Member Reviews

This story combines two exciting plots each with so many angles making “Fire and Vengeance” a riveting mystery. This is an unputdownable read….

Something terrible has happened at the KonaWili School on the Hualalai Mountain. Detective Koa Kane with his police team rushed to the scene and what they saw was horrific. Bodies of kids and teachers on the ground some injured and some dead. Around them it looked and smelled like a volcanic eruption….what happened here… this exciting plot will slowly reveal its mystery and provide us with much more….

Along with the investigation of a property developer who built the school over a volcanic vent in the second plot, Koa’s personal life shines and highlights how far he will go to help his troublemaker younger brother, Ikaika, who is now in jail.

Politic, greed, secrets that binds the politicians for more than four decades is explored in very exciting ways. A bizarre murder in the 1970 that has never been solved drives the plot even more. Yes, this is very ingenious and quite fun to read.

What a storyteller this author is. The story development and characters portrayal are outstanding. I was hooked from the start. So much suspense I was kept on the edge of my seat, biting my nails wanting the adventure to end up on a high note. The story has elements making it both realistic and compelling. Although the author does mention in his notes that the story is the product of a fertile imagination and the disaster at the KonaWili School never happened…ouf thank goodness.

What a page-turner this turned out to be.

If you are looking for a story that will keep you up all night…then look no further.

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Some highs, some lows; but a hit overall!

Genre:
Mystery, Thriller

Length:
336 pages

Blurb:
A volcanic vent erupts in the town of Hilo, Hawai’i, killing children and teachers when it causes the explosion of the school that was built on the mountain. The chief architect and contractor of the school are murdered within hours of the event. Chief Detective Koa Kane is called in to investigate whether the explosion and deaths were the result of natural calamity or intentional negligence. As the case heats up, Koa receives news that his estranged and imprisoned brother collapsed in prison and has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Chief Detective Koa Kane’s personal and professional lives clash when he’s forced into attempting a risky plan to free his brother. His principles are compromised even as he begins to unravel the mystery behind the explosion, a mystery that goes back forty years. Can Koa save his brother and still pursue justice for the murder of innocent children? Or will his own demons bring about his downfall?

Overall Rating:
6 out of 10

Plot:
8 out of 10

Characterization:
8 out of 10

Primary Element:
8 out of 10 for its mystery

Writing Style:
6 out of 10

Part of a Series:
Yes. This is Book 3 of the Koa Kane series. While I don’t know if it held spoilers for Books 1 and 2, I can say without a doubt that it was perfect as a standalone too. Book 1 in the series is titled Death of a Messenger and Book 2 is Off the Grid. Both sound interesting and might make for great mystery reads.

Highlighted Takeaway:
Koa Kane himself. As a man who continues to deal with demons, personal and professional, that show him the worst of the world, he still fights to do what is right. Sometimes forced into feeling hopeless for his desire to remain ethical and moral in a world where those very qualities are taken advantage of, Koa comes across as a likable character that you can easily associate with and want to root for. That made every defeat and victory he faced personal to the reader.

What I Liked:
The book took some really unexpected turns, turning a story that could have been very one-dimensional into a much more intricate, woven tale of mystery and suspense.

The Hawaiian culture references were really interesting too. Not only did it set the stage for the story to unfold, but also added a lot of depth to the characters, what drives them, and how those nuances influence their reactions and actions.

What I Didn’t Like:
On multiple occasions, I found myself a little confused with the characters. There were a lot of them, and many shared similar names or were simply called by different names at various points, that made it a little tough to follow who was who.

Who Should Read It:
Anyone who is interested in a good suspense and those who like to explore other cultures. Fire and Vengeance has a good helping of both.

Who Should Avoid:
I don’t think anyone would actively dislike Fire and Vengeance, unless of course, you absolutely hate msytery and suspense novels.

Read It For:
The Hawaiian culture references, a complex and very real protagonist, and an intricate plotline.

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A gripping and entertaining police procedural that kept me hooked till the end.
I liked the plot even if I think that some subplots are bit out of contest.
The characters are fleshed out and the mystery is solid.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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Fire and Vengeance is the third in the Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery Series. I have not read the prior two, yet was not at a disadvantage while reading the third. I will backtrack and pick up the first two volumes in the series.

