A Grand Pause: A Novel on May 14, 1945, the USS Randolph, Kamikazes, and the Greatest Air-Sea Rescue by Gary Santos

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MWSA Review Pending

 

Author's Synopsis

Based on a true World War II story, almost lost to history. Set on May 14, 1945, A Grand Pause follows two naval airmen, Ensign John Morris and gunner Cletis Phegley, as they ditch their burning dive bomber into the Seto Inland Sea, surrounded by the Japanese home islands. What ensues is a daring rescue mission by the USS Randolph and her war-weary crew, as they struggle against enemies, both physical and psychological, to bring their brethren home safely.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 314

Word Count: 89,568

Trust No One by Glenn Dyer

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MWSA Review Pending

 

Author's Synopsis

Loyalists meant to rid their country of a double-dealing collaborator. Instead, they created a threat that could destroy Allied unity.

Algiers. Winter 1942. Conor Thorn is devastated. He’s been fired from the OSS. His wife, Emily, has been fired from MI6. They allowed their morals to bend certain truths concerning the outcome of their last mission. Forever dedicated to defeating Axis powers, these skilled operatives jump at the chance to secretly help General Eisenhower deal with a political time bomb threatening Allied harmony and to redeem their honorable standing. To recover a rumored archive holding the truth about an assassination plot, they must travel deep into perilous Axis territory.

In the crosshairs of those determined to keep the information out of Allied hands, Conor and Emily fall victim to a violent assault. Though the resulting injuries leave him severely concussed and confused, Conor refuses to stand down while his beloved ventures deeper into danger.

Can Conor and Emily piece together a political puzzle in time to keep Allied unity from fracturing?

Trust No One is the high intensity, gritty fourth book in the Conor Thorn WWII espionage series inspired by true events. If you like heart-pounding action and white-knuckled tension, then you’ll love Glenn Dyer’s thrill ride through history.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 402

Word Count: 107,710

The Night Swimmer by Michael Griffin

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MWSA Review Pending

 

Author's Synopsis

Michael Joyce got off on playing in his band, chasing girls and completing his Ph.D. In Psychology. Then the Vietnam War heated up. Drafted, commissioned as an officer, he soon found himself in the jungle taking a life at close range. Strangely, he didn't seem to mind, feeling nothing one way or another. He experienced the same innocent calm in subsequest kills, much the way a cheetah must after slaughtering it's prey.

This book is in a fictionalized memoir form. It is a lifelong clinical case history and adventurous tale about the development of war related PTSD. 90% of war related sufferers of PTSD come from impaired and abusive childhoods and Michael Joyce is no exception. He is wonderful and awful, talented and yet desturbed. He suffered from a chronically abusive violent father and and an unresolved oedipus complex with his mother resulting in a fixation on women. We see his demons and criminal behavior, along with a buoyancy and loving generosity toward people.

This study is necessarily graphic and purposely not sanitized in our efforts to be clinically accurate. Therapy sessions, ongoing symptom discussions and examples of desturbances are included.

Michael Joyce barely survives his year in Vietnam. Wounded twice, shot down and constantly exposed to fear, helplessness and horror. He suffers from PTSD and yet is highly decorated. Volume II and III of this trilogy sees his post war lifelong struggle with PTSD yet he successfully works for the VA as a Clinical Psychologist treating combat veterans with PTSD.

This is a must read for students of psychology, the human condition, and unique war influences. At the same time it is presented as a tip of the spear page turner. Many of us, years later, are still not home from war.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 572

Word Count: 195,050

Somewhere In The South Pacific by John J. Gobbell

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MWSA Review

Somewhere in the South Pacific is the seventh book in the Todd Ingram series of military historical novels centered on the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific and elsewhere. Not having read any of the previous books, initially, I was slightly concerned that it would be an awkward read, not being able to adequately divine the back stories of the characters as laid down in the previous books. Fortunately, this was not the case in this book, and in fact, the main character of the series, USN Lieutenant Todd Ingram, is recuperating stateside from wounds incurred during the brutal Guadalcanal Campaign and is also sidelined waiting for his next command, a new destroyer coming out of the shipyard.

Somewhere in the South Pacific tells the story of valiant, outgunned Patrol Boat, Torpedo (PT) sailors that have been called upon to make night attacks on armed Japanese barges bringing supplies and reinforcements to beleaguered Imperial forces at the beginning of the “island hopping” campaign that would bring about the eventual Japanese defeat. While the barges are no easy targets, Japanese destroyers or aircraft can pop at any time to turn the hunters into the hunted. The author more than adequately lays out the trials and tribulations of the PT crews while gradually, subtly, and obliquely shifting the focus of the story to a new replacement PT skipper, none other than Lieutenant j.g John F. Kennedy.

