This episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Robert McCaw.

Check out our interview to learn more about his Hawaiian crime thriller series and meet the author.

This is the Crime Cafe, your podcasting source of great crime, suspense and thriller writing. I’m your host Debbi Mack. Before I bring on my guest, I’ll just remind you that the Crime Cafe has two eBooks for sale: the nine book box set and the short story anthology. You can find the buy inks for both on my website, debbimack.com under the Crime Cafe link. You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. You’ll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, along with our eternal gratitude for doing so.

Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crimecafe

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Here’s a PDF transcript of the interview!

Debbi: Hi, everyone. Our guest today has both a military and legal background, having served as a US Army Lieutenant, and a partner in a major international law firm. He's the author of four books in the Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery series, and is giving away copies of the latest book Treachery Times Two to two lucky winners. For details on how to enter the giveaway, check out his guest post on my blog at debbimack.com. It's my pleasure to introduce my guest, Robert McCaw. Hi, Robert. I'm so glad you could be here today.

Robert: Well, thank you for having me and thank you for all the people who are listening

Debbi: Well, thank you for being here and I'm really glad to have you on. Your book is very interesting. The way you paint the Hawaiian Islands is interesting in the mysteries, but I wanted to ask you. As you grew up in a military family, you must have traveled a whole lot, correct?

Robert: Twelve schools in 12 grades.

Debbi: Oh my gosh! Isn't that...? Wow! I know something of what that's like having traveled a lot myself when I was growing up, but how did you end up … Is that how you ended up practicing international law?

Robert: Well, actually there's a story about that. I was an Army lieutenant in Korea. I was called into the camp commander's office. He handed me this big thick purple book, and he said “I’ve just appointed you the prosecutor in a court martial.” This was back in the days when in the special court martial, neither the prosecutor nor the defense counsel had to have any legal training. The only rule was that the defense counsel had to have at least as much legal training as the prosecutor, which meant that both could have none. So, I investigated this case. I was up against a member of the Pennsylvania Bar who was the defense counsel. I lost all the motions but I finally said to the judge who’s the panel, I said, why don't you just hear the facts before you decide all these questions. I put on the facts and the guy was convicted.

My father was a military lawyer and I wrote to him, and I said, you know, all this legal hocus-pocus you've been talking about at the dinner tab...