Book Reviews

Title: The Consummate Traitor
Author: Bonnie Toews
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1461015383

Historical Fiction: World War II spy story. One woman betrayed, the other sacrificed in a chain reaction of double crosses that alters the outcome of World War II. Loyalty betrayed... love lost... secrets buried... inhumanity at its worst. Is forgiveness possible in the turmoil of such tragedy? On the eve of World War II, American journalist Lee Talbot witnesses Hitler’s experiment in “total war,” the carpet bombing of Guernica in northern Spain. It’s a preview of the horrors Nazi Germany will unleash if Hitler’s nuclear labs develop the atomic bomb first. Lee joins Churchill’s secret operation to sabotage Hitler’s project, but ends up babysitting the king of England’s cousin, Lady Grace Talbot, a gifted pianist who fancies herself in love with an SS officer. When Lady Grace’s parents die in a London bombing, she joins Lee’s team as a ‘pianist,’ transmitting coded messages to British covert missions in Nazi-held territory. Soon, both women learn that, in the secret world of spies, they can trust no one. In a tale rich with historical detail, what happens to these two women exposes a secret England wants buried forever. REVIEWS “Riveting . . .” Gayle Lynds, NY Times best-selling author of Book of Spies “Compelling, disturbing and brutally honest . . .” Vicki Hinze, award-winning author of Acts of Honor and Deadly Ties “Historical fiction at its best.” Robert Gandt, best-selling author of the Brad Maxwell military thrillers “A concise, fast-paced twister . . . must reading for fans of spy fiction.” Harriet Klausner, Midwest Books reviewer. “The reader will discover that there is no greater love than for a man, or woman, to lay his or her life down for a friend.” Rita Gerlach, author of the Historical Romance Surrender the Wind. “In The Consummate Traitor, Bonnie Toews delivers an edgy, espionage thriller in a beautiful story that haunts the reader long after the book is closed. ” Laurie Foston, author of The Magi Chronicles and Just in Time for You. “In this brilliant novel, Bonnie Toews explores the spy world’s murky twists and cunning treachery. Although there is plenty of intellectual intrigue, Toews doesn’t forget the spiritual nature of her characters.” J. Carson Black, author of The Shop, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The Dark Horse.

Title: AMERICA REBORN: Book Three of the Clash-of-Civilizations Trilogy
Author: Lee and Vista Boyland
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1601459122

President Alexander begins the process of electing a new U.S. Government. But first he must take the nation back to its Constitutional roots. He recommends forming new political parties and establishing term limits. Political opponents plot to thwart his plans. The story begins with the destruction of the heart of the Islamic Empire, Operation Brimstone, followed by the invasion of Egypt, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. A British Royal becomes a hero. Women Army Rangers battle the Mutaween in Saudi Arabia and rescue twelve-year-old Julie Summers from being stoned and she steals Americans' hearts. Drug cartels are destabilizing Mexico and expand across the border. Political intrigue, treason, military battles, patriotism, love of God and country--the final novel of the trilogy describes America's rebirth into a world forever changed by events following the terrorists' sneak nuclear attack.

Title: A Forgotten Soldier: The Life and Times of MG Harry Hill Bandholtz
Author: Patrick V. Garland
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
Reviewer: Buddy Cox

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0741451891

A Forgotten Soldier is the life story of a career soldier who gave 37 years to his country. Thrust into a variety of challenging situations, he performed magnificently, but his rewards were not always forthcoming. This humble man achieved much, consorted with heads of state and royalty, but after his death the country he served well turned its back on him. Today foreign governments remember him more.

Title: Wounded, A Novel Beyond Love and War
Author: Richard Gaines Graham
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Reviewer: Lee Boyland

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0982806361

History teaches that when incompatible visions of the world collide, young men die. For the generation that fought in Vietnam many did die, and many more were wounded—some physically, some emotionally, some even romantically. The combat scenes in Wounded are vivid and ugly; some show heroism, but they do not glorify armed conflict. On the other hand, war can reveal the human imperative to endure under life-threatening conditions. Such moments demand a counterpoint, a personal connection, and when survival is in the balance, human love triumphs. Some look back at that tumultuous time with sadness, some with pride, and some, still, in anger. But we are all compelled to look back.

Long Binh, Republic of Vietnam, 1970, Lieutenant Alexander Marwick, unlike his friends attached to combat units, is mired in a backwater of the Vietnam War, serving as an aide-de-camp to an irascible general and salvaging his self-esteem following a