Jake and Laura Honeymoon in Hawaii

WINGS IN THE DARK  (Jake and Laura Mystery #3)
Michael Murphy
July 14, 2015
Random House Alibi

Jake and Laura are finally married and hoping for a quiet honeymoon of sun and fun in 1935 Hawaii. Jake's background as a Pinkerton and new career as mystery writer along with Laura's acting skills make them formidable if reluctant crime solvers. Of course, the two have friends everywhere; this time it's Amelia Earhart, who is preparing for a solo flight across the Pacific. When they visit her at the hangar just a couple of nights before she is planning to take off they discover a murder victim, shot once in the back and once in the head. The victim is Hank Kalua, a prominent businessman and chief financial backer of Amelia's flight in the islands. Suspicion immediately falls on Amelia but Hank had plenty of enemies, including his own family, militant Hawaiian Royalists, a spurned mistress and possibly the Empire of Japan. Both the British and American governments seem very interested in ensuring that the flight take place on schedule.

The Jake and Laura mysteries are fun romps through the 1930's, full of name-dropping and historical detail. We meet Amelia Earhart, her husband George Putnam, General George Patton as a lowly Lieutenant Colonel trying to climb a stagnant career ladder and even J. Edgar Hoover. The famous and infamous people Murphy includes very much reflect the personalities in the historical record. For those unfamiliar with the somewhat murky history of US involvement in Hawaii, Wings in the Dark has some fascinating detail. This is a fast and entertaining read for historical mystery fans, especially those who enjoy witty mysteries from the 1930's. Jake and Laura fall into the tradition of The Thin Man, and are worthy successors.

I have enjoyed all the Jake and Laura books and Wings in the Dark is no exception. Dark times are coming in the world and I'm interested to see how the darkness is shown in  future books. Thanks to Random House Alibi and netgalley for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.

RATING- 4 Stars