An American intelligence agent gets a (Hono)lulu of a Hawaiian homecoming when he discovers a covert operation against an American ally in Voelker’s inaugural spy thriller.

“It is hard to imagine a national security threat here,” American secret agent Donovan Cross muses upon his return to his native Hawaii after 30 years away. He’s there to investigate the connection between suspicious electronic activities reported near Waikiki and the city’s Chinese underworld. There have been many reported sightings—albeit unverified—of high-ranking members of Chinese military intelligence in Honolulu. What would bring the Chinese military to this specific location, and what connection could there be to the island of Taiwan, over three thousand miles away? The clock is ticking for Cross to foil plans to launch a covert invasion wreaking untold devastation and destruction and endangering the lives of thousands. From Hawaii with love comes this somewhat tentative beginning of the continuing adventures of Mr. Cross. For armchair, poolside, or beach-bound devotees of espionage adventures, the lush tropical setting provides the optimum escape—throw in a hero who’s “the best American intelligence had to offer” (and a gorgeous Cross girl) and you have a passport to old school spy excitement. After a crackerjack opening involving a sabotaged parachute, a blood-frenzied school of hammerhead sharks, and a nick-of-time rescue—the stuff of a swell pre-credit movie sequence—the narrative bogs down a bit with Cross’ upbringing and tragic origin story (though it’s one that yields a climactic twist). Readers don’t need to hear wannabe agent Cross tell his friends, “Every adventure carries risk, but the world needs those willing to face it.” That’s a little too on the nose; just drop him in the middle of a plot to destabilize the globe and set him loose. And perhaps provide him with a worthy adversary like Blofeld.

Fitfully delivers on its license to thrill but may not leave readers shaken and stirred.