This is a well-written, complicated crime story with a marvelous sense of place—Hawaii. It involves political scandals, bribes, greed, and fraudulent property developments which evolve into a criminal conspiracy to cover up why an elementary school was built over a fumarole, a volcanic vent. Political transgressions pile on top of each other, and it’s up to policeman Koa Kane to unwind the skein of deceit.

Though building schemes and land transfers don’t sound very interesting, the multiple twisting story lines have enough human elements to keep the reader involved, particularly the relationship between Kane and his younger brother, a criminal, who is facing a long-term prison sentence because of his recidivism.

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Fire And Vengeance is a story of greed and corruption. Set in Hawaii, Chief Detective Koa Kane is investigating a property developer who built a school over a volcanic vent……when this exploded it resulted in the death of 14 children.

Who knew of the dangers? How far will they go to keep their secret?

This is a thriller full of tension and drama, it’s a slow burn which builds to make a thoroughly engrossing, edge of your seat read.

Thank you to The publishers, the author and NetGalley for an eARC of the book. This is my honest and unbiased review

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Robert McCaw has explored so many plot angles in this marvellous thriller - politics and greed for money, a secret that binds the politicians for more than four decades, Koa's brother's illness and much more. Fire and Vengeance is an unputdownable and riveting mystery.
Excellent character portrayal, mind-blowing plot-to-story development and a surprising ending, this book is surely one of my best reads of 2020.
Highly recommended!

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This is the third book in this series but my first. It reads well as a stand-alone novel. Set in Hawaii the story gets off the mark straight away with a huge disaster at the local elementary school, when a volcano vent literally erupts inside it, killing young children and teachers. Chief Detective Koa Kane is the man that has to make sense of what just happened and how the plans for a school could have been passed by so many high officials in the first place.
Kane is also dealing with personal issues when he learns that his younger brother, who has constantly been in and out of trouble and currently serving a sentence, has been discovered to have had a brain tumour. After removing the tumour, his behaviour is completely changed. Now he wants Kane to try to get him an early release but nothing is ever so simple.
The story shifts between the two stories with dips back into the past to connect the dots between the high ranking officials involved in the disaster. Gosh, this is a busy book and so fascinating that it is easy to keep track of everything clicking into place. I really took to Kane who has had to prove himself more than others because of his background. It isn't just a matter of working out who is at the back of the disaster, it is a matter of working it all out while there is someone left to charge.
Well written with a steady pace so that you can digest each step, it is a brilliant but heartbreaking story.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

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Koa Kane is Hawai`i's Chief Detective and in this third instalment of his mystery series he has to juggle his estranged brother's request for parole and a new investigation into why government officials approved the construction of a school over a volcanic vent. This comes to light after an eruption destroys the school killing children and teachers alike, but Koa has to figure out, was this done on purpose? Who would want to kill children in such a terrible way? Koa is plunged into the world conspiracy and corruption and he must keep his head above water to get to the bottom of it.

Instantly captivating, Fire and Vengeance begins by throwing the reader straight into the action and throughout the novel there is not a lag in any of it. It is apparent that this will be a thrilling adventure for both the main character and the reader within a few chapters as we're thrown from tragedy to tragedy. I was initially hesitant to read this as the synopsis detailed a lot of things going on and I was both wrong and right on that assumption. There was a lot to keep track of not just with the story but with the varying characters involved and although this usually turns me off I have to congratulate McCaw on being able to neatly tie together these different strings. Equal levels of interest were spread out between the two main plot points without distracting from each other, they were introduced at perfect points to keep the reader engaged further. There was a bit of muddling through in the middle where keeping track of everyone was becoming a little laborious but once I came toward the end it was worth it.

As the third instalment to this series there was some underlying introductions and established relationships that I personally could have benefited from further background on that was not covered in this novel itself. Saying this the story itself could read beautifully as a standalone piece, I read it without much complaint to the character histories and there were brief introductions to cover the reader enough to get by. Based on this I do recommend starting with the first novel (Death of a Messenger) to get the appropriate level of prior understanding.

With most crime thrillers the ending is a crucial turning point, do you do a staggered reveal and build up to a dramatic twist? Do you have a big reveal and leave a cliffhanger for the next instalment? With Fire and Vengeance I felt that the ending fell flat, although I got everything I wanted from it there was just an overbearing feeling of 'rushed'. The characters, settings and writing of this novel were wonderful and I would have happily read a further 50 pages if it meant just stretching the ending out a little further. From beginning to 95% of the way through the novel there is a beautiful slow burn that reveals all kinds of secrets but that last 5% was such a drastic change of direction that it was all over before I knew what I'd read.