Tracking closely to actual history, Kennedy’s character emerges as the “new” guy who enjoys a bit of slack from his new combat-weary contemporaries for Kennedy’s performance during the past year as an instructor at the PT boat school, and as a natural sailor. Bucking his father’s manipulations of the Navy to keep him out of combat, Kennedy finds a way to get into harm’s way, both because it is the right thing to do, but also wanting to ensure he can say he saw action for future political considerations. It helps that occasionally Kennedy runs into someone who has no idea who Kennedy is, other than just another junior officer. It is only in the last few chapters that the book focuses mainly on the famous fate of Kennedy and his PT109 crew.

The story and subplots flow smoothly, and the author excels at describing the exhaustive, always-on-edge life of the PT crews operating at the very end of supply lines and fighting the multilevel threats of the tropical maritime environment, not to mention the deadly Imperial Japanese forces. This novel will be of interest to any readers interested in naval action, especially in the Pacific during World War Two, as well as those interested in the Kennedy saga.

Review by Terry Lloyd (March 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

Inspired by the true story of John F. Kennedy’s daring naval mission at the height of World War II, this historical thriller brings the unanswered question of the past to life with fast-paced action and vivid detail.

After surviving a near suicidal mission on Mondo Mondo Island, Lieutenant Commander Todd Ingram is sent back to the States on a thirty-day leave—but the war waits for no one, and trouble is already rippling through the Pacific Theater.

Fresh from Stateside training, Lieutenant JG John Kennedy takes command of the PT 109, a torpedo boat in desperate need of repairs, for the upcoming mission to retake the Western Solomon Islands. But the war isn’t the only thing on Kennedy’s mind: he’s torn between his family’s expectations and his forbidden love for Inga Arvad, a beautiful Danish columnist who narrowly escaped Nazi occupied Germany.

When a disastrous attempt to interrupt Japanese supply lines slices Kennedy’s PT 109 in half, Ingram and his six destroyers must pick up where Kennedy left off. Can Ingram save Kennedy and his stranded men while defeating the Japanese? Ingram is prepared to fight to the end, but victory comes at a steep price behind enemy lines…

In this 7th Installment, Todd Ingram reflects back on a simpler time, when he was on leave but the war was not. This is the story of what happened during his 39 day leave following When Duty Whispers Low, and takes place between When Duty Whispers Low and The Neptune Strategy.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 292

Word Count: 80,217

When Legends Lived, Vol 2 by R. C. Morris

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MWSA Review Pending

 

Author's Synopsis

In Volume 2, When Legends Lived, Jericho's story continues as he, his Texas Ranger partner Roosevelt Poe, and their fellow Rangers help usher a wild and violent territory into statehood. You’ll find many villains to loath, the lawmen righted wrongs, justice prevailed. Those who read Westerns likely relish the violent moments in the “Name of Justice”! Morris, a retired Army officer familiar with combat, captures the conflicting varied elements through often spare and stark scenes of violent battles that depict both courage and cowardice. Ultimately, as is the tradition in classic westerns, Jericho’s story is a tale of honor, one that celebrates our deeper humanity as depicted in the honorable actions’ men perform in battle, as well as the humor they express and the heartfelt emotions they mask in tragic moments.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 668

Word Count: 194,162

Gone To Texas, Vol 1 by R. C. Morris

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MWSA Review

“Gritty, period-authentic Western” is the apt description of Gone to Texas by R. C. Morris according to his widow, Brenda Morris, who shepherded this book to publication. The novel clearly depicts the rough and lawless world of the frontier in the 1840s and 50s as Jericho McCain searches for his older brother, who left their home in Tennessee earlier. After burying the rest of his family who died from “the fever,” Jericho travels from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tennessee through Mississippi to Texas where his shooting skills attract one of the Texas Rangers, a group known for its aggressive and fearsome fighting in both taming lawlessness and in fighting the invading Mexicans who want to take back their territory. McCain has the skills, strength, and temperament the Rangers seek. He never gives up despite incredible hardships.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (March 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

This is a gritty, period-authentic Western for hard-core Western afficionados. An exciting generational saga that spans 85 years, a two-volume series follows the exploits of Jericho D. McCain who, as a young boy in 1845, leaves his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains after burying his entire family--save his older brother Taylor who had left for Texas not knowing his family's fate. Jericho travels alone to find Taylor, having no idea where he might be or if he’ll ever see him again. In Vol One: Gone to Texas, we follow Jericho as he makes his way to Texas and encounters dangerous desperadoes, unusual allies, a first love--and a series of unexpected events that leads him to becoming a Texas Ranger. It’s a history of men called upon to use violence to remedy the acts of violent men. Jericho’s journey to manhood takes place as Texas and Zachary Taylor’s army are fighting the forces of Santa Anna. An elite group of Rangers offer hope of interceding in the violence wrought by evil men.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 356

Word Count: 96,611

Death in the Triangle by John Podlaski

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MWSA Review

Death in the Triangle: A Vietnam Story by John Podlaski is a novella that tells the account of a significant mission for First Platoon. Although listed as fiction, the story has the ring of reality, with the sights, sounds, smells, and emotions of combat. After a night of assignments on listening post duty and ambush duty, the platoon rolls out on a short mission to view the effects of the previous night’s ambush and destruction of an ammo dump. Unfortunately, the colonel overrides the mission (which should have ended around noon) and insists the platoon go further and do more. And that’s when all hell breaks loose. Action is nonstop, and death hovers in the air. In three short days, much is accomplished and the platoon finally gets a well deserved rest.

