Robert McCaw is an author who 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 fills his writing of the Islands with his more than 20-year love affair with this Pacific paradise. His new book “Treachery Times Two” is book four in McCaw’s Koa Kāne Hawaiian Mystery Series and follows “Death of a Messenger,” “Fire and Vengeance,” and “Off the Grid.” This new mystery novel involves secret military weapons, saboteurs, a volcanic eruption—and a probe of Chief Detective Koa Kāne’s criminal past.

“Treachery Times Two” – The action begins with a vivid description of a volcanic earthquake as “Pele, masquerading as a glassy-haired old woman,” destroys an abandoned cemetery and unearths a mystery that will shake up Hilo Hawaii’s Chief Detective Koa Kāne’s life as he knows it. The destruction brings forth the body of a woman mutilated by her killer to conceal her identity. While trying to solve this mystery, he finds himself at odds with a mysterious defense contractor with a politically connected board of directors. Defying his chief of police, Koa becomes entangled in an FBI espionage investigation of Deimos, a powerful secret military weapon. To top it off, Koa—a cop who thirty years earlier killed his father’s nemesis and covered up the murder—now faces exposure by the dead man’s grandson who mysteriously comes into town demanding answers. Koa is forced to investigate his own homicide, and step by step, his cover-up unravels until another man is falsely accused. His character is tested as he debates whether to stand by and let an innocent man pay for his crime or come clean and risk losing it all. 

Detective Koa Kāne is on the trail of another killer who thought the crime would be covered up by volcanic lava. Not only does he need to find out who killed the mysterious woman, he is constantly looking over his shoulder and dreading the day when his past crime will be revealed. It follows him constantly: “The investigation which had consumed his waking hours had now invaded his sleep.” Every time he closes a case, he visits Anthony Hazzard’s tombstone. As with the previous books, “Treachery Times Two” features highly developed, complex, and relatable characters, as well as Hawaiian terms, language, and history. Sometimes these Hawaiian terms and names slow down the pacing of the story, but it is worth it and readers are rewarded with a thrilling murder mystery filled with one plot twist after another. The author’s love of Hawaii is evident in his writing by his use of beautiful poetic language, especially when describing volcanic activity, as when the lava was “spreading thin, glassy particles of Pele’s hair like strands of cotton candy.” Koa Kāne is a deeply flawed character, comparable to Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne. He is running from his past while trying to be the best detective he can be all the while people he thought he knew disappoint him but he still struggles on. The highlight is Chapter 9, which has eye-opening historical background on Hawai’i including how in 1893, the Committee of Safety, a group of western businessmen, with the backing of US Marines, staged a coup d’état against the reigning monarch and five years later, the United States annexed the islands. The plot twists keep the reader guessing until the shocking end. “Treachery Times Two” is another remarkable murder mystery by Robert McCaw and is recommended for fans of Michael Connelly who also appreciate a historical lesson or two. The good thing about this excellent mystery series is that each novel stands on its own and can be read in any order.

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.