149. Five Decembers

Five Decembers. James Kestrel. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Joe McGrady was looking at a whiskey. It was so new the ice hadn't begun to melt, even in this heat.

Premise/plot: Joe McGrady is a Honolulu police detective. An unusual case takes him far from home at a most precarious time. He's traveling to Hong Kong tracking down a murderer using the alias 'Smith' when Pearl Harbor is bombed. At the time, he's locked up in a jail cell--soon captured by the Japanese--framed for a crime he did not commit. Taken prisoner by the Japanese, he finds himself in unusual circumstances: he's offered one chance for 'freedom' but it comes at a cost. Someone is willing to 'erase' him from the system and offer him shelter in his own home for the duration of the war OR he can take his chances being a [civilian] prisoner of war. Of course, it isn't phrased exactly like that. He doesn't realize that he'll essentially be "declared dead" and mourned by those he's leaving behind--namely his girlfriend. The man offering him this choice is the uncle of the murdered girl--remember Joe McGrady is tracking down a murderer--three or four victims already. So his new life begins...

Five Decembers, I believe, chronicles his life from December 1941-December 1945. Of course, much is skimmed/skipped. We don't get to spend years with him in his house-bound "captivity." [He is not a prisoner so much of the family as he is staying hidden for his own protection and theirs. And he comes to genuinely love and respect this father-and-daughter.] 

My thoughts: This one blends a little bit of everything: suspense, mystery, history, romance. I could have done with a little less graphic-ness in the "romance" department. But to be fair, that's like maybe three or four scenes out of the book. [Though I guess it was the inspiration for the book cover.] I definitely liked elements of this one. The mystery kept me guessing. I don't know that there were clues to follow. In fact, I think there were absolutely NO clues to follow. This one won't appeal to those who like to be involved in solving the crime alongside the detective. But the historical setting was intriguing to me. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in the war.

 

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