Readers are advised to read the first novella in the series (When Can I Stop Running?) before this book, so that the characters are already known, and the mission makes more sense. Readers will also need to navigate some misspellings as well as quite a few punctuation errors.

Review by Betsy Beard (March 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

DEATH IN THE TRIANGLE is a sequel to When Can I Stop Running? That was one hell of a night!

Only a couple of hours passed since returning to the firebase. Now, the sleep-deprived and weary First Platoon soldiers must go back out on another patrol. Last night, an enemy mortar team fired several rounds into the base and was soon silenced by return artillery fire. The Third Squad also ambushed a group of enemy soldiers leaving nine dead bodies on the trail before moving out to a new location. A thorough search of both areas may locate items overlooked in the dark. It was thought to be an easy patrol – two clicks out and two clicks back, so the brass expected their return before lunch. At least, that was the plan.

Many patrols during the Vietnam War did not quite go as planned and this was one of them. These soldiers soon found themselves in dire straits to satisfy their battalion commander’s thirst for body counts and fame. Will they all survive?

Sixpack, Polack, LG, and the bunch are back in this new installment from the award-winning author of Cherries: A Vietnam War Novel.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 145

Word Count: 31,000

The Line of Splendor by Salina B Baker

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MWSA Review

The Line of Splendor by Salina B Baker is a 610-page book set during the American Revolutionary War. The book provides lots of details about the misery of the American troops as the various states tried to come together as a country. There was no American army—only militias and short-term contractors, most of whom were poorly prepared to do battle. Only Nathaniel Greene’s Rhode Islanders had some semblance of military order and discipline, thanks to his brief training before the war. The book also shows how the interference of politicians negatively impacted General Washington’s ability to carry on the battle. In addition to all the military information, the personal side of not only Greene’s life but that of other officers, including George Washington, is detailed. At times, it is difficult to follow the timeline of the story because dates are not always given. Many of the minor skirmishes could have been summarized rather than being detailed. Sometimes the story omits explanations of why characters acted as they did.

Review by Nancy Kauffman (March 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

When the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, thirty-two-year-old Nathanael Greene, a self-educated Quaker with no military experience, dismayed his family and marched toward Boston as general of the Rhode Island provincial army. General George Washington recognized his unwavering belief in American independence and the qualities that catapulted him to a major general in the Continental Army.

From the hard lessons learned on the battlefields of New York, to his appointment as Quartermaster General during the harsh winter at Valley Forge, his role in convicting the British spy who colluded to obtain the plans to West Point, to the godsend who took command of the ragged remnants of the Southern Continental Army, Nathanael Greene’s complex perseverance and brilliant strategies broke military doctrines.

This is the story of the man who rose to become a national hero by resuscitating and then propelling the American states to victory in their war for independence and the personal cost of that war.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 622

Word Count: 193,129

Bikini Beach by Butch Maki

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MWSA Review

"And like that, we all were off in a deafening roar to whatever destiny awaited us."

A grand opening chapter to a well-written book that will both make you cry and shake your head in wonder. Butch Maki lived the story and fictionalized it to make events flow and the book more readable. But never forget, what he saw, felt, smelled, touched, and heard would affect the entire rest of his life.

“Young men and women were sent off to fight in a war they did not cause or understand. I wondered how the mothers of the soldiers who perished here yesterday would feel if they knew that their sons died to win this ground. Then we abandoned it less than 36 hours later."

The author offers his thoughts about this war by describing different types of killing other human beings.

"There is a third type. This is the one that sticks with you for your entire life! It is the one that steals your soul, causes many sleepless nights, namely, the up close and personal killings that cannot merely be called anything but a murder in living color, experiences that are permanently etched into my mind. These are the SOG missions that are forever replayed and revisited in my head, with a repeated intensity that I never wanted to see once, and certainly not over, and over, and over again."

Join Butch Maki as he battles the demons that still haunt his life until he finally catches a break - all stemming from an act of heroism back in the hell hole of Vietnam. Most highly recommended.

