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 case, 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, right up to the final pages of the 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.

I love the old drawn covers and that's what drew me in. I'm glad I was able to read this as this was a well done mystery novel. It had what I was looking for in a mystery novel.

I have long been a fan of Hard Case Crime novels published by Titan Books. I have indulged my passion for Cain, King, Westlake and Block - and many others. And now I have found James Kestrel.
Five Decembers is compelling and gritty, and romantic and evocative, and just about as perfect as any novel I've read. The characters demand empathy and the period setting permeates every single page. This is a novel I will never forget.