With a second serial killer case under her belt, Deputy Kate Holland is finally making headway with her PTSD. But when skeletal remains are unearthed on a sandbar amid the Arkansas River, Kate’s world is rocked again.
The decaying bones belong to a soldier once attached to a nearby National Guard unit, and their DNA links to an unsolved missing person’s investigation headed up by the very cop who spent his life undermining Kate’s personal and professional confidence.
The more Kate digs into the murdered soldier’s life, the more connections she discovers between the victim, an old family friend…and her own father.
Other bodies have begun to turn up as well, and these new murders appear to be connected to the original soldier’s death—and a sinister plot years in the making.
Will the clues her father missed all those years ago lead to the deaths of every current officer on the Braxton police force—including Kate’s?
BENEATH THE BONES: A Kate Holland Psychological Suspense (A Hidden Valley Military Veteran/K-9 Mystery Book #3) is another fantastically addictive addition to the Hidden Valley Military series featuring veteran and smalltown deputy Kate Holland and her K-9 companion Ruger. I start one of these books and I cannot put them down! I do recommend reading them in order due to Kate’s personal and psychological journey.
Deputy Kate Holland is making headway with her treatment of her PTSD and Ruger is almost done with his training to get his K-9 certification. When bones are discovered in a sandbar near the river, they are identified as a veteran from a cold case missing person’s case handled by her dead father.
As Kate begins investigating, she finds disturbing connections to an old family friend and while she does not want to believe it, he offers a confession to the cold case murder. A current murder is discovered as she goes to question a veteran tied to the same group of veterans that have ties to the old bones. A planned conspiracy is beginning to be uncovered that could kill many innocent people unless Kate discovers the plan and location of lethal munitions filled with a deadly biological gas.
I love this series! Kate is a flawed protagonist that has gone through hell, survived terrible physical disfigurement and mental trauma, but is finally getting the help she needs. Her ability to solve her previous serial killer cases demonstrated her grit and determination, but now with her continued healing and the emotional support of her K-9, Ruger, and the start of a relationship with fellow deputy, Arash, Kate is even more realistic, relatable, and believable. I am so excited to follow this relationship in future books. The suspense of the conspiracy plot was high with so many threads to connect, twists, and surprises throughout.
I cannot recommend this book and series enough! Once you open one of these books, you will not be able to stop reading.
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About the Author
A former US Navy Lt., Candace Irving is the daughter of a librarian and a retired boatswain’s mate chief. Candace grew up in the Philippines, Germany, and all over the United States. Her senior year of high school, she enlisted in the US Army. Following basic training, she transferred to the Navy’s ROTC program at the University of Texas-Austin. While at UT, she spent a summer in Washington, DC, as a Congressional Intern. She also worked security for the UT Police. BA in Political Science in hand, Candace was commissioned as an ensign in the US Navy and sent to Surface Warfare Officer’s School to learn to drive warships. From there, she followed her father to sea.
Candace Irving writes gritty military thrillers. She is the author of the Deception Point Military Detective Thriller Series and the Hidden Valor Military Veterans/K9 Psychological Suspense Series. She also writes military romance and romantic suspense as Candace Irvin (without the “g”).
It starts with the destruction of a US Coast Guard cutter and the loss of her entire crew. But the USCG Claiborne was on an innocuous mission to open a sea lane between an oil field off the coast of South America and the refineries of southern Louisiana. The destruction of the ship, tragic as it is, won’t stop that mission from continuing.
So who would sacrifice twenty-two men and women just to slow down the plan? That’s the question plaguing Jack Ryan Jr. He’s in Guyana to work a deal to get his company, Hendley Associates, in on the ground floor of this new discovery, but Russia’s Wagner Group and a pack of Venezuelan narco-terrorists have other ideas—and will risk war with the United States to see them through. It’s up to Jack to identify the killers before they draw a bead on him, but how can he do that when the line of demarcation between friend and foe is constantly shifting?
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Elise’s Thoughts
Tom Clancy Line of Demarcation by M. P. Woodward brings back Jack Ryan Jr. There is not just one plot, but three subplots that come together making for a riveting storyline.