Review by Jim Tritten (February 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

Based on true events, author Butch Maki and his character, Huey helicopter Crew Chief, Sergeant Specialist Donald "Mack" Mackinen, display ordinary valor commonly found in a war that often gets overlooked. He brings us along on death-defying rides during some of the most brutal days of the war in Vietnam. Every morning, he heads into a nightmare all day long, where instinctual acts of heroism, mercy, and the sheer will to survive bring about a different kind of change, one that will last Mack way beyond the Southeast Asian conflict to conflict with his life upon his return.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 448

Word Count: 108266

The Dog Soldier by Kim Kinrade

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MWSA Review

The Dog Soldier is a novel set in the closing years of the Vietnam War, during the chaotic period of “Vietnamization,” as seen through the eyes of Canadian volunteer “Nucky” Benson, and to a lesser extent, his Native American friend Jimmy Whitebull. Dog Soldiers are a warrior tradition from Jimmy’s Northern Cheyenne nation, who when forced to make a stand in battle pin themselves to a spot with a ceremonial “dog rope” and fight till their death.

Benson enlists in the U.S. Army after blowing a hockey scholarship, seemingly his only ticket out of his hardscrabble Alberta mining town. He becomes buddies with Whitebull when their basic training Drill Instructor christens Benson “Canucklehead” during a drill field formation. Unable to restrain himself, Whitebull laughs out loud. Turning his attention to the Native American, the DI assigns Jimmy, much to his chagrin, the nom de guerre of “Whitey,” and group punishment for all courtesy of Benson and Whitebull.

The two continue their training through Airborne and Ranger schools and are assigned to Vietnam, ironically into the 7th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, the unit commanded by George Armstrong Custer at the Little Bighorn and wiped out by Jimmy’s ancestors, many of whom he is happy to name. Nucky and Whitey become the mainstay of an infantry squad faced with declining U.S. military resources in country and communist forces going over on to the offense. This leads to a date with destiny for the two in the elephant grass of a hot, improvised helicopter landing zone.

The book, at over 400 pages, is long, but the action is fast-paced. The combat action is intense and realistic, no doubt assisted by a bevy of veterans the author acknowledges, including Vietnam veteran and author of The Thirteenth Valley, John Del Vecchio. The book avoids most of the cringy cliches often associated with the genre and turns several of them on their head. Some of the scenes in the book can be quite emotional, even to a seasoned reader of military history and lore. The perspective of the Canadian author is insightful and serves to highlight both the valor of the 30,000 Canadians who volunteered for the U.S. military and served in Vietnam and the ambivalence of many Canadians and the hostility, at the time, of the neutral Canadian government.

Readers with an interest in the Vietnam War, especially the closing years of that war, the history of southeast Asia during that time, and Native American culture will enjoy this book.

Review by Terry Lloyd (February 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

In bestselling author Kim Kinrade’s ninth book, The Dog Soldier, Jackie Benson, a seventeen-year-old runaway from Southern Alberta, leaves behind a shattered life to join the American army during the last throes of its involvement in the Vietnam War.

Impressed with Jackie’s heroism, his best friend, Jimmie Whitebull, teaches him the philosophy of the Dog Soldier clan of the Northern Cheyenne and tells Jackie of his forefather’s involvement in fighting Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. On a trip home, Jackie visits his friend’s family in Montana and, because of his heroism in staying behind to fight the enemy so that a helicopter of wounded comrades can escape, Jackie is given honorary status in the Dog Soldier clan.

After returning to Vietnam, Jackie uncovers a Chinese and Soviet connection to help the North Vietnamese army capture Saigon and end the war in North Vietnam’s favor. After capturing a Soviet colonel, he becomes embroiled in a political tug-of-war that goes directly to the White House.

Format(s) for review: Paper or Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 450

Word Count: 175,000

Down a Dark Road by H. W. "Buzz" Bernard

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MWSA Review

Down a Dark Road by Buzz Bernard is the fourth in his World War II historical fiction series When Heroes Flew. While based somewhat on a real person and some of his experiences, additional characters bring the story to life. The characters and the setting were superbly done and quite believable. Many of the descriptions are not only creative and different with the use of literary devices, but they also have a memorable quality.

The characters were written so that I cared about them and was sad when any of them died.  
The author uses language that is precise and paints a picture that is easily understood. He uses repetition only for effect (scenes of the death camps). The death camp scenes are well told, although a difficult subject, and may seem overdone to some, but I find that the repetition pointed out exactly how horrible they were.

World War II aficionados will find new material relating to some of the less well-known missions.

Review by Betsy Beard (January 2024)

 

Author's Synopsis

DOWN A DARK ROAD, based on a true story, hurls readers into the shadowy forests of WWII Austria where a weary and battle-worn Army platoon is about to discover the war’s most horrific secret.

As the war in Europe draws to a close, young Army lieutenant, Jim Thayer, finds himself and his platoon on the point of the American advance into Austria. Jim and his men are no strangers to the horrors of war. But what they find hidden in the forests of western Austria plunges them into the true heart of darkness.

Battling remnants of the legendary Waffen SS, Germany’s elite fighting force, Jim and his men come face to face with the cruel brutality of the Nazi regime. They bear witness to the fields of death left in its wake.

Determined to catch the architect of this atrocity, Jim dispatches an unofficial team of unlikely allies—an American bomber pilot, a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot, and a young Austrian woman—to track him down.

