Fire and Vengeance

by Robert McCaw

Overview

A heinous conspiracy—a volcano exacting revenge—an island paradise in anguish

Having killed his father’s nemesis and gotten away with it, Hilo, Hawaii Chief Detective Koa Kane, is not your ordinary cop. Estranged from his younger brother, who has been convicted of multiple crimes, he is not from a typical law enforcement family. Yet, Koa’s secret demons fuel his unwavering drive to pursue justice.

Never has Koa’s motivation been greater than when he learns that an elementary school was placed atop a volcanic vent, which has now exploded. The subsequent murders of the school’s contractor and architect only add urgency to his search for the truth.

As Koa’s investigation heats up, his brother collapses in jail from a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. Using his connections, Koa devises a risky plan to win his brother’s freedom. As Koa gradually unravels the obscure connections between multiple suspects, he uncovers a forty-year-old conspiracy. When he is about to apprehend the perpetrators, his investigation suddenly becomes entwined with his brother’s future, forcing Koa to choose between justice for the victims and his brother’s freedom.

Perfect for fans of Michael Connelly and James Lee Burke

While all of the novels in the Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Death of a Messenger
Off the Grid
Fire and Vengeance
Treachery Times Two
Retribution

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608093687
Publisher:	Oceanview Publishing
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Series:	Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery , #3
Edition description:	None
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Robert McCaw grew up in a military family, traveling the world. He is a graduate of Georgetown University, served as a U.S. Army lieutenant, and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. He was a partner in a major international law firm in Washington, D.C. and New York City, representing major Wall Street clients in complex civil and criminal cases. Having lived on the Big Island of Hawaii, McCaw imbues his writing of the Islands with his more than 20-year love affair with this Pacific paradise. Fire and Vengeance follows Off the Grid and Death of a Messenger in his Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery Series. Bob now lives in New York City with his wife, Calli.

Editorial Reviews

05/11/2020

The eruption of Hualalai Mountain, one of the five volcanoes that make up Hawaii Island, drives McCaw’s sluggish third Koa Kane Hawaiian mystery (after 2019’s Off the Grid). This natural disaster kills 14 children and four teachers at the KonaWili elementary school. Investigators discover that the school was constructed directly on top of a volcanic fault. “The builders deliberately put those kids at risk. That’s murder by reckless endangerment.... Somebody’s going to pay for this. And pay big time,” vows Chief Det. Koa Kane. He tracks down the project’s general contractor and architect, but in both cases only arrives in time to find that each has been murdered. Koa becomes entangled in a sticky web of deceit as he uncovers a conspiracy that dates back decades. The slow-moving plot picks up as it approaches the dramatic showdown between Koa and the chief villain. Readers who like unsubtle, straightforward conflicts between good and evil will be satisfied. Agent: Mel Parker, Mel Parker Books. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Moves with volcanic force to a heartfelt, gripping conclusion.” —Rick Mofina, USA Today best-selling author


“. . . interesting local details and a crackling pace.” —Kirkus Reviews


“McCaw has again cooked up a tasty stew with ingredients from a mix of staples from the crime fiction pantry . . . Makes for fine reading.” —Booklist


“Fire and Vengeance is a meticulous mystery. In [this] winding thriller, a conflicted cop wrangles a conspiracy and a family emergency.” —Foreword Reviews


“[Fire and Vengeance] is a well-written, complicated crime story with a marvelous sense of place.” —Midwest Book Review


Praise for the Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery Series

“[Off the Grid] sizzles with tension and twists that entertain and magnetize. Danger and drama abide, with a wonderful, devil-may-care hero. Robert McCaw has the touch.” —Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author


“In Off the Grid, Robert McCaw has fashioned the year's most original mystery-thriller set, appropriately enough, in the equally original setting of Hawaii . . . a relentlessly riveting tale that races out of the gate and never lets up for a single minute or page.” —Jon Land, USA Today best-selling author


“Readers who crave watching a smart cop work in a crackerjack police procedural will find a beauty here. Want a good espionage adventure? It's here, too, with intrigue, betrayal, assassination.” —Booklist (Starred Review)


“Off the Grid is flush with action and vivid descriptions. This unputdownable book is sure to make a mark in the literary world.” —New York Journal of Books


“Readers who love a complex hard-boiled detective with flaws and secrets, and depictions of Hawaii’s culture and beauty, will be drawn to Koa Kane and the mosaic richness of an American paradise.” —BookTrib

From the Publisher

2020-04-13
Who’s responsible for the elementary school explosion, and why are persons of interest turning up dead?

On the big island of Hawai’i, Chief Detective Koa Kāne rushes to the KonaWili School in response to reports of disaster in the wake of Hurricane Ida. An explosion has destroyed the structure, killing or injuring everyone inside. Koa learns that the school was heedlessly built upon a volcanic vault, and with improper concrete walls to boot. The builders must have known that the construction was reckless, but who’s ultimately responsible? Righteous Koa decides to confront the general contractor, Hank Boyle, before going to the mayor and governor. He and junior detective Piki break down the door at Boyle’s home to find his corpse hanging from the ceiling by an electrical cord. Though the scene’s been staged to look like a suicide, Koa notices details that indicate murder. A meeting with the mayor and other politicos is unsatisfying because they act more interested in closure than in justice. In the meantime, the clock is ticking, for those responsible for the KonaWili disaster are wasting no time in covering their tracks. The pressure on Koa increases with the news that his brother Ikaika, currently in prison, must undergo surgery for a brain tumor. Then Koa gets an urgent call from Piki telling him that Arthur Witherspoon, the architect on the school project, has been brazenly shot to death in his home while his wife was upstairs. Can the ruthless killer be stopped before the body count rises further?

McCaw’s third spices its by-the-numbers plot with interesting local details and a crackling pace.

Kirkus Reviews