWII story, combined with love, loss and grief and redemption is how I would categorize this one.
Kestrel is a great writer, I was immersed in the story and totally invested in Joe McGrady from the first to the last page. I really would have loved for it to keep going! McGrady’s character was easy to route for as were the other people where were important to him (I am being vague on purpose so that you can get to know everyone on your own).
I picked this one up because it’s a Hard Case Crime novel and I’ve enjoyed Stephen King’s Hard Case Crime books so I thought I’d give this one a go. So happy I did!
PS I’m ready to go back to Hawaii now! :)
Part of his investigation takes him away from Honolulu and the girlfriend he has fallen in love with. He is sent to Hong Kong and that is where he is when Pearl Harbor gets attacked.
Police investigation/crime novel, combined with WWII story, combined with love, loss and grief and redemption is how I would categorize this one.
Kestrel is a great writer, I was immersed in the story and totally invested in Joe McGrady from the first to the last page. I really would have loved for it to keep going! McGrady’s character was easy to route for as were the other people where were important to him (I am being vague on purpose so that you can get to know everyone on your own).
I picked this one up because it’s a Hard Case Crime novel and I’ve enjoyed Stephen King’s Hard Case Crime books so I thought I’d give this one a go. So happy I did!
PS I’m ready to go back to Hawaii now! :)
April 7, 2021
A few weeks ago, I received an email from publisher Hard Case Crime offering up e-galleys of a forthcoming novel entitled FIVE DECEMBERS, which is due for release later this year. In said email Charles Adari, founder and editor at Hard Case Crime, called FIVE DECEMBERS “one of our best books ever” and also provided praise from both Dennis Lehane and Megan Abbott (two of my favorite writers) to boot. How could I say no to a book with those accolades?
I received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for a review.
FIVE DECEMBERS begins in Honolulu, Hawaii shortly before America enters the Second World War. HPD Detective Joe McGrady is sent to investigate a murder on the outskirts of town and upon arrival, he’s treated to a gruesome crime scene. Believing that the man responsible has fled the country, Joe sets out to Hong Kong in an attempt to track the killer down. Arriving in early December 1941, Joe’s boots are barely on the ground before he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit and thrown in the slammer. Of course, history tells us that by the 7th, the US is attacked by Japan and all hell breaks loose in the Pacific.
I’d really like to stop things there because it’s probably best to go into this one not knowing much more than what I’ve already said. FIVE DECEMBERS is one of the best modern crime fiction novels I’ve read in quite some time. It begins with a murder on a small scale and expands into something so much more, while never straying focus far from its central mystery. The novel’s protagonist, Joe McGrady, is an unremarkable man, but that’s what makes him relatable. He’s the everyman, the guy you can’t help but sympathize with and root for when things look their most bleak. The reader is right there beside Joe during every struggle and every heartbreaking revelation.
I’ve used this saying many times before, but FIVE DECEMBERS is truly the definition of a page-turner. In the acknowledgements, Kestrel states that the original manuscript for FIVE DECEMBERS had tipped the scales at nearly seven hundred pages, but through advice from his agent, he cut it down to just over four hundred. So, based on that alone, you know this is a tight read. I often harp on books for being too long and overstaying their welcome, but I’d love to read the full, uncut original story. Even when the novel’s nail-biting conclusion arrived, I wasn’t ready to be done with it.
I absolutely loved this book and I truly cannot wait for the world to read it this fall when it hits bookstores. James Kestrel’s FIVE DECEMBERS is an emotionally-charged crime novel shaped by the tragic years of a world at war, a story that is relentlessly hopeful in the face of unrequited devotion and doomed love.
FIVE DECEMBERS is due for release on October 19th, 2021 from Hard Case Crime.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for a review.
FIVE DECEMBERS begins in Honolulu, Hawaii shortly before America enters the Second World War. HPD Detective Joe McGrady is sent to investigate a murder on the outskirts of town and upon arrival, he’s treated to a gruesome crime scene. Believing that the man responsible has fled the country, Joe sets out to Hong Kong in an attempt to track the killer down. Arriving in early December 1941, Joe’s boots are barely on the ground before he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit and thrown in the slammer. Of course, history tells us that by the 7th, the US is attacked by Japan and all hell breaks loose in the Pacific.