The war may be ending. But for these strange comrades in arms, the final battle is only just beginning.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 220

Word Count: 65,000

Cheerful Obedience by Patrick McLaughlin

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MWSA Review

Patrick McLaughlin walked the walk in Vietnam, and he does a great job of talking the talk in his first novel about the Vietnam War.

Although fiction, it's not hard to tell that the experiences of the hero McKall were experienced first-hand by a young McLaughlin during his year as a "grunt" in 1967-68. The author does a great job of making the reader feel like he is on patrol with McKall and his squad. Most of the time they dish out death; sometimes it's dealt to them, but they work and live and survive and execute the mission not because it's their job, but because they don't want to let each other down. The action is vivid, the dialogue believable, and the situations will resonate with anyone who has served on the ground in a war zone. McLaughlin is already working on a sequel, and most of those who read Cheerful Obedience will be looking forward to it.

This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys historical fiction about Vietnam and also those who enjoy books about ground combat from the "grunt's" perspective.

Review by Rob Ballister (March 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

Ignoring his 2-S selective service deferment, Conor Patrick McKall volunteers for the draft, and Uncle Sam promptly deposits him in the Big Green Machine.

Six months later McKall is walking point in jungles, rice paddies, and rubber plantations. In nine short months, he's made an infantry squad leader responsible for a dozen other grunts. In the "boonies," life is lived one day at a time.

Joining McKall's squad is Jack "Red" Sheridan whose near-death encounter with a black panther presents challenges to his credibility from other members of Lima Platoon. When McKall stands with Sheridan, an unbreakable bond develops. They meet Red Cross Donut Dollies and together experience the infamous Black Virgin Mountain where the good guys control the top and the bad guys the rest.

Escaping Vietnam for a handful of days on R&R in Sydney, Conor experiences Aussie hospitality and the attention of a green-eyed beauty who offers him a chance to escape the war. Loyal to his oath and to his men, Sergeant McKall barely has time to supplant the fading scent of Chanel before he and his squad must face their determined and deadly adversaries. The arbitrary gauntlet of Vietnam offers no guarantees.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 378

Word Count: 109,000

The Giant Awakens by Lee Jackson

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MWSA Review

The Giant Awakens by Lee Jackson is a fantastic work that offers something for all readers, whether you're seeking a fictional account of well-known events, or a greater insight into the characters and interactions of monumental figures like FDR and Churchill, or getting a sense of being “there” for the pilots and grunts, diplomats and spies who served in WWII. Jackson does a great job balancing the high-level strategic situations and the tactical ones. He presents well-known historical events and characters in a fresh light, giving the reader a strong appreciation for events and historical figures from a new perspective.

Jackson clearly did his research, whether it was geography, strategy, personality, or the armaments of war, and he presented dialogue in a realistic manner, weaving in necessarily historical reminders in a seamless and logical way.

I also “read” the audio book, which was a great experience, often making me feel like I was a fly on the wall of some of the 20th century's most significant events.

Review by Frank Biggio (July 2023)

Author's Synopsis

The world is at war.

Japan has just attacked Pearl Harbor. In London, Prime Minister Churchill disappears. In Washington, President Roosevelt faces an alliance with conflicting objectives. In the Soviet Union, dictator Joseph Stalin watches a Nazi onslaught maul his country.

From their isolated perch on Sark Island, feudal rulers Dame Marian Littlefield and her husband oppose their German occupiers in the only way left to them—through a battle of wits. They wonder about the location and well-being of their offspring, Paul, Claire, Lance, and Jeremy.

Meanwhile, Paul engages in intelligence operations in Manhattan and Washington, DC. Claire works with Americans decoding enemy messages. Lance conspires to escape with other POWs at Oflag IV-C within the walls of Colditz Castle. Jeremy leaves his heart with Amélie in France to join the British commandos for the greatest raid in history.

And in Moscow, the Russian winter has just set in.

The saga of the Littlefield family intensifies in THE GIANT AWAKENS, the fourth installment in Lee Jackson's epic After Dunkirk series.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 600

Word Count: 149,629

The Cut by John Wemlinger

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MWSA Review

Lydia Cockrum and Alvin Price grow their love with a backdrop of life along Lake Michigan in the 1870s. Paramount at this time near Portage Lake was the increasing animosity between the local farmers and an active sawmill. Based on real history, the story focuses on farmers who were losing arable land to Portage Lake as the local sawmill management dammed the lake to have enough water along an out-flowing creek to run their muley saw.

Fed up with the loss of their land, and armed with a legal document and the support of a judge, the story finds Alvin Price, his father Ben, and his near-brother Jeb Washington reluctantly deciding to solve the problem. The mill owner continually refuses to follow the injunction that requires him to desist from damming the lake. Although both Alvin and Jeb are wounded Civil War veterans, they embrace a project that is both physically and politically grueling. With a band of farmers, some of whom made extra money at the mill, they decide to take matters into their own hands to lower the water level at Portage Lake so their farms won’t flood.