The book opens with the destruction of a US Coast Guard cutter and the loss of her 22-member crew. The USCG Claiborne was on an innocuous mission to open a sea lane between an oil field off the coast of South America and the refineries of southern Louisiana. The question is who was responsible for the killings?
Meanwhile, Jack Ryan Jr. is in Guyana trying to get his export license for his oil company Hendley Associates, working undercover as the CEO of Athena Global Shipping Lines. That area of the world is already plagued with corruption and deceit, which proves to increase the burden on those conducting above board business. Jack is lunching with Guyana’s minister of the interior and attorney general when he’s caught in a sudden crossfire. He escapes, but the two officials are killed. The other plotlines are triggered after the attack where separate teams of the Campus, a covert government organization, is now tasked with fighting a Russia-backed Guyanese coup and rescuing Campus operator Domingo “Ding” Chavez, who’s deep undercover with a drug gang.
Per usual, in a Clancy novel, the action and ending are explosive. A bonus is that in the beginning of the book there was a list of characters broken up by American, Russian, Guyanese and Venezuelan along with a 1-to-2-line description.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?
M. P. Woodward: In looking around the world at global flash points Russia uses energy as a source to yield power, leverage, and geopolitical tensions. I also saw that there is a real-world territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana with a region very rich in oil. I then thought of a plot line where the Russians and Venezuelans team up to snatch this area away much like the Russians did in Ukraine.
EC: I was wondering how you came to write about that scene early in the book where readers will root for characters, they know very little about?
MPW: It was a prologue which I consider mini novels. Readers are usually left with something that is going to happen. I visited a Coast Guard station and have a son in it where I realized they are the unsung heroes. I wanted to give a shout out to those who maintain waterways. I brought a crew like that into real danger and let it be the spark that lit the fire.
EC: What about crossover with Andrews and Wilson who write the other Clancy series?
MPW: The very nature of both series means they crossover. We have the same editor who makes sure we are on the same page. We do not really collaborate on the plots, but we are aware of each other’s storylines.
EC: What is real in the book?
MPW: Hydrocarbon reserves are what the Russians wanted and what makes Guyan strategically important. The Zircon missile is the Russian hypersonic missile. The SUDS Machine is based on service drones. There are initiatives out there for hydrogen service drones. In this book I had them as a hybrid with actual warriors on them, but they can also be remote control like a loyal dog and return to where they are supposed to be. They are a lot like a jet ski.
EC: What about Lisanne Robetson?
MPW: When I took over the series she had been recruited into the Campus. Jack Ryan Jr. and her fell in love and is now his fiancé. She has a job within the Campus as its logistic coordinator and manages some intelligence feeds, so there is a bridge between the emotions of the couple and the realities of the mission. She has quiet strength.
EC: What about Master Chief Kendrick Moore?
MPW: He was introduced in Shadow State. His backstory is still developing but he is damaged goods after getting a dishonorable discharge. He was angry and on a wayward path. Clark brought him into the Campus as a protege and is now formalized there. He is the foot in the door for Clark with the Naval Special Warfare Community. In this story he is a great part of it because much of the action takes place in the water.
EC: The next books?
MPW: The Clancy book is out in September, and it titled Terminal Velocity. It does not focus on the Russians. CRINK make up many bad guys, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea with less formal enemies like drug cartels and terrorists. I enjoy writing where a national enemy uses more of a shadow enemy.
EC: Rumor has it that you had a crystal ball while writing Terminal Velocity?
MPW: The plot is about the flash point of India and Kashmir which has been in the news lately. The scenario is almost exactly what happened now. A terrorist unit hits the Indians who accuse Pakistan of sheltering them. Tensions climb.
EC: Any other books besides Clancy?
MPW: Another book coming out in September titled Red Tide. It is a military fiction where China blockades Taiwan with tensions on the high seas. There is a battle like Midway with real naval tactics.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
When Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter Iris are locked out of their house by the FBI and—what’s potentially even worse—thrust into the spotlight of @JuniperShoresSocialite, the town’s snarky anonymous Instagram account. Cut off from her bank accounts and feeling desperate, Charlotte takes up an acquaintance’s offer to stay at a beachfront former bed-and-breakfast that’s home to a community of single mothers and draws plenty of gossip in the small coastal North Carolina town.
