Sand Dollars

John Caine #2

by Charles Knief

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. Award-winning author Charles Knief plots a spine-tingling read with a hair-raising payoff in this brilliant new mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Charles Knief is a former airborne soldier, pilot, and engineer. He has traveled widely and lived in Hawaii for a number of years. His first John Caine adventure, Diamond Head, won the SMP/ PWA contest for Best First Private Eye novel in 1995. He and his wife currently live in Irvine, California.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was abysmal. I had previously read the author's first mystery (Diamond Head) on a vacation and it was a quick read with an over-the-top hero. Just right for a beach read. This time I was vacationing in Hawaii and the main character is based in Hawaii, so I thought why not? For one thing, detective John Caine is investigating the disappearance of a software inventor/CEO and the author obviously doesn't know anything about computers. He's also hired to find the missing husband and never actually accomplishes that feat. It's a clunky plot with a macho hero that spouts too many folksy moralisms.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. I read this book because it is set in San Diego and Tijuana, and I will be traveling to that area next month. I'd hoped to get a feel for the area, in a light entertaining easy read. Well, there is nothing descriptive about either place in this novel. It could have taken place anywhere- Texas, Southern California, Mexico, Arizona. Anywhere. That was disappointing for me, since I was reading to learn about local scenery and SD neighborhoods.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the target audience for this book is a certain type of male. The main character is an ex-Navy-seal-turned-PI who is just too dang tough to need a gun, because he can overpower armed men half his age with his bare hands and a knife, thankyouverymuch. He is apparently financially independent, lives in Hawaii- on a yacht no less- which allows him to pull up anchor and sail wherever he wants, whenever he wants. By himself, of course. No crew needed.

And, financially independent Hero does not keep his dollars in US banks, of course, because he doesn't think the US gov't needs to micromanage his financial affairs. He gladly shares his opinions about the intrusiveness of state, local, and Federal gov't as he's taking care of business with the least burden to taxpayers or the ineffective legal, judicial or financial system.

As if you had any doubt about love interests, attractive women constantly try to seduce this destined-to-be-a-loner of a big strapping man, but alas, turns out all they want is sex, no commitments. Ah, life is hard for rugged, independently wealthy Main Character ; ) HAHAHA! Seriously, I did not make up this plot! I can't believe I read the whole thing. *chuckle* It was entertaining enough, but I couldn't get past the thought that I might not have been the intended target audience. LOL. Macho escapism- who knew there was such a genre? Really, the only thing this guy was missing was a Ferrari. Maybe that's in the sequel.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy meeting a new hero and when an author creates an interesting private eye character I try to sit up and take notice. John Caine is a Hawaii based private eye. He is a one of those tough guys with a soft heart. He used to live on a boat, but apparently in the previous book, it was destroyed. The author describes an interesting underwater scuba-diving incident to open the story, but other than that, Caine turns out to be the same old hard-boiled guy who stumbles into a clever mystery.

Despite the generic characters-- the mystery in this story is worth reading and the generic tough guy is fun to read.

I've got another one by the same author and I enjoyed it, hence the three star rating.. the plot was clever, the action was well-plotted, and the story all held together well.

[R Fontaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fortuitous re-read that I picked from the shelf at the Rush cabin. (First read in 1999)
Knief’s protagonist,John Caine, is Hawaiian based; however, Sand Dollars takes place in SDiego: the only one of his 4 novels set outside the islands.(important as ‘place’ is, in many ways, as enjoyable as the plot itself).
I intend to re-read his other 3 titles.

[Janyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from the library today and read it in one sitting. It was a fabulous read and reminded me of a great Tom Clancy novel. Considering this is only his second novel, I see great potential for this writer. Characters were tough but likeable and generally very moral (shocker!!). Just a great fast-paced piece of intrigue.

[James Brewster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Knief (yes pronounce the "K", its German) continues his exciting series with Sand Dollars. Our hero has had to travel to the mainland to replace the boat destroyed in the first book and encounters a mess. The plot development and twists kept me reading as it will you.