As Alvin’s and Lydia’s romance progresses, they must deal with fathers who are on opposite sides of the issue. Reilly Cockrum, Lydia’s father, is a railroad builder and relies on the wood from the mill. Ben Price, Alvin’s father, is a farmer and insists on full use of his land.

How the farmers resolve this issue changed the shoreline of Lake Michigan in the area of Portage Lake and Manistee. But Alvin must make peace with Mr. Cockrum and seizes the opportunity to do so after a tragedy occurs in the town of Manistee, where the Cockrums live.

Author John Wemlinger does an excellent job of weaving the love story into the colorful history of this area and era of Michigan. The Cut relates an enlightening and interesting story. The characters are well-drawn, and his writing flows smoothly.

The author provides helpful annotated photographs, illustrations, and maps that give the reader a true sense of “the cut” and provides images that help the reader understand what a sawmill of that time looked like, and what homes and farms looked like.

For a noteworthy, fact-based historical glimpse of an interesting and unique issue in the 1870s upper Midwest, The Cut makes an excellent and satisfying read that addresses industry, farming, prejudice, women’s growing acceptance as college students, and enduring love. And if you are a dog-lover, Alvin's dog Kip will steal your heart.

Review by Patricia Walkow (June 2023)

Author's Synopsis

The Cut is a 19th-century David and Goliath story set in northwestern Michigan, where the powerful lumber industry is trampling on the rights of local farmers trying to eke out a living on their 80-acre homesteads.  in the aftermath of the Civil War, The Cut follows the plight of the local farmers through the eyes of their reluctant leader as he fights for his family, friends, and love.  It is a beautiful story of Michiganders' perseverance woven into Michigan's history

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 250

Word Count: 75K

Saigon Spring by Philip Derrick

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MWSA Review

Saigon Spring is historical fiction of the highest order. The novel is written by Phillip Derrick and tells the story of Travis Nickels, an American soldier who returns to South Vietnam during the closing days of the war. Nickels is a first-hand witness to the horror that was the fall of Vietnam. The underlying history is well-researched and flows well, even when overset with the underlying story of an American soldier trying to do the right thing in a world gone crazy.

Author Derrick puts a lot of detail into his descriptions of life in war torn South Vietnam and America. His character development of the hero starts with his initial return to America after his first tour of duty in Vietnam. The author spends a lot of time initially describing the anti-war attitude of the country and the antagonism that Nickels experiences when he first arrives home. I lived through this period myself, as a young Air Force officer on the West Coast. There was definitely some resentment and antagonism out there, but at least in my experience, nothing like what Phillip Derrick described. Notwithstanding the anti-military attitude of the country, Nickels eventually goes to college, joins ROTC, and is commissioned an officer in the United States Army. Subsequently, he is reassigned back to Vietnam on a secret mission, one that even he does not understand. As it is later revealed, he was sent back to Vietnam to act as bait to catch a particularly nasty North Vietnamese agent. 

Saigon Spring relies heavily on the factual history of a very dark time in our country’s history. It was an entertaining read, and I would recommend it to my friends.

Review by Larry Sharrar (May 2021)

 

Author's Synopsis

Everyone, at any given time, has a secret. 

For Jim Peterson, it was assuming the identity of a dead paratrooper named Travis Nickels to pursue a serial killer in Vietnam.

Mission completed, he returned to the USA as Sergeant Nickels, knowing one thing for sure - he was done with both the US Army and South Vietnam. But four years later fate has arranged for his return to the land he left behind. He will find a country in its final death throes, a woman from his past, and a mysterious man who wants something from him that could mean his life.

Sometimes things come full circle with a twist. And secrets can be deadly.

Note: This is a sequel to Facing the Dragon.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 303

Word Count: 48,500

Northern Wolf by Daniel Greene

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MWSA Review

Northern Wolf is the story of Johannes Wolf, a young German immigrant with a crippled leg, who cons his way into the disorganized Union Army in 1862.  The opening scene takes place in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as Wolf gets into a barroom brawl.  After cooling off in a jail cell he joins the fictional 13th Michigan Volunteer Calvary.
        Author Daniel Greene takes Wolf and his unit through the rigors of training and primitive camp conditions before experiencing battle under the leadership of a courageous George Armstrong Custer, "the boy general." There have been multiple depictions of Custer in American literature.  In Northern Wolf he is the warrior commander who leads from the front.
        The realistic battle scenes are set in the Eastern Calvary Fields, long considered a sideshow to the Battle of Gettysburg.  In the historical notes that Greene provides, he argues that this battle was, in fact, crucial in producing a Union victory.  Custer's foe is the infamous Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart who unsuccessfully tried to breach the rear of the Union line.
        By portraying Wolf and other characters in the story as immigrants, Greene emphasizes that the war was not a uniquely American experience but much more global. Approximately 500,000 immigrants fought for the North and thousands more for the South.  
        The mixture of fact and fiction makes Northern Wolf a worthwhile addition to the many historical novels that have been written about this era.  Greene is a veteran researcher and writer who promises that this is the first in a series.