Charlotte and Iris find solace and are surprised by how much fun they’re having with the other families despite their circumstances. But when the women discover a secret link between them, it changes everything they thought they knew about the unconventional family they’ve created and leaves them wondering whether their coming together was a coincidence at all. Will the skeletons in the mommune closets help Charlotte and Iris reclaim their place in the Juniper Shores community—or shatter the sisterhood forever?
BEACH HOUSE RULES by Kristy Woodson Harvey is one of my favorite women’s fiction books so far this year. It is a small-town southern women’s fiction book full of family, both the ones we are born into and those that we make, love, second chances, friendship, and a bit of a mystery. Set in a former bed-and-breakfast turned “mommune” in an affluent small North Carolina beach town, a community of women come together as their personal world’s turn upside down.
Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime and she and her daughter, Iris, are shut out of their home and have all their bank accounts frozen. Down to her last few dollars, the town’s alleged Black Widow offers her a place for herself and her daughter in the former beachfront bed-and-breakfast turned mommune. The single moms and their children are the source of gossip throughout their small community.
Charlotte and Iris, to their surprise, find a sense of comfort and community at the mommune with the other women and children. As Charlotte works to get back their old life and prove her husband’s innocence, she and Iris discover their coming together may not have been by accident after all and secrets could destroy the new group of friends.
This book is beautifully written and pulls you right into the lives, trials, and tribulations of the mommune. The characters could walk right off the page. I enjoyed looking at the situation from both the adult women’s fears and triumphs and the teenager’s way of dealing with all the adult drama and their own high school drama. The mystery of Charlotte’s husband’s guilt or innocence had me guessing throughout and surprised me at its resolution. The addition of the on-line @JuniperShoresSocialite interspersed posts added a fun bit of laughter as well as intrigue as we tried to figure out the identity of the anonymous author. I feel this should be the top summer read this year.
I highly recommend this small-town southern women’s fiction! This is the first book I have read by this author, but it definitely will not be the last.
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About the Author
Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of eleven novels including The Summer of Songbirds and The Peachtree Bluff Series. Many of her books have been optioned or are in development for television and film and have received numerous accolades, including Good Morning America’s Buzz Pick, Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Reads, Katie Couric’s Featured Books, and Joanna Garcia Swisher’s The Happy Place Read. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize.
A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism, her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Southern Living, Parade, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, and many more. She also holds a master’s in English, with a concentration in multicultural and transnational literature.
Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction with fellow New York Times Bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, and Patti Callahan Henry. She is also the co-founder of the interiors site Design Chic, with her mom, Beth Woodson.
She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband, son, and dog, Salt, where she is (always!) working on her next novel.
Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote beach in Western Australia—and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care—Rose is asked to help bring Lou home.
This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career—and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and while their multimillionaire grandfather is breathing down Blackwood’s neck, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.
Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a dark turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers—and Rose—and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?
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Elise’s Thoughts
When She Was Gone by Sara Foster brings to the forefront the unusual relationship between a mother and her daughter. This intertwined within a riveting mystery allows readers to understand the mother/daughter dynamics.
Former Detective Rose Campbell who now lives in London is notified that her estranged daughter, Lou, has disappeared from a remote Western Australian beach. They have not spoken in years because of how Lou’s father and stepmother spoke of Rose. Yet, now Rose’s ex, Henry, has called on her to help find their daughter who is suspected of kidnapping the two young children she is the au pair for. The missing baby and toddler are heirs to a high profile and wealthy Australian family, the Fishers. Rose is intent on finding her daughter and proving her innocence.
The detective assigned to the case, DSS Mal Blackwood, on the verge of retirement, is chosen because of his ability to solve some of the most intense and difficult investigations. At first, Rose and Blackwood appear at odds as to what really happened but that all changes when a disturbing piece of evidence is found on a nearby strip of beach, making it clear that they are caught in a race against time to bring Louisa and the children safely home.
