This is a wonderful tale. A mystery. A thriller. A love story. All taking place during a well known point in time.

You know that the bombing of Pearl Harbor is on the horizon and you know that this event and Harry are intertwined. What you don't know is how and to what effect. And, you never know how important any one event, person, situation or off-handed comment will be...pay attention.

I was half-way through the book when I realized that Mr. Smith wasn't just developing characters and setting the stage in preparation for the key scene. No. The stage was set, the key scene was on page one, and the story was the characters. Wonderful. I was willingly pulled me along.

Plus, it was refreshing to have moments, sights, attitudes, environment described with such efficiency that it never detracted or slowed down the story.

I highly recommend it.

Let me start off by saying I liked this book. The plot and the characters were well developed. I genuinely liked Harry, scroundrel that he was. The love story held my interest and I felt it rang true. The ending was very exciting and faithfull to the characters as he developed them. My only complaint is that the story of the oil tanks in Hawaii was overly complicated in it's telling. Several times early on in the story, it's signifance was was treated as a minor incidence. So I didn't give it too much attention. But later on, the importance of the oil tanks is very significant. I also felt that the final confrontation was drawn out too long. That ends the criticism. I loved the character development and the bitter humor in the Burma Shave Hiku. And I highly recommend this book. And if you have the time, listen to ''Rose'' on books on tape. The begining is priceless.