Review by James Elsener (April 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

A broken man will be forged in the flames of war... 

It is late 1862, and the United States has been ripped apart by civil war for over a year with no end in sight. The war is a distant thought to Johannes Wolf, a young German immigrant with a crippled leg keeping him off the muster lists. 

Desperately dredging the gutters for recruits, Wolf cons his way into the depleted, demoralized, and poorly run Union army, and is promptly placed in the undesirable F Company of the 13th Michigan Cavalry. 

Wolf's company find themselves riding with Custer and the Michigan Brigade on a collision course with master horseman J.E.B. Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia in a small town in Pennsylvania, called Gettysburg. 

Will they stand tall against the knights of the South and prove themselves worthy? Or will they fall beneath screaming bullets and sweeping blades, becoming more bloody fodder for a lost cause?

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 247

Word Count: 74,000

When Troubles Rain by Jim Hodge

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MWSA Review

Author Jim Hodge tells the story of an upper Midwest family living an agricultural way of life during the tumultuous years of the 1960s. The Vietnam War was raging, and the Korean War was twelve years into a truce that stipulated maintenance of a demilitarized zone between the North and South.

In When Troubles Rain, the author deftly draws his characters so they are fully relatable. He builds informative back stories that illuminate the heritage, culture, and beliefs of the Norwegian-American Berg family.

Through love, strong familial ties, war, tragic loss, threats to their way of life, and strong community, the Berg family faces every challenge with grace, faith, and a good dose of stoicism.

The most touching aspect of this historical novel is its absence of bravado. We follow the family in its daily life for a period of time, and therein lies the magic. It is unassuming, yet powerful; serious, yet with humor; The story recognizes the horrors of war, yet stresses the family's dedication to God and country.

This is a book to renew the values of patriotism, hard work, family, sacrifice, and gratitude.

Review by Pat Walkow (March 2023)
 

Author's Synopsis

When the painful war drums of Vietnam are accelerating, a fifth generation Wisconsin farm family must lean on its faith to see themselves through a land dispute, a wrenching loss at home and two very different sons who must face the call of war-time America. 

At home and in two far-away lands a salt of the earth midwestern family must face the realities of life.

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 245

Word Count: 74,743

When the Violin Weeps by Glenn Starkey

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MWSA Review

In When the Violin Weeps, author Glenn Starkey relates the story of symphony violinist Jacob Liebermann, a Jewish resident of the Warsaw ghetto. In their early thirties, he and his wife Hannah are shipped to the Treblinka concentration/death camp. On arrival at the camp, Hannah is sent to the gas chamber, and Jacob survives as a slave laborer. A sadistic SS Officer, Klaus Hermann, confiscates Jacob’s violin and requires him to play it from time to time, especially when a prisoner is being tortured to death.

Grieving the loss of his wife, his freedom, and the life he once enjoyed, Jacob questions his faith in God and grows more hateful day-by-day. With a band of other slave laborers, he escapes the camp and spends many months in the deep woods with other resistance fighters. Through the remainder of the war and into the 1960s, Jacob finds his way across Eastern Europe to Palestine, and lives through the birth of Israel. But his hatred for Klaus Hermann never abates. His desire for vengeance and, to some extent, justice only grows, yet his belief in God has been destroyed.

At the birth of Israel and during its early years, Jacob becomes a fighter, though he never thought he would be one. He joins Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel, and is instrumental in capturing Nazi war criminals wherever they are in the world. Klaus Hermann, living in South America after World War II, remains free, and Jacob wrestles with what he will do when he finds him.

Glenn Starkey’s well-researched historical novel rings true with every word, and sadly, Jacob’s story is one of millions – Jews, gypsies, Slavic peoples, and others targeted for outright extermination or death via forced labor.

The book reads easily in the way it is crafted, although there is much violence in it. It is a story no one who reads it will forget. Mr. Starkey deftly weaves in the history of the newly-minted state of Israel, and hints at the role of the Catholic Church in helping former Nazis flee to South America.

For those unfamiliar with Nazi (and Stalinist) depravities of World War II, this book is an eye-opener. For those familiar with the war, it is a reminder of what blind adherence to ideology and control of the media can do to an otherwise reasonable populace. As such, it resonates well with our time, when a noisy, dictatorial media is making ordinary people fearful of not following the “party line.” The Nazis did this. Could it be happening again? Mr. Starkey’s is a book not only to read, but to study, lest we repeat history.

Review by Pat Walkow (March 2023)

Author's Synopsis

Forcing Warsaw's massive Jewish population into an overcrowded ghetto to starve was Nazi Germany's first undertaking after invading Poland. Next came the merciless transports to the Treblinka extermination center. When Jacob Lieberman's wife Hanna is murdered in a gas chamber, the former Warsaw Philharmonic violinist fell into an abyss of insanity. But he keeps his promise to her to survive the Nazi atrocities at all costs.