This is a very suspenseful novel that readers will not want to put down with well-defined characters that they will either root for or hate.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Sara Foster: When She Was Gone came about because I wanted to write a story set in Western Australia, where I live with my family, and so I began dreaming up different thriller ideas. The remote beaches of the southwest are some of my favorite places, and I also like writing about characters with connections to both England and Australia (like me!). Once I had the au pair character of Louisa, and her estranged mother Rose, the rest of the story began to fall into place.
EC: Was the theme retribution, power, money?
SF: I think all the themes of retribution, power and money come into play at different times in When She Was Gone. Power and money are certainly deeply interconnected in this story. Money gives some characters the opportunity to act in ways that others simply cannot with those who don’t have money are much more limited in their choices.
EC: How would you describe the mystery in the story and what was its role?
SF: The central mystery of When She Was Gone is the disappearance of Louisa (Lou) and the children, and this thread runs right through the book. I hope the reader is absorbed in the thriller elements of the story and the way this event has repercussions for so many people
EC: Is domestic violence the center of the story?
SF: I don’t think of domestic violence as the singular center of the story but it’s certainly a core thematic element of the novel. I wanted to look at violence in all its forms. Latent as well as actualized – and to think about how violent tendencies develop when early signs aren’t addressed.
EC: Why this domestic violence book quote, “By the time a victim has been degraded, undermined, and attacked for years, they have lost all sense of control. They exist from one terrified moment to the next, sometimes for years, and reclaiming their lives is a messy, protracted process.”
SF: I think it’s all too easy to judge domestic violence victims without stepping into their shoes, whereas there are many reasons why it’s hard to leave an abusive relationship. I hope my story exposes the complexity and messiness of these scenarios and encourages empathy rather than judgement.
EC: How would you describe Rose?
SF: By the time we come to meet Rose in When She Was Gone, she has gone through a terrible period of grief and depression after a traumatic work event as a young police officer, which readers’ witness at the beginning of the book, leaving her with PTSD. However, she has come through this, rebuilt her career, and is in a much stronger place by the time she needs to search for her missing daughter Louisa.
EC: How would you describe Henry?
SF: Henry, Rose’s husband, has been emotionally abusive to Rose over the years, withholding access to Louisa, making life generally difficult for her, and always putting himself first. This changes when Louisa disappears just as his third wife has given birth to twins, meaning Henry is unable to fly to Australia himself, and must therefore appeal to Rose to help him. He is a bit of a classic, self-centered, and narcissist.
EC: How would you describe Louisa?
SF: We don’t get to see much of Louisa directly in the story, only briefly at the beginning before she disappears with the children, at which point she’s obviously unhappy with the way the Fishers treat her and parent their kids. However, once she’s gone, we can only learn about her
through secondary sources – her diary, her Instagram, and other people’s accounts. Through this we can see her strength and her vulnerabilities, and Rose must pray that Louisa is worldly enough to keep herself together in whatever situation she’s in.
EC: How would you describe the Fishers?
SF: The two young children who disappear with Louisa belong to a very wealthy family called the Fishers, who are used to getting their own way or using their considerable wealth to turn events to their favor. However, when these two very small Fisher children go missing, and no one has any idea what’s happened, for once money cannot buy the family out of this predicament, and they are forced to try to communicate with one another in different ways.
EC: Anything else you would like to add?
SF: I write weekly on Substack at The Resiient Author (for writers) and Story Matters (for readers).
EC: Next books?
SF: I’m working on another mystery thriller now with a few more puzzle elements to it, set in the Cotswolds in the UK, a place my grandparents lived for a while. I’m having a lot of fun refining the characters and plot, as I try to bring it all together.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
A modern-day homicide detective is working as an undertaker’s assistant in Victorian Scotland when a serial poisoner attacks the men of Edinburgh and leaves their widows under suspicion. Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid Catriona Mitchell—even though Mallory is in Catriona’s body—and Mallory is now officially an undertaker’s assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows… the latest of which is Gray’s oldest sister.
Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.
THE POISONER’S RING (A Rip in Time Book #2) by Kelley Armstrong is the second book in this historical mystery/time-travel romance mash-up featuring a modern-day female homicide detective who is sent back in time into the body of a Scottish Victorian house maid. These books, at least books one and two, I feel need to be read in order because the first book focuses more on all the character development, how they all interact, and the problems caused by the time-travel, while the second book is focused more on a historical murder mystery.
