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Book Review of The Pearl Harbor Murders (Disaster, Bk 3)

The Pearl Harbor Murders (Disaster, Bk 3)
perryfran avatar reviewed on + 1221 more book reviews


Enjoyable novel featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs and his son Hulbert (Hully) in Hawaii on the brink of the Pearl Harbor attack. Burroughs is the author of the Tarzan series of books and has always been one of my favorites since I was a teen. In fact, I have a collection of his novels and still read them occasionally.



In this novel, Burroughs and Hully are trying to solve the murder of a beautiful half-Japanese singer two days before the fateful attack. The murder is thought to be an act of passion; however, Burroughs is able to connect it to Japanese agents working in Honolulu prior to the Japanese attack. This novel was a blend of fact and fiction. Burroughs actually was in Hawaii during the attack. The novel also includes actual personages of the time including General Short and Admiral Kimmel who were partially blamed for the unpreparedness of the navy and army prior to the attack. The Honolulu of 1941 was also well described and added to the story.

I also read Collins' The Lusitania Murders, the fourth book in this disaster series, a few years ago and enjoyed it as well. I'll be looking out for the others in the series. Overall, I would recommend this one.