I’d really like to stop things there because it’s probably best to go into this one not knowing much more than what I’ve already said. FIVE DECEMBERS is one of the best modern crime fiction novels I’ve read in quite some time. It begins with a murder on a small scale and expands into something so much more, while never straying focus far from its central mystery. The novel’s protagonist, Joe McGrady, is an unremarkable man, but that’s what makes him relatable. He’s the everyman, the guy you can’t help but sympathize with and root for when things look their most bleak. The reader is right there beside Joe during every struggle and every heartbreaking revelation.
I’ve used this saying many times before, but FIVE DECEMBERS is truly the definition of a page-turner. In the acknowledgements, Kestrel states that the original manuscript for FIVE DECEMBERS had tipped the scales at nearly seven hundred pages, but through advice from his agent, he cut it down to just over four hundred. So, based on that alone, you know this is a tight read. I often harp on books for being too long and overstaying their welcome, but I’d love to read the full, uncut original story. Even when the novel’s nail-biting conclusion arrived, I wasn’t ready to be done with it.
I absolutely loved this book and I truly cannot wait for the world to read it this fall when it hits bookstores. James Kestrel’s FIVE DECEMBERS is an emotionally-charged crime novel shaped by the tragic years of a world at war, a story that is relentlessly hopeful in the face of unrequited devotion and doomed love.
FIVE DECEMBERS is due for release on October 19th, 2021 from Hard Case Crime.
July 12, 2022
Edgar Award for Best Novel 2022. Kestrel (a nom de guerre for Jonathan Moore) has written an excellent historical police procedural that opens with the horrific deaths of a young man and a young Asian woman in Honolulu in November of 1941. The young man proves to be the nephew of a U.S. Navy Admiral. HPD detective Joe McGrady, a U.S. Army veteran, is assigned to the case. His primary suspect absconds to Wake Island and then Hong Kong under an alias identity. Is ‘John Smith’ a foreign national? It is decided that McGrady should fly to Hong Kong to find the man. And then the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor occurs on December 7th. WWII intervenes!
McGrady is arrested on trumped up charges in Hong Kong and shipped off to Tokyo, Japan. Fortuitously, McGrady is brought to the uncle of the slain woman, a Japanese official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The uncle and daughter, Kansei and Sachi Takahashi, provide a safe haven for McGrady for the duration of the war. With the end of WWII though, McGrady is determined to find the butcher who killed Kensei’s niece and the Admiral’s nephew.
Kestrel has his hero struggling with personal issues as well. He was falling in love with Molly back in Honolulu. She undoubtedly thought he died during the war. McGrady becomes drawn to Sachi who has been teaching him Japanese while confined in Tokyo. Indeed, the author strips away reasons for McGrady to want to live—job, home, family. Except the most important—love!
McGrady is arrested on trumped up charges in Hong Kong and shipped off to Tokyo, Japan. Fortuitously, McGrady is brought to the uncle of the slain woman, a Japanese official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The uncle and daughter, Kansei and Sachi Takahashi, provide a safe haven for McGrady for the duration of the war. With the end of WWII though, McGrady is determined to find the butcher who killed Kensei’s niece and the Admiral’s nephew.
Kestrel has his hero struggling with personal issues as well. He was falling in love with Molly back in Honolulu. She undoubtedly thought he died during the war. McGrady becomes drawn to Sachi who has been teaching him Japanese while confined in Tokyo. Indeed, the author strips away reasons for McGrady to want to live—job, home, family. Except the most important—love!
July 26, 2023
By far the best book I’ve read all year!
I have the chills & I’m wishing there was more.
I have the chills & I’m wishing there was more.
June 26, 2021
Given the time and place one can safely assume from the outset that the gory double murder mystery the story opens with will likely undergo some tumultuous twists and turns. And yet I was not expecting anything nearly so ambitious as what develops.
The murder investigation, with roots deeply buried in the war itself, gets completely turned upside down in short order, swept up in the devastating events and upheaval of World War II. It's an amazing story, filled with suspense, heartfelt romance, gut wrenching tragedy and an unrelenting tension throughout. Joe McGrady is a hollowed out police detective who won't be derailed from the trail of a sadistic killer despite having his life totally upended in the wake of momentous historical events, or perhaps because of it. Kestrel brings the streets of WWII era Hawaii, the south Pacific and the far East alive with his vibrant and gritty portrayals of societies on the brink.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for review.