Mallory is still carrying out the role of house maid for Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister, Isla, while she really wants to be more of an assistant to Duncan who is an undertaker, who also moonlights as a medical examiner. Duncan becomes involved with a case of a supposed poisoning ring which soon includes his older sister when she is accused of poisoning her husband. Mallory, Isla, and Duncan all work together to investigate the murders to exonerate Duncan and Isla’s sister to save her from the hangman’s rope.
I enjoyed the first book, but I liked this one even more because the characters are more settled in their belief in Mallory’s time-travel and the focus was more on a very well-paced and plotted Victorian murder mystery. It kept me guessing until almost the end and was a satisfying solution. The characters make me keep coming back for more. While they follow the rules for their time in Scottish Victorian history, they are also educated and open minded not only to Mallery’s story, but also for their time. Ms. Armstrong brings in serious topics such as racism, varied sexual orientations, and extreme poverty and handles each with not only comparisons between Duncan’s Victorian feelings and beliefs, but also Mallory’s more modern understanding. The chemistry and dialogue between Duncan and Mallory lead to not only serious discussions, but also humorous moments. I am looking forward to following their partnership and relationship in future books.
I highly recommend this mash-up series with memorable characters and intriguing historical mysteries.
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About the Author
Kelley Armstrong believes experience is the best teacher, though she’s been told this shouldn’t apply to writing her murder scenes. To craft her books, she has studied aikido, archery and fencing. She sucks at all of them. She has also crawled through very shallow cave systems and climbed half a mountain before chickening out. She is however an expert coffee drinker and a true connoisseur of chocolate-chip cookies.
Below is an interview with two authors who served in the military. They discussed their books, one a novel, The Guilty Sleep by Baker, and the other a non-fiction, Nothing But Courage by Donovan, as well as what Memorial Day means to them and how they incorporated their experiences into their books.
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Book Description
Afghanistan vet Dexter Grant is broke, reeling from PTSD, and on the verge of divorce when he’s approached by his old Army buddies to help rescue their former interpreter, the man who once saved Dex’s life. It means ripping off a vicious queenpin’s drug proceeds—but not to worry, they have it all worked out. And if anyone can pull it off, it’s Dex’s former team lead, Staff Sergeant Saenz.
Tempted by an easy score that could make his own problems disappear and imbued with new purpose, Dex agrees to play his part in the scheme. But just as in combat, the best-laid plans don’t survive first contact with the enemy. When the heist goes off the rails, his wife and daughter become targets for bloody revenge. Dex must face down his spiraling inner darkness and call on all his strength and training to save his girls. In his quest, he’ll learn there was much more to this heist than he ever imagined.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Guilty Sleep by Jeremy D. Baker is a riveting novel. Although this book reflects on Baker’s past experiences, both professional, militarily, and personally, the story itself is a suspenseful mystery. The plot has the hero, Dexter, asked by his old army buddies to commit a crime to save the life of their former interpreter. Also, as part of the story, Dexter’s daughter has the same eye disease Strabismus, as the author’s daughter (essentially Lazy Eye), which costs tens of thousands of dollars to fix. He has no health insurance because he was kicked out of the military. He decides to go along with the heist to get the money for his daughter’s surgery. Dex is not a Rambo-type but is trying to do the right thing to make himself better to overcome PTSD. The book is about Dex coming back from war with his life falling apart and he decides to do something to make his life relevant again. After the heist goes off the rails, his wife and daughter become targets for bloody revenge, in which Dexter is determined to save.
***
Book Description
In June 1944, German and American forces converged on an insignificant bridge a few miles inland from the invasion beaches. If taken by the Nazis, the bridge might have gone down in history as the reason the Allies failed on D-Day.
The narrow road over it was each side’s conduit to victory. Continued Nazi control over the bridge near an old manoir known as La Fière—one of only two bridges in the region capable of supporting tanks and other heavy armor—would allow the Germans to reinforce their defenses at Utah Beach, one of the five landing areas chosen for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe. But because control of the bridge was also essential to moving U.S. troops inland and off the beach, it could not simply be destroyed: it had to be taken—and held—by the Allies.
