John Caine Novels Series

Winner of the annual St. Martin's Press/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Contest. Newcomer Charles Knief spins a compelling mystery replete with scandal, intrigue, and an appealing new P.I.--retired U.S. Naval officer John Caine, living aboard his sailboat in the beautiful waters of Oahu, getting by doing "favors" for friends. But this time, the favor involves the brutal murder of Vice Admiral Winston's daughter, who it seems was involved in the snuff film industry. "Knief's writing is smooth and seamless, and he's concocted an involving plot to go with his likable, attractively macho hero and exotic setting. The result: an action-packed, satisfying debut." - Booklist

Award-winning author Charles Knief plots a spine-tingling read with a hair-raising payoff in this brilliant new mystery. Still reeling from the tragic loss of his girlfriend and his treasured boat, retired U.S. Naval officer and private investigator John Caine returns to action when a wealthy San Diego woman hires him to investigate the death of her software mogul husband. From Hawaii to California to Mexico, Caine sets out to find what happened to Paul Peters-and the millions embezzled from his firm. With the comely widow barely an arm's length away, Caine dives into a hotbed of Mexican justice, predatory sex, bullets and border politics to follow the money and find the truth.

In his third adventure, private eye John Caine is in trouble again--only this time it comes looking for him. After saving a California woman and her corporation from certain ruin and acquiring his new home, a classic sailing vessel christened Olympia, he's back in his Hawaiian paradise, working hard at relaxing on the beach and trying to keep to the peaceful side of the street. But a woman named Margo Halliday is about to turn Caine's peaceful world upside down. One night, as Caine is leaving a neighborhood restaurant/bar, Chawlie's, he encounters a naked woman fleeing from a man who is shooting at her, but fortunately not doing a very good job of hitting his target. Caine easily disables the man and ushers the woman back into the restaurant. The woman, he discovers, is Margo Halliday, and the man, who quickly fled the scene, was her abusive ex-husband. Caine has almost forgotten about the incident when, months later, he reads about the murder of Margo's ex, who has been found shot to death in her exclusive Hawaii Kai condominium. And the next thing Caine knows, Margo is at his doorstep begging him to hide her from the thugs who murdered her ex and who she now thinks are after her. Desperate to get off the island of Oahu, Margo enlists Caine's help and unknowingly lead him into a lethal game that begins with shots aimed at them with high-powered rifles and leads them deep into the jungles on the island of Kauai, alone and outnumbered against the deadly assassins.

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.