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Five Decembers

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Five Decembers

By: James Kestrel
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
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About this listen

Winner of the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel

Nominee for Best Thriller in the 2022 Barry Awards

Hammett Prize 2021 Finalist

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. 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.

Original cover art copyright (c) 2021 by Claudia Carafe, painted for Hard Case Crime

©2022 James Kestrel (P)2022 Podium Audio 20th Century Crime Fiction Historical Historical Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery War

Critic Reviews

“War, imprisonment, torture, romance…The novel has an almost operatic symmetry, and Kestrel turns a beautiful phrase.” (The New York Times)
"Read this book for its palpitating story, its perfect emotional and physical detailing and, most of all, for its unforgettable conjuring of a steamy quicksilver world that will be new to almost every reader." (Pico Iyer)
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I absolutely love how this author describes a scene and takes you right to that place. His words grasp onto you right from the beginning to the very end. What starts out as a baffling murder case, takes you right through an incredible journey of survival and a quest for justice. And like any great novel, a beautiful love story also unfolds.
I have ready every book by this author (also known as Jonathan Moore) and every story has been original and gripping. The author clearly does his research. I look forward to his next books. He can’t write them fast enough and I need more.

Another top rate novel by this very talented author

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It’s a really great book, the more I think about it the more it grows on me, it could be a five star.
The one thing I couldn’t get around too much was the relationships. I didn’t feel the development was significant and often felt too quick, not for all but some.
Other then that great performance and story all around.
It’s still growing on me.

Great book

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This was more than just crime fiction, it was a reminder that at our core we are all searching for the same thing. Great narration. I really enjoyed this book.

Well paced

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