This was part of the formidable mission of the 82nd Airborne, whose lightly armed but superbly trained troopers had dropped behind—and into—German lines five hours before the seaborne assault on Utah. While blocking enemy reinforcements, they had to seize and secure avenues of approach from the beaches to the interior of Normandy, including two bridges over the modest Merderet River and the key crossroads village of Sainte Mère Église. Failure would give Hitler enough time, and the opportunity, to build up the resources necessary to defeat the invasion and turn the tide for the Nazis. The village was taken early on D-Day, and the 82nd endured repeated attacks by much larger German forces. But the bridge at La Fière became a bloody three-day standoff against tanks and artillery that culminated in a near-suicidal charge across it and the narrow 500-yard causeway beyond—straight into the teeth of a fierce German defense ordered to hold it to the last man.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Nothing But Courage by James Donovan tells the dramatic story of the courageous paratroopers and glidermen of the 82nd Airborne. They risked their lives to seize and secure a small, centuries-old bridge in France that played a pivotal role in the success of D-Day.
The battle for La Fiere was crucial in the Normandy invasion and afterward was led by Matthew Ridgway and James Gavin, two of the most outstanding commanders in American military history. In June 1944, German and American forces converged on an insignificant bridge a few miles inland from the invasion beaches. If taken by the Nazis, the bridge might have gone down in history as the reason the Allies failed on D-Day. Continued Nazi control over the bridge would allow the Germans to reinforce their defenses at Utah Beach, with supporting tanks and other heavy armor. But the 82nd Airborne’s success helped the allies in defeating the Germans on the Normandy beach.
This is a riveting, brilliantly researched account of one of the most overlooked yet heroic actions of WWII.
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Jeremy D. Baker ————————— James Donovan
Author Interviews
Elise Cooper: Since Memorial Day is coming up what does it mean to you?
Jeremy Baker: Memorial Day, to me, means Remember. Remember the lives given in service of our nation. Remember those who sacrificed their all, who gave their last full measure of devotion, to something greater than themselves. Remember not only those who died in conflict, but those who died during times of peace, and those who died because of injuries–physical, psychological, emotional–that were received in times of war months or years before they died. Memorial Day, to me, means taking the time to honor all those we remember in these ways. It does not necessarily mean the day must be one of total, quiet, somber reflection. I’ve seen some people out there scolding their neighbors for having fun on the day, but in my mind, what could be a better remembrance and reflection of our values than using this sacred, special day for periods of enjoyment, family, community, and yes, even parties to kick off the summer season. Anyone who’s ever served will tell you that there are few things we service members enjoyed more than a good time with friends, a cold drink, and good food. I take absolutely no issue with anyone celebrating Memorial Day in the way they see fit, but I do hope everyone on the day will take at least a quick moment to think about those who gave their all for the rest of us. Every Memorial Day, I take a moment of reflection to think about those I served with who died, whether in combat, peacetime, or after leaving the military. I think about Carrie Ann, Josh, Dave, Brian, and Lee. The list grows over time, and even one name makes the list too long. I guarantee every veteran keeps a list like this in their mind. I’m honored to have served with these people, and their sacrifice, their battles, will not be forgotten.
James Donovan: Memorial Day is a time to reflect on those Americans who gave their lives to keep our country free. In writing this book I interviewed twelve men from the 82nd and thought what a great honor. By the time they made it back to England, after D-Day, they had 50% casualties: injured, missing, and dead. One company that originally had about 175 men returned with only 16 men. Memorial Day is not about the most recent war but about the past wars as well.
EC:Why the 82nd Airborne in the non-fiction book Nothing But Courage?
JD: It was a dream of mine to write a WWII book. The Airborne troops were considered elite Special Forces. Back then they did not really have Special Forces but had two elite parts of the Army, the Rangers and the Airborne. They were trained to a tee. They were given an assignment that lasted a week at the most and were sent back to regroup.
EC: What can you say about this mission?
