3 STAR REVIEW

Thank you so much to Oceanview Publishing and FSB Associates for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This genre of book was something entirely new for me. I normally don’t go for military, politics, male character as the main character books but I decided to give this one a try. While it was good and the writing did keep me intrigued, I had a really hard time with this one.

One reason this book was hard for me was all of the Hawaiian language. Sometimes the words were translated and explained and sometimes they weren’t so I had to look them up. Well, really I had to look up the pronunciation for almost every Hawaiian word which kind of got irritating when trying to read, I don’t want to have to stop constantly so I can google a word. I understand the book is based in Hawaii and obviously their language is going to get thrown in but I feel the author should have had a better way for readers to understand it.

The other reason I had a hard time with this book was because I didn’t get attached to or relate to any of the characters. I’m not big into politics and I don’t know much about the police force and every big character in the book was either on the force or had something to do with politics. Don’t get me wrong, the writing style was great and kept me reading the entire book even through my other complaints but for a book to be great to me I need to have some kind of connection with at least one of the characters.

Seeing as how this was the second book in the series and I have not read the first one I did feel a little left out when certain parts of the book referenced things that happened in the first so I would recommend reading the first book before you read this one.

The plot and action of this book were good and I did enjoy the mystery that was going on. I didn’t have the ending of the book figured out so I was in for a surprise which I liked.

Overall not a bad book, his writing and the plot kept me from DNFing but I think this will be the last book in this kind of genre that I’ll read.

Robert B. McCaw is the author of Death of a Messenger (2016) and Off the Grid (to be published July 2019).

He grew up in a military family traveling the world. After graduating from Georgetown University, he served as a lieutenant in the US Army before earning his JD degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Upon graduation from law school he spent a year as a judicial clerk for Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black. He practiced law in Washington, DC, and New York City, representing investment banks, lawyers, directors, and other clients in complex civil and criminal cases, including many that generated significant press coverage.

For a number of years, Bob maintained a home on the Big Island of Hawai’i, studying its history, culture, and peoples. Archaeology and astronomy are among his many interests. In researching his books, he talked story with Hawai’i County cops and walked the streets where his stories take place. He and his wife live in New York City.