For the most part this was an amazing crime novel that definitely deserves it's place on my (virtual) bookshelf. I want to thank both the author and Michelle at FSB Associates for sending me a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This is a very well written police procedural with great characters and an interesting plot. One problem is that parts of the plot are dependent on rookie or stupid mistakes by the veteran, main character. I also think the brother's story, although interesting, takes up too much of the book.

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Fire and Vengeance is the second Robert McCaw book that I’ve reviewed, and it’s the third in the series with the protagonist Chief Detective Koa Kane who lives and works on the big island of Hawaii. I raved about the second book, Off the Grid, and this one is equally gripping. In the midst of a massive storm there’s a volcanic eruption. Because a grade school KonaWili, was built directly over a volcanic vent and the eruption happened when the school was full, 50 people were killed, mostly students along with some teachers. In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that someone tried to plug the volcanic vent – and that didn’t work. Given that the Chief of the department was on the mainland for surgery, the responsibility for dealing with all of the fall out was left to Kane.

McCaw captured the essence of this heartbreaking disaster, and Koa began the investigation which uncovered a feud between political rivals, Hawaii’s may, George Tanaka and Governor Bobbie Mahoe. Kane also learned about the longstanding corruption of the landed class of Hawaii who continued to control all major developments on the islands. Kane learned that Francine Na’auao, the Department of Education chief, had an apparent ownership in the housing development where the school was located. But, the money was hidden and Kane wasn’t sure how he could prove it.

So, the book is about untangling these stories, and McCaw filled out the characters with others, including the younger brother of Kane who had a longstanding history of psychopathic behaviors. This story kept me engaged. Now, I’ll go back and pick up McCaw’s first book in the series, Death of a Messenger.

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Nice book, good story. Maybe not the most original of plots. but a nice change of pace from the usual serial killer genre.
The characters are good- interesting personalities and back stories and the threads that tie them together.
I especially liked the main detective and his internal struggles., although the brother's story and redemption was a bit packaged.

The scenery and history of Hawaii was a nice addition, but it sometimes was an impediment to a smooth read as the Hawaiian words that are sprinkled throughout require the reader to stop and sound the words out.

It seems that this is part of a series and it would have made things a little more understandable if I had read the previous books.

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I wish to thank NetGalley and Oceanview Publishers for this gritty, hard-edged ARC in return for an honest review. This was a well-written, complicated crime story set in Hawaii. The plot was well structured and involved big money, a criminal conspiracy, bribes, politics, greed, and land sales including fraudulent property development and coverups. There is also a paid hitman who is a rogue soldier with a supply of stolen weapons. Personally, the topics of land transfers and building schemes don’t appeal to me in a mystery story, but I can appreciate the complex, well-paced plot with its human touch.

I don’t think I have come across a crime story set in Hawaii before, so enjoyed its original location. I was gripped by the story of how Chief Detective Koa Kane killed a man, and then became a police officer. He dedicates his life in the pursuit of justice. Unfortunately, he and his siblings are estranged from a brother who has been a criminal from a young age. He is in prison and is hostile towards Koa, blaming him for his troubles.

There has been a criminal conspiracy to build a school secretly over a volcanic vent. When it exploded 14 children and 4 teachers were killed and many more wounded. A group of prominent people were involved in property development, designing and building the school over the vent. They knew about the danger but covered the fissure up with concrete with the intention of enriching themselves. They kept their silence about the probable threat to the school.

Koa is determined to identify the perpetrators of the crime and to bring about justice for those killed and injured. He discovers a complex plot going back 40 years when the same perpetrators were in a fraternity and were connected in the coverup of a murder. This crime bound them together.

Koa’s younger brother is facing years in prison, with little hope for rehabilitation. Something occurs which gives hope that he may change his behaviour. Koa is looking forward to getting him paroled and looks like the two brothers may reconcile. Koa has almost wrapped up his investigation regarding the school explosion, but he is double-crossed. In order to get his brother an early release from prison, he may be forced to give up the criminal case surrounding the building of the school and even his career as a detective.

After an unexpected betrayal, there is a thrilling, dangerous, and successful action-packed conclusion.

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