JD: They were kept in the field for about 32 days. It was to seize and secure strategically important towns and bridges to keep German reinforcements out. Americans dropped two divisions of paratroopers behind the lines on Utah Beach on the French Coast. They were asked to take strategic towns, one of which was Ste-Mere-Eglise, that was controlled by the Germans. They also had to take two bridges to seal the Germans off from getting more men.
EC: Why were the gliders called in?
JD: They were sent in to take the La Fiere bridgehead on June 6th, 1944. They had to deal with the Germans who had machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank guns, basically well dug in. The paratrooper regiments were dropped all over because they lost their bearings. The
idea with glider troops of 20 to 30 men per glider was that they could jump out as a unit. For the most part it worked. After WWII they were not used because they used helicopters.
EC: Describe the leaders Ridgway and Gavin?
JD: General Matthew Ridgway was raised army, went to West Point. He was very inspiring and looked like a Roman Emperor. His deputy commander, Lt. General James Gavin, never went to high school, joined the army when he was 17, and went to West Point with an 8th grade education. He knew a lot about paratroopers. He led by example, very soft spoken. Ridgway was respected but Gavin was loved. These commanders were the first to jump out of the planes to lead their men, instead of how most generals acted, miles from the front. There was an extraordinary collection of men.
EC: Was it a success?
JD: Germans had flooded all these fields. They had to jump in the Swamp Land where dozens of men drowned. Yet, they got the job done because of the leadership, extraordinary training, and courage. After this, Airborne men proved that they could do an astonishing job.
EC: Does this story, The Guilty Sleep, have any reflection on your past service?
JB: I have been writing off and on for about twenty years. There is an awful lot of me and my military experience in this story. What I really wanted to do with this story is talk about the cost of fighting wars. I thought about this story in August of 2021 when the US was pulling out of Afghanistan. It was immediately overrun by the Taliban. As a military veteran who had served there, I had a lot of thoughts and feelings about it. I had a lot of conversations with other veterans about it. It made all the sense in the world to take all my thoughts and feelings about what happened there and put it all together in a novel that also dealt with family, camaraderie, and the cost of fighting wars on those who have fought.
EC: How did your military experience help you to write this?
JB: I was a counterintelligence agent in the army from 2000-2005, serving in Afghanistan. My team was assigned to support the Special Forces team, so we spent a lot of time chasing down the Taliban and Al Qaeda. In many ways there are elements in this story based on my personal experiences. The main character, Dex, is also a counterintelligence agent who was deployed there. He had the same training I did with many of the same experiences. He was impacted with combat induced PTSD that he developed during his deployment.
EC: Why the book quote, “The draw down in Afghanistan and the Taliban coming back is like nothing that happened even mattered. Like they died for nothing.” Please explain.
JB: I started writing this book in October 2021 and we pulled out of Afghanistan in August of 2021. I was watching it as a civilian and saw how our Afghan allies fled, and the Taliban took over our equipment. We were there for almost twenty years and so much of the blood and treasures died. I was struggling with what was it all for. There was a scene in the book where there was a veteran support group from Vietnam to Afghanistan. They talked about the Afghan pullout.
EC: How would you describe Dex, the hero?
JB: He is unraveling, a lost soul, sarcastic, a stand-up person, and a loving husband/father.
EC: Why give him PTSD?
JB: Some people who had one deployment like me struggle with PTSD and some people have many multiple deployments and do not seem to struggle with PTSD. Fighting wars and being in combat does have an impact on the human psyche. I found writing was my therapy.
EC: What was the character Dex struggling with?
JB: He had PTSD and struggled with depression, alcoholism, loss, and possibly losing his family. He screams, curses, has fury, some uncontrollable behavior, and sleep deprivation. I drew a lot of his PTSD experience from my own, especially the unexplainable flashes of rage along with the tossing and turning and unable to sleep. But like Dex I was a devoted husband and father. I put in this quote, “anger, booze, nightmares, symptoms, must be cut out like a tumor. And do it by helping people who need help.”
EC: Next book?
JB: I am working on sequel to the book. There will be some characters back. The working title is The Guilty Burn. There is no release date. Dex helps someone who gets into trouble and will do problem solving together.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
