The Pearl Harbor Murders

This is one of the author's "disaster mystery" series, in which a real life writer and amateur sleuth investigates murder against a slightly fictionalised version of a famous disaster scenario. In this case, Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan and Jules Verne-esque SF adventure stories, investigates the murder of Pearl Harada, a (fictional) popular Japanese American singer in Honolulu, on the eve of the Japanese attack in December 1941. What at first seems to have been a murder committed by a jealous ex-boyfriend turns out to have been far more serious and significant, and it emerges that she has become privy to a secret that could have changed the course of the events of the following days. Burroughs is painted in a rounded and show more sympathetic manner and emerges as a more three dimensional character than some of the the fictional versions of his equivalents in the other novels in the series. The author did his research thoroughly and Hawaiian culture, with its mix of Polynesian, Japanese, Chinese and American elements, comes across in all its colourful vibrancy. The descriptions of the sudden and terrifying attack in the morning of 7 December 1941 are very vivid, and the sense of distorted priorities is stark: the US fear was not of invasion of the islands, but much more of internal sabotage by what turned out to be an almost entirely mythical fifth column of Hawaiians of Japanese descent, a fear that caused aeroplanes to be grounded and disarmed and thereby vastly increased the damage and destruction caused by the Japanese attack, an onslaught that in less than two hours caused nearly two and a half thousand military and civilian casualties and destruction of much of the Pacific fleet. The wrapping up of the main plot and identification of the murderer seem almost to shrink into significance against the sense of dislocation and devastation, reading the descriptions of which reminded me rather of 9/11. A good, dramatic and quick read. show less

In his Disaster Mystery series, Max Allan Collins takes a major event in history and wraps it in a fictional mystery, placing a famous person in the midst of the turmoil. The Pearl Harbor Murders is the third book in the series. The first two mysteries occurred on the Titanic and at the scene of the Hindenburg disaster. The Titanic mystery introduced me to a mystery writer I hadn't heard of before: Jacques Futrelle (who actually died in the Titanic sinking). Since then I have enjoyed many of his detective stories! The Hindenburg mystery featured creator of The Saint, Leslie Charteris, investigating a murder on board the famous airship before it exploded. (Charteris was not on the Hindenburg when it exploded, but he was a passenger on show more its earlier maiden voyage). I loved both of the first books in the series....so I quickly moved on to The Pearl Harbor Murders.

The basics: Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs is on the island of Oahu with his son in December 1941, enjoying the Hawaiian sun. Two days before the Japanese attack on the harbor, a young Japanese singer, Pearl Harada, is found murdered. She had requested a meeting with a local Naval officer, but was killed before it could take place. Burroughs believes the girl had information about Japanese spies in Hawaii, but was silenced before she could tell what she knew. Just as Burroughs and local detectives start seriously delving into Harada's murder and the possibility of espionage, the Japanese attack. With ships burning in the harbor and bullets raining from the sky, Burroughs and his son must figure out who killed the singer and who helped the Japanese military plan their attack.


There is truth in the plot of this book. Edgar Rice Burroughs was actually on the Island of Oahu during the attack in 1941, and helped patrol the harbor after it was over. He became the oldest war correspondent during World War II after the US entered the war. The author was outspoken about the events, even writing a letter containing his eyewitness account of the attack. He addressed the letter to: Whomever Gives a Damn. Needless to say the man had cast iron balls and the attitude to go with them. But what do you expect of the man who created Tarzan?!

Here is a link to the text of his letter: http://www.erbzine.com/mag10/1023.html

I enjoyed The Pearl Harbor Murders. It was a bit slower paced than the first two books, but once the story got going, it was great! The Disaster Mystery series does not make light of the actual historical events, and many actual facts are included in the story. The mystery portion of the plot is fictional -- but the plot was believable and mixed well with actual historical events.

All in all, an exciting and interesting book. The mystery had enough possible suspects and suspense to keep me listening intently through this entire audio book. Dan John Miller narrated. His voice and pace were perfect, making it an enjoyable listening experience.

I have read many books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but I did not know that he was in Hawaii at the time of the Japanese attack. I have a new respect for the man after learning what he did to assist during the aftermath and about his work as a war correspondent.

Burroughs wrote nearly 80 books. Most were in the adventure and science fiction/fantasty genres. His most famous characters are Tarzan and John Carter of Mars.

Max Allan Collins is an award winning author and has written many books about detectives and criminal investigations including several CSI stories and the Nathan Heller series. For more information about the Disaster Mystery series and his other books, check out his website: http://www.maxallancollins.com/blog/ show less

Meh. The mystery was OK, but the setting distracted both me and the detectives too much. The story was pretty thin in itself, and interrupted by a lot of infodumps. If I were fascinated by celebrity gossip, or by ERB (there's a lot about the ending of both his marriages, and his relationships with his children), or if the precise details of the attack on Pearl Harbor (including details of how various individuals, mostly fictional, died), I would no doubt have loved this book. As I like ERB's work but care about him as an individual very little, and have no particular interest in the Pearl Harbor attack or celebrity gossip, the book was overall a yawn. And I found the sexism (correct for the period) rather annoying, mostly because the show more racism (also correct for the period) was carefully deflected, explained away, assigned only to villains...I won't bother to read any others by this author, I don't think - his style doesn't grab me. show less

What ever you think of Collins’ prose, you have to admire his ability to find a niche. His series of one-off historical mysteries feature real characters solving crime in a well-known disaster setting. In this volume, he couples the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and the murder-solving skills of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his son. A lot of research obviously goes into these books. Unusual in a slim paperback, the references used to provide background are all discussed in an afterword. As a former Honolulu resident (the primary reason I read this book) it brought back some memories for me with its description of Oahu settings. A plethora of real characters interspersed with fictional ones give a patina of realism to what is a fairly show more pedestrian plot. Collin’s writing style reminds me of the heyday of pulp fiction. It keeps moving, one chapter of Edgar’s action, the next of his son’s, giving the feeling of constant tension. He overuses adjectives describing his characters to the point of silliness at times, but his dialogue is passable. All in all, a good, quick, read, not memorable but a great selection if you’re vacationing at Waikiki. show less

To me, this mystery was more interesting for its setting --Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese attack --and its characters, notably Edgar Rice Burroughs, one of my favorite authors --than for the actual mystery, which I scarcely remember. The Hawaiian setting is reminiscent of the Charlie Chan novels --the leisurely prewar island.

Collins successfully weaves together world renowned author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and a murder mystery. Burroughs, recouping in Hawaii stumbles upon a murder on the beach and assists in uncovering whether it is ultimately connected to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Fun, quick read

This is the third book in the disaster series by Max Allan Collins. I have read the prevous books and enjoyed them very much however, this one fell a little flat for me. It jumped around from one point of view to another and back again, and it seem very hard to follow. I had to reread some passages several time just to gather where the story was going.