The murder investigation, with roots deeply buried in the war itself, gets completely turned upside down in short order, swept up in the devastating events and upheaval of World War II. It's an amazing story, filled with suspense, heartfelt romance, gut wrenching tragedy and an unrelenting tension throughout. Joe McGrady is a hollowed out police detective who won't be derailed from the trail of a sadistic killer despite having his life totally upended in the wake of momentous historical events, or perhaps because of it. Kestrel brings the streets of WWII era Hawaii, the south Pacific and the far East alive with his vibrant and gritty portrayals of societies on the brink.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for review.
June 24, 2023
Der Krimi "Fünf Winter" von James Kestrel gilt als Highlight im aktuellen Thriller-Geschehen. Ich habe mich beim Lesen immer wieder gefragt, warum mich das Buch nicht wirklich erreicht. Das Setting ist interessant. Es spielt an Orten wie Honolulu, Hongkong und Tokio vor den kriegerischen Auseinandersetzungen zwischen USA und Japan von 1941 bis 1945. Der Hauptcharakter ist ansprechend. Der Loser-Detective Joe McGrady soll in einem Doppelmord in Honolulu ermitteln. Die Konstruktion gefällt mir ausgesprochen gut. In der Mitte der Geschichte unterbricht der Autor den Kriminalfall, da der Detective untertauchen muss. Als es danach wieder in die Ermittlung ging, wurde mein Interesse wieder geringer. Da liegt vermutlich auch mein Problem. Es gab eine Zeit, in der ich viele Krimis gelesen habe. Ab und zu versuche ich wieder einen neuen Krimi. Aber die alte Begeisterung wie z.B. bei einem Meisterwerk wie "Die schwarze Dahlie" von James Ellroy erlebe ich in den seltensten Fällen. "Fünf Winter" gehört leider nicht zu diesen Fällen. Dafür ist die Geschichte nicht spannend genug, die Sprache zu simpel und die Klischees zu zahlreich. Es kann aber durchaus sein, dass es eher an mir liegt. Vielleicht ist das Buch ein hervorragender Krimi, nur meine Zeit als Krimi-Leser ist abgelaufen.
February 15, 2024
Quietschvergnügte irrationale 4 Sterne.
Krimiliteratur auf Abwegen.
Ich glaub, ich mag das Buch aufgrund der Bescheidenheit und Geduld die es ausstrahlt.
Die funktionale, knappe Sprache steht den sich zäh entwickeln Ereignissen in der zweiten Hälfte zwar im Weg - dennoch geht das Konzept am Ende für mich auf.
Recht spannungsarm für Krimiliteratur. Mein globales Herz schlägt höher. Hawai, China, Japan. Die Reisen und das Verweilen vor Ort, unter den widrigen Umständen, im Kontext des 2. Weltkrieges. Eine stille Intensität des Grauens, durchzogen von gleichzeitiger Nähe und Zartheit.
Sehr ungewöhnlich für dieses Genre.
Krimiliteratur auf Abwegen.
Ich glaub, ich mag das Buch aufgrund der Bescheidenheit und Geduld die es ausstrahlt.
Die funktionale, knappe Sprache steht den sich zäh entwickeln Ereignissen in der zweiten Hälfte zwar im Weg - dennoch geht das Konzept am Ende für mich auf.
Recht spannungsarm für Krimiliteratur. Mein globales Herz schlägt höher. Hawai, China, Japan. Die Reisen und das Verweilen vor Ort, unter den widrigen Umständen, im Kontext des 2. Weltkrieges. Eine stille Intensität des Grauens, durchzogen von gleichzeitiger Nähe und Zartheit.
Sehr ungewöhnlich für dieses Genre.
June 11, 2022
Generally speaking, this was a four-star read for me. I'm adding the fifth star because I loved the complexity of the story. It offers a lot more in terms of plot and characters than most murder mysteries.
Thanks, Charisse, for bringing this book to my attention.
December 21, 2021
Have you ever enjoyed a book so much that you started reading slower because you didn't want it to end? That's what I found myself doing with this amazing novel that starts out as a hard boiled detective noir work, pivots into historical fiction in the Pacific theater prior, during and after WWII, returning to Hawaii as a spy thriller, all the while with an underlying love story (or several.) It basically defies categorizing as one genre. The story is exciting, the characters are really complex and uniquely developed. Yes, you've read tales with an ex-military man turned tough detective before, but not one like Honolulu Detective Joe McGrady. The villains, and there are multiple ones, are unique. The women are multi-dimensional and play significant roles. I lived in Japan as an exchange student in High School so I particularly enjoyed the scenes and characters there during and after the war, but even if you have no knowledge of Asia or the war there, that will not impede your total enjoyment of this remarkable epic saga. Be warned, there is a good deal of violence, but I didn't find it off-putting, since it was essential to the plot. This is my first Hard Case Crime publication, so I'll look for more. Thanks to the recent Wall Street Journal review by Tom Nolan, I learned this author is writing under a pseudonym, when I find out who he (maybe she) is - I'm going to devour the other works. To quote Nolan's review in the WSJ: "Lyrical, violent, intelligent, breathtaking: this is an unforgettable book." Yup, that pretty much sums it up.
