Fire and Vengeance

Fire and Vengeance is the second Robert McCaw book that I’ve reviewed, and it’s the third in the series with the protagonist Chief Detective Koa Kane who lives and works on the big island of Hawaii. I raved about the second book, Off the Grid, and this one is equally gripping. In the midst of a massive storm there’s a volcanic eruption. Because a grade school KonaWili, was built directly over a volcanic vent and the eruption happened when the school was full, 50 people were killed, mostly students along with some teachers. In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that someone tried to plug the volcanic vent – and that didn’t work. Given that the Chief of the department was on the mainland for surgery, the responsibility for dealing with all of the fall out was left to Kane.

McCaw captured the essence of this heartbreaking disaster, and Koa began the investigation which uncovered a feud between political rivals, Hawaii’s may, George Tanaka and Governor Bobbie Mahoe. Kane also learned about the longstanding corruption of the landed class of Hawaii who continued to control all major developments on the islands. Kane learned that Francine Na’auao, the Department of Education chief, had an apparent ownership in the housing development where the school was located. But, the money was hidden and Kane wasn’t sure how he could prove it.

So, the book is about untangling these stories, and McCaw filled out the characters with others, including the younger brother of Kane who had a longstanding history of psychopathic behaviors. This story kept me engaged. Now, I’ll go back and pick up McCaw’s first book in the series, Death of a Messenger.