A gripping thriller, an unforgettable portrait of war, and a heartbreaking love story, on par with ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. “A crime epic for the ages.” –Dennis Lehane

FIVE DECEMBERS
by James Kestrel
Hard Case Crime, Fall 2021

December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a grisly homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, and though the U.S. doesn’t know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already heading toward Pearl Harbor. This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping detective story—it’s a story of survival against all odds, of brutality and ruthlessness, of love and loss, all unfolding against the backdrop of the most cataclysmic conflict of the 20th century. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, shocking novel that will live in your memory forever.

“A crime epic for the ages.” –Dennis Lehane
“Utterly enthralling. Wildly ambitious and deeply haunting, FIVE DECEMBERS drops you in the middle of a dark noir dream full of heat, loss and memory. Not to be missed.” –Megan Abbott

James Kestrel was a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker Awards as well as the Hammett Prize. He has worked as an investigator for a criminal defense attorney and is currently an attorney himself, living in Hawaii. His work has won raves from authors such as Stephen King (« Electrifying…an absolute stunner »), James Patterson (« Suspense that never stops »), Lee Child (« Stylish and incredibly suspenseful ») and Meg Gardiner (« Dark, compelling, and frighteningly plausible. »)