December 14, 2021
3.5 stars. Set just before until just after WWII, this is a book that wants to read like a book of the time and mostly succeeds. It has that kind of noir style, though it's much more gruesome than any midcentury book would dare to be and much more willing to talk straight at things than around them, especially when it comes to things like prostitution or drugs, the kinds of things that are usually only obliquely referenced or hinted at.
This is certainly an unpredictable book, even when it comes full circle at the end it feels drastically different than the beginning where you feel like you know where you are. I found some of the twists a bit hard to swallow (particularly the one that covers the long stretch in the middle) but I have to admit Kestrel makes it all worth your while at the end.
You probably guessed this from the cover and description but this is one of those books where there are not very many female characters and when women do appear they inevitably fall in love with our protagonist. I had to roll my eyes a few times. But I guess it's in keeping with that older style, after all our protagonist has both the worst and best luck in the world, and somehow manages to always just outsmart even the wiliest opponent.
I did feel like at the end of the day there was not much there there with Joe, he is wholly in service to the plot, it doesn't feel like he existed before the novel or that he'll continue existing afterwards.
This is certainly an unpredictable book, even when it comes full circle at the end it feels drastically different than the beginning where you feel like you know where you are. I found some of the twists a bit hard to swallow (particularly the one that covers the long stretch in the middle) but I have to admit Kestrel makes it all worth your while at the end.
You probably guessed this from the cover and description but this is one of those books where there are not very many female characters and when women do appear they inevitably fall in love with our protagonist. I had to roll my eyes a few times. But I guess it's in keeping with that older style, after all our protagonist has both the worst and best luck in the world, and somehow manages to always just outsmart even the wiliest opponent.
I did feel like at the end of the day there was not much there there with Joe, he is wholly in service to the plot, it doesn't feel like he existed before the novel or that he'll continue existing afterwards.
May 20, 2024
A very solid novel that masterfully blends a wide array of genres: crime, noir, war, romance, mystery, and history. That is no easy feat. The pacing is quite exceptional, with no dull moments. Part of me was let down by the lack of grandeur and ambition in terms of scale, but I otherwise recommend this to all lovers of pulp literature.
December 3, 2021
Meh.
Don't get me wrong. For the most part- at least at the beginning, it was a decent novel, with an interesting premise. And potential. Potential that just wasn't realized at all.
The biggest problem this novel suffers from is its characters. Or, more accurately, lack there of. None of them are convincing, compelling or feel real. They all feel one-dimensional, and they don't serve any purpose, other than advancing the plot. Some characters were so pointless (Sachi, for example) and they came and went so fast, that some plot-threads that were tide to them were left unresolved, as the author just didn't know what to do with them.
The plot itself, while interesting at first, became ridiculous and riddled with too many incredible and way too convenient coincidences, which became apparent as the book had to draw to a close and the author rushed the story so much that nothing felt believable. The middle of the story was the most boring, as Joe was stuck in Japan, but even this sub-plot's potential was wasted, as the author fast forwards four years ahead all of a sudden. McGrady's and Sachi sudden romance feels anything but real (probably added just as a shock value), and even the night of the attack on Tokyo is minimized and is barely touched upon (for example, David Downing did a wonderful job in his "Station"s series by using his characters to describe perfectly and chillingly teh destruction of Berlin by the allied forces as they were closing in. 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... And that's it. In fact, that's maybe the biggest problem of this novel- the author chose to focus on all the wrong details while barely mentioning that things that truly mattered).
In the last part of the novel we're getting back on track and chasing the killer again, but as mentioned before, everything at this point was ruhsed and unbelievable.
The author's note at the end suggests that there were at least 60,000 words cut out from the final draft. I wonder whether they were important to the plot, or that maybe they should've cut even more out of the final draft...
2 stars. An interesting premise with so much potential got wasted by a medicore execution. Comparing this novel to the works of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett is laughable.