Through months as a slave laborer, escaping from the death camp, and fighting for the underground, Jacob lives for the day of reckoning with Klaus Hermann, the SS officer that killed his wife. After a harrowing trek to freedom in Palestine and joining Jewish resistance groups to combat a new enemy, Jacob makes the country home. He becomes one of Israel's first Mossad agents. Then fate brings him face to face with the devil incarnate.

"When the Violin Weeps" is based upon real lives, the disturbing true events of the Holocaust in World War II, and on through the struggles to create the State of Israel. It is the story of appalling crimes against humanity, mankind at its best and worst, and the courageous strength to live and fight against overwhelming odds.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 269

Word Count: 81,000

Ninety Day Wonder by Lynn Ellen Doxon

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MWSA Review

Ninety Day Wonder by Lynn Ellen Doxon is a look at the trajectory of one man’s life changed by an outbreak of war. High school chemistry teacher Gene Sinclair’s carefully laid out plans to get into medical school are thwarted the day he receives his draft notice from the U.S. Army. He reconciles that serving his country is a temporary diversion and that he’ll serve his year and re-apply to medical school.

After basic training, Sinclair is sent to train on coastal artillery but he yearns to get into sone area of the medical corps. Eventually, he’s assigned to the pharmacy training program. but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor necessitates him returning to artillery. From there, Gene is chosen to attend the ninety-day Officer’s Training School.

During his officer training, Sinclair meets southern belle Sarah Gale, eventually falling head over heels in love before he’s commissioned as an antiaircraft artillery officer. Gene struggles with conflicting feelings as an officer when it comes to leading his men. When Sarah joins the WAACs they are unable to see each other because she is an enlisted servicewoman and he is an officer. Somehow, they manage to overcome that obstacle. Separated by continents, Sarah and Gene stay in touch by letters. After a Japanese air raid in Darwin, Australia, Gene is assigned to deploy to parts unknown, leaving us to wait until the next book comes out to resolve my unanswered questions.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

On the eve of World War II Gene Sinclair is drafted, ruining his plans to become a doctor. Gene adapts to army life, but still dreams of being a doctor, until the attack on Pearl Harbor. He is sent to Officer's Training School to become a "Ninety Day Wonder" junior officer for coastal artillery. Gene struggles to understand his place in the army, which becomes more complicated when he falls in love with Sarah Gale while at OTS.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 368

Word Count: 120244

Loving Summer by Carole Brungar

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MWSA Review

Loving Summer by Carole Brungar is book number four in her multi-award-winning Nam Legacy Series. Loving Summer can easily stand alone, a testament to the author’s writing skills.

In 1967, a Christmas card project organized by Summer Bryant’s school to send messages to the soldiers in Vietnam. Lovable Summer Bryant is a flower child born into the transient world of hippies, communes, and free love. And she’s against the war that’s killing thousands of innocent lives in Vietnam.

Scott Taylor is the consummate leader of warriors and becomes the recipient of Summer’s Christmas card. He decides to answer with a thank you. Thus, begins a pen-pal relationship lasting years until the correspondence abruptly stops.

Scott returns to New Zealand to find that his wife is distant. Their relationship deteriorates despite a pregnancy about which they are both excited. He continues to write to Summer. When Scott finds out earth-shaking news, the marriage disintegrates and he stops writing to Summer. He finds solace in alcohol. In 1978, with the help of Army pals, Scott starts to get his life on track. Set up on a blind date, Scott Taylor’s broken life changes its trajectory, sending him on an unforgettable, poignant journey.

Carole Brungar skillfully takes you deep into Scott and Summer’s unforgettable love story with her detailed descriptions. She weaves a tapestry of two unlikely soulmates and knits it all together for the reader to feel the warmth and passion. Loving Summer is hard to put down and requires a box of tissues.

Review by Nancy Panko (March 2023)

 

Author's Synopsis

It’s Christmas in the killing fields of Vietnam, and Corporal Scott Taylor calls his men together and hands out mail from a school back home, unaware the card he opens will change his life forever.

Everyone loves Summer Bryant. She’s a wild child born into the transient world of hippies, communes, and free love. And she’s against the war that’s killing thousands of innocent people and the soldiers fighting there.

Yet, through the pages of Scott and Summer’s letters, an unforeseen friendship forms that becomes a bond so strong, that neither understands the grip it has over them.

Home from Vietnam, Scott finds the world has moved on without him. When his life spirals out of control, he’s convinced even the letters from Summer can’t save him this time.

After years of silence, fate throws them together. Shocked to finally come face to face with Summer, Scott realises the attraction between them is stronger than ever. But the past is rapidly catching up to this beautiful free-spirited woman. Will Scott’s unconditional love be enough to save Summer? Or will this be another war that Scott has no chance of winning?

Format(s) for review: Kindle Only

Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 390

Word Count: 112800