Synopses & Reviews
In previous accounts, Charles Knief's hero, John Caine, seemed indestructible. But in this fourth adventure of the man whom the Boston Globe described as the heir apparent to Travis McGee, we find that even he can't take a gunshot in the back and escape with a few bruises. We meet him far from his beloved Hawaii protecting his friend Chawlie, the Honolulu gangster, at the funeral of a rival Triad leader in San Francisco. Just as the coffin is placed in the hearse, a not totally unexpected shooting breaks out.
Caine succeeds in keeping Chawlie intact and saving the life of Chawlie's number one son, and his reward is a long stay in a San Francisco hospital and the enmity of a female police detective with her own agenda. It isn't long before Caine learns that he is her prime suspect in a murder case.
Back home, convalescing in Waikiki, Caine finds that there are better ways to pass the time than watching daytime TV when his old friend Hawaiian Police chief Kimo presents him with a new case. Donna Wong, a young scientist, has made an important discovery under the waters of the Pacific--one that could turn the history of Hawaii upside down--but her faculty advisor is planning to steal it from her. Can Caine look into the man's background to find out if he's ever done this before?
"Of course," says Caine. "It's easy."
But nothing is easy for John Caine. The California detective arrives in Hawaii to take him back to the mainland for trial. Dodging her, he learns that his friend is threatened with charges of extortion, kidnapping, and murder. And the imminent eruption of a new volcano threatens the site of Ms. Wong's discovery. Despite his still weakened condition, Caine must run to the rescue, battered but still dangerous. And another bunch of bad guys learn an important lesson: Never count John Caine out.
Review
"[P.I. John Caine is a] man's man who knows his way around a boat and the ladies."--
Publishers Weekly on
Sand Dollars"Readers who miss John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee will be pleased to meet John Caine, who's as McGee-like as they come."--Booklist on Diamond Head
"A high-spirited, high-casualty tale."--Kirkus Reviews on Diamond Head
Synopsis
Knief's heart-of-gold hero whiles away the hours as he convalesces from a near-fatal bullet wound. When he agrees to help a young student save some priceless artifacts of Hawaiian history, he figures that's something he can handle from his couch--or can he?
Synopsis
John Caine starts his fourth adventure in Chinatown in San Francisco. He is there to protect his friend Chawlie while he atttends the funeral of a rival Chinese-American crime boss. As the procession is moving bullets start flying from rooftops. Chawlie makes it out safely, but John is shot in the back. Chawlie is grateful that John saved his life and gives him a body guard and flies him back to Hawaii where he will convalesce in a hotel room paid for by Chawlie.
As the weeks go by, John begins to improve and can eventually leave his hotel room. One day while he is out walking the beach a woman he knows approaches him. She brought along Donna Wong, a graduate student in anthropology and archeology who is working on a project that has the potenial to make her very famous, but she has been receiving numerous threats and they are starting to fear for her life. They ask John to do get some background information on Donna's professor,whom they mistrust.
About the Author
Charles Knief is a former airborne soldier, pilot, and engineer. he has traveled widely and lived in Hawaii for a number of years. His first John Caine adventure,
Diamond Head, won the SMP/ PWA contest for Best First Private Eye novel in 1995. He and his wife currently live in Irvine, California. His web site is www.charlesknife.com.