Don't get me wrong. For the most part- at least at the beginning, it was a decent novel, with an interesting premise. And potential. Potential that just wasn't realized at all.
The biggest problem this novel suffers from is its characters. Or, more accurately, lack there of. None of them are convincing, compelling or feel real. They all feel one-dimensional, and they don't serve any purpose, other than advancing the plot. Some characters were so pointless (Sachi, for example) and they came and went so fast, that some plot-threads that were tide to them were left unresolved, as the author just didn't know what to do with them.
The plot itself, while interesting at first, became ridiculous and riddled with too many incredible and way too convenient coincidences, which became apparent as the book had to draw to a close and the author rushed the story so much that nothing felt believable. The middle of the story was the most boring, as Joe was stuck in Japan, but even this sub-plot's potential was wasted, as the author fast forwards four years ahead all of a sudden. McGrady's and Sachi sudden romance feels anything but real (probably added just as a shock value), and even the night of the attack on Tokyo is minimized and is barely touched upon (for example, David Downing did a wonderful job in his "Station"s series by using his characters to describe perfectly and chillingly teh destruction of Berlin by the allied forces as they were closing in. 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... And that's it. In fact, that's maybe the biggest problem of this novel- the author chose to focus on all the wrong details while barely mentioning that things that truly mattered).
In the last part of the novel we're getting back on track and chasing the killer again, but as mentioned before, everything at this point was ruhsed and unbelievable.
The author's note at the end suggests that there were at least 60,000 words cut out from the final draft. I wonder whether they were important to the plot, or that maybe they should've cut even more out of the final draft...
2 stars. An interesting premise with so much potential got wasted by a medicore execution. Comparing this novel to the works of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett is laughable.
October 27, 2021
Five Decembers finds Honolulu Police Detective Joe McGrady being called to investigate a brutal double murder within days of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. His investigation ultimately leads to the Philippines, where things go south for our detective, then there's the attack on Pearl Harbor. To tell anymore than this would be a disservice to the reader as it would spoil some of the plot points in the rest of the book.
All I can say is read this. It's honestly one of the best books I've read this year. You want to turn the pages as quickly as possible to find out what happens next, but you also want to take your time and soak in the vivid imagery of Hawaii that the author gives us and also take our time when he describes the vast death, destruction, and impact the war inflicted.
The plot is amazing and I found myself really enjoying getting to know the characters and following along on their journey and with the investigation. When I reached the end, I was disappointed it was over.
I am grateful to Hard Case Crime and author James Kestrel for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
All I can say is read this. It's honestly one of the best books I've read this year. You want to turn the pages as quickly as possible to find out what happens next, but you also want to take your time and soak in the vivid imagery of Hawaii that the author gives us and also take our time when he describes the vast death, destruction, and impact the war inflicted.
The plot is amazing and I found myself really enjoying getting to know the characters and following along on their journey and with the investigation. When I reached the end, I was disappointed it was over.
I am grateful to Hard Case Crime and author James Kestrel for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
August 13, 2023
Again I must express my displeasure of Goodreads five-star rating system. I want to give FIVE DECEMBERS a 4.5 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.
POSITIVES OF THE NOVEL:
*This is a big-picture historical novel covering the period from just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the occupation of a defeated Japan. Yet it doesn’t overwhelm because it follows one man’s journey from Honolulu to Hong Kong to Tokyo, back to Honolulu, back to Hong Kong, and finally back to Tokyo. It encompasses an important phase in history within the scope of that man’s quest to solve a murder.
*The murder mystery is intriguing. Ex-military Detective Joe McGrady is asked to investigate a gruesome double murder. One victim is immediately identified; he is a beloved nephew of Admiral stationed in Pearl Harbor. The other victim, a young Japanese woman, cannot be identified. But McGrady traces a man who is the probable killer to Hong Kong, which was a British colony in 1941. However, it is December 1941, and McGrady ends up as a prisoner of the war.
*The descriptions of time and place are excellent.
*The pace moves quickly. There are no boring moments, or overlong descriptions.
*There are unexpected twists to the murder story as McGrady closes in on the killer and his accomplices.
NEGATIVES OF THE NOVEL:
There are only two things I didn’t like, but they greatly interfered with my enjoyment of the story.
*The female characters are not portrayed realistically. They are not even stereotypes. Instead they are a male “dream” of the ideal woman. Even the prostitutes have a male dream-like quality. I couldn’t relate to them at all.
*The style of writing is so simple that several times while reading descriptions, I was jolted out of the scene. Here is an example of what I mean. Takahashi came to the end of the lane. In front of them was a wall made of stone and earth. A wooden gate stood in their headlights. Solid double doors. Takahashi put the car in neutral and set the parking brake. He stepped out, went to the gate, and pushed the two doors open. Then he got back into the car, and drove through. He killed the engine and got out again.This simple style is used throughout the narrative, and the monotony is broken only by realistic dialogue.
Thus, after mulling over my choices for a few days, I decided on four stars. But it is really a 4.5 star novel.
POSITIVES OF THE NOVEL:
*This is a big-picture historical novel covering the period from just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the occupation of a defeated Japan. Yet it doesn’t overwhelm because it follows one man’s journey from Honolulu to Hong Kong to Tokyo, back to Honolulu, back to Hong Kong, and finally back to Tokyo. It encompasses an important phase in history within the scope of that man’s quest to solve a murder.
*The murder mystery is intriguing. Ex-military Detective Joe McGrady is asked to investigate a gruesome double murder. One victim is immediately identified; he is a beloved nephew of Admiral stationed in Pearl Harbor. The other victim, a young Japanese woman, cannot be identified. But McGrady traces a man who is the probable killer to Hong Kong, which was a British colony in 1941. However, it is December 1941, and McGrady ends up as a prisoner of the war.
*The descriptions of time and place are excellent.
*The pace moves quickly. There are no boring moments, or overlong descriptions.
*There are unexpected twists to the murder story as McGrady closes in on the killer and his accomplices.
NEGATIVES OF THE NOVEL:
There are only two things I didn’t like, but they greatly interfered with my enjoyment of the story.
*The female characters are not portrayed realistically. They are not even stereotypes. Instead they are a male “dream” of the ideal woman. Even the prostitutes have a male dream-like quality. I couldn’t relate to them at all.
*The style of writing is so simple that several times while reading descriptions, I was jolted out of the scene. Here is an example of what I mean. Takahashi came to the end of the lane. In front of them was a wall made of stone and earth. A wooden gate stood in their headlights. Solid double doors. Takahashi put the car in neutral and set the parking brake. He stepped out, went to the gate, and pushed the two doors open. Then he got back into the car, and drove through. He killed the engine and got out again.This simple style is used throughout the narrative, and the monotony is broken only by realistic dialogue.
Thus, after mulling over my choices for a few days, I decided on four stars. But it is really a 4.5 star novel.
March 22, 2022
Exceptional in every way. I haven’t got the capacity for a longer review right now, except to assert that the writing and story telling will not disappoint. Must read for crime buffs.
October 24, 2021
Warning: absolutely unputdownable!
Joe McGrady, war veteran and now Honolulu PD detective is called to investigate the brutal dual murder of an unknown Japanese girl and an Admiral’s nephew. He is a man who keeps himself to himself and likes to act solo -- has a few scars of his own and has developed a hard shell. Now he appears to have found a girl he likes. The investigation takes him to Hong Kong, where he should stay a few days – he has already made romantic Christmas plans, but we are biting our nails as he hops on that clipper because we know war is going to break out. When Hong Kong is invaded and Pearl Harbour attacked by the Japanese, he is cut off from all he has: at this stage, we are totally gripped with his destiny as a man isolated in an enemy country, his love story, his investigation and the man who keeps eluding him. The novel, spanning five Decembers, becomes epic as the war takes him through Asia...
Reconstruction of time and place is superb, both in Honolulu and in Asia, and everything is vividly portrayed: there is no waste of words here and all details you encounter are functional to plot development. You visualise the period cars, the Pan Am clipper (that clipper!), the busy cable rooms, the way women behave.
The novel is truly well paced and skillfully plotted, with twists and turns that have you constantly hold your breath. 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. It has all the elements of a good thriller and tells a universal tale on the brutality of war and individuals caught in mechanisms larger than they are, trying to survive and act according to what they believe in. Everything is covered in a patina, distanced as if in a period movie, or as if to say some deeds are a thing of the past. Great reading experience.
Joe McGrady, war veteran and now Honolulu PD detective is called to investigate the brutal dual murder of an unknown Japanese girl and an Admiral’s nephew. He is a man who keeps himself to himself and likes to act solo -- has a few scars of his own and has developed a hard shell. Now he appears to have found a girl he likes. The investigation takes him to Hong Kong, where he should stay a few days – he has already made romantic Christmas plans, but we are biting our nails as he hops on that clipper because we know war is going to break out. When Hong Kong is invaded and Pearl Harbour attacked by the Japanese, he is cut off from all he has: at this stage, we are totally gripped with his destiny as a man isolated in an enemy country, his love story, his investigation and the man who keeps eluding him. The novel, spanning five Decembers, becomes epic as the war takes him through Asia...
Reconstruction of time and place is superb, both in Honolulu and in Asia, and everything is vividly portrayed: there is no waste of words here and all details you encounter are functional to plot development. You visualise the period cars, the Pan Am clipper (that clipper!), the busy cable rooms, the way women behave.
The novel is truly well paced and skillfully plotted, with twists and turns that have you constantly hold your breath. 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. It has all the elements of a good thriller and tells a universal tale on the brutality of war and individuals caught in mechanisms larger than they are, trying to survive and act according to what they believe in. Everything is covered in a patina, distanced as if in a period movie, or as if to say some deeds are a thing of the past. Great reading experience.
April 10, 2021
Full disclosure—I am a huge fan of the Hard Case Crime line of books—I’ve read all of them from day one. 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. I just finished the book(literally minutes ago) and was blown away and had to post this five star review. The book is so many things—a love story, a gruesome murder investigation, a war story, a hard boiled adventure and survival story—-and it does all those things so well-the writing is so compelling and literate without being obtuse-its fun to read and moving at the same time. And at its heart the book a tale of 1941-1945(hence 5 Decembers) and what the world was like then-so different from now—its like going in a time machine to inhabit a lost world. Enough. If it seems like I’m gushing , its because I am. Read the book and be transfixed and transported.
April 29, 2022
April 29, 2022 Update Winner of the Best Novel Award at yesterday's 2022 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America. This was a rare case where my own favourite was the winner 😊!
An Epic Crime and WWII Noir
Review of the Hard Case Crime hardcover edition (October 19, 2021)
[4.5 rounded up]
You don't normally expect to see the words "epic" and "noir" both used to describe a novel. James Kestrel's ambitious debut Five Decembers definitely earns it though with a sweeping tale that takes you from pre-Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 Hawai'i across the Pacific Ocean to Hong Kong falling to the Japanese in 1942, over to Japan until the end of World War II, back to Hawai'i and then all over again in December 1945.
Expanded detail from the cover image of 'Five Decembers'. Image sourced from Pulp Fiction Reviews.
Detective Joe McGrady is working for the Honolulu Police when he is called out upon the discovery of a brutal homicide. On the scene, it is discovered that there are in fact two bodies which have both been horrifically tortured prior to their deaths. One culprit returns to the scene of the crime to shoot it out with McGrady, but the detective thinks that there is more to the case. An additional suspect emerges and McGrady is sent to follow them across several Pacific islands, finally landing in Hong Kong as the Japanese initiate their multi-pronged attacks which draw the rest of the world into World War II.
Hong Kong falls to the Japanese and McGrady is detained by Japanese forces and shipped back to their main islands on the road to likely enforced labour for the war's duration when he is suddenly plucked out of the system by a Japanese diplomat with ties to one of the original Honolulu victims. McGrady sits out the war in hiding with the diplomat's family. The end of the war allows for him to complete his investigation which takes him again back and forth across the Pacific.
There are some convenient coincidences that help to drive the plot forward, but overall I was quite impressed with the authentic feel of this first novel which includes espionage related twists, surprise betrayals, hard-boiled action and a sympathetic investigator drawing you along in an epic historical fiction. This has been my favourite in the several 2022 Edgar Award nominees that I've read to date.
I read Five Decembers due to its nomination for Best Novel in the 2022 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America. The winners of the 76th Annual Edgar® Awards will be announced on April 28, 2022.
Other Reviews
Pulp Fiction Reviews by Ron Fortier, July 14, 2021.
McNulty's Book Corral by Thomas McNulty, February 2, 2022 [video review on YouTube].
Trivia and Links
This edition of Five Decembers is part of the Hard Case Crime (2004-) series of reprints, new commissions and posthumous publications of the pulp and noir crime genre founded by authors Charles Ardai and Max Phillips. GR's Listopia is not complete (as of March 2022) and the most current lists of publication can be found at Wikipedia or the Publisher's own Official Site.
An Epic Crime and WWII Noir
Review of the Hard Case Crime hardcover edition (October 19, 2021)
[4.5 rounded up]
You don't normally expect to see the words "epic" and "noir" both used to describe a novel. James Kestrel's ambitious debut Five Decembers definitely earns it though with a sweeping tale that takes you from pre-Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 Hawai'i across the Pacific Ocean to Hong Kong falling to the Japanese in 1942, over to Japan until the end of World War II, back to Hawai'i and then all over again in December 1945.
Expanded detail from the cover image of 'Five Decembers'. Image sourced from Pulp Fiction Reviews.
Detective Joe McGrady is working for the Honolulu Police when he is called out upon the discovery of a brutal homicide. On the scene, it is discovered that there are in fact two bodies which have both been horrifically tortured prior to their deaths. One culprit returns to the scene of the crime to shoot it out with McGrady, but the detective thinks that there is more to the case. An additional suspect emerges and McGrady is sent to follow them across several Pacific islands, finally landing in Hong Kong as the Japanese initiate their multi-pronged attacks which draw the rest of the world into World War II.
Hong Kong falls to the Japanese and McGrady is detained by Japanese forces and shipped back to their main islands on the road to likely enforced labour for the war's duration when he is suddenly plucked out of the system by a Japanese diplomat with ties to one of the original Honolulu victims. McGrady sits out the war in hiding with the diplomat's family. The end of the war allows for him to complete his investigation which takes him again back and forth across the Pacific.
There are some convenient coincidences that help to drive the plot forward, but overall I was quite impressed with the authentic feel of this first novel which includes espionage related twists, surprise betrayals, hard-boiled action and a sympathetic investigator drawing you along in an epic historical fiction. This has been my favourite in the several 2022 Edgar Award nominees that I've read to date.
I read Five Decembers due to its nomination for Best Novel in the 2022 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America. The winners of the 76th Annual Edgar® Awards will be announced on April 28, 2022.
Other Reviews
Pulp Fiction Reviews by Ron Fortier, July 14, 2021.
McNulty's Book Corral by Thomas McNulty, February 2, 2022 [video review on YouTube].
Trivia and Links
This edition of Five Decembers is part of the Hard Case Crime (2004-) series of reprints, new commissions and posthumous publications of the pulp and noir crime genre founded by authors Charles Ardai and Max Phillips. GR's Listopia is not complete (as of March 2022) and the most current lists of publication can be found at Wikipedia or the Publisher's own Official Site.
April 2, 2023
През ноември 1941 г. детектив Джо Макгрейди изобщо не подозира колко път, буквално и преносно, му се отваря, когато е пратен да разследва жестоко убийство край Хонолулу. Американският флот се разполага все по-усилено, близкият Пърл Харбър гъмжи от военни кораби, а пъстрото местно население с китайска и японска кръв също си има своите тревоги.
Криминалната нишка не е чак толкова водеща от средата нататък, когато приключенският уклон на автора взема връх. Мур не мирясва да стоварва нови и нови перипетии на горкия Джо, който - като едно добро квадратнолико и яко, плещесто момче, изскочило сякаш от романите на стария Реймънд Чандлър - трябва да си пробива път към решението на все по-омотаващия се случай с юмруци, изобретателност и стоицизъм, сновейки из Хаваите и Източна Азия.
Някои от обратите ми бяха леко (а на моменти даже повече от леко) нелогични, но Мур е написал много сладка, приключенска история с нотки хумор и приятна, старомодно-свежа наивност. Прочетох си я с удоволствие на един дъх.
Между другото, това е един от случаите, когато корицата хем е красива, хем отговаря на сюжета и допълва удачно атмосферата.
Криминалната нишка не е чак толкова водеща от средата нататък, когато приключенският уклон на автора взема връх. Мур не мирясва да стоварва нови и нови перипетии на горкия Джо, който - като едно добро квадратнолико и яко, плещесто момче, изскочило сякаш от романите на стария Реймънд Чандлър - трябва да си пробива път към решението на все по-омотаващия се случай с юмруци, изобретателност и стоицизъм, сновейки из Хаваите и Източна Азия.
Някои от обратите ми бяха леко (а на моменти даже повече от леко) нелогични, но Мур е написал много сладка, приключенска история с нотки хумор и приятна, старомодно-свежа наивност. Прочетох си я с удоволствие на един дъх.
Между другото, това е един от случаите, когато корицата хем е красива, хем отговаря на сюжета и допълва удачно атмосферата.
April 10, 2021
Five Decembers is a propelling read! James Kestrel has created characters, locations, and a hard boiled/love story that pulls you back to days gone. One of the best Hard Case Crime stories to date!
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