Diamond Head — Charles Knief

Acandal surrounds the death of an Admiral's daughter--and retired navy officer John Caine is on double duty: tracking a killer and protecting a friend's name...

Winner of the 7th 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.

The favors are usually simple enough--tracking down lost property, running high risk errands. This time, however, the favor involves the brutal murder of a friend's daughter--that of Vice Admiral Winston MacGruder III, a good man who once saved Caine's life. His dater's body was found raped and strangled, and though police have no suspects, it seems as if the girl was involved in the sordid Hawaiian snuff film industry.

Now, while Caine hunts down information leading to the young woman's death, he mist also find a way to keep it buried, for the sake of the Admiral's burgeoning political career--and for the man's dignity. And to complicate matters, Caine has struck up a romance with police detective Kate Alapai, woman seeking the very evidence he is trying to conceal. Part Caine won't let that--or the island's raging fires, monster tiger sharks, or local hit men--stop him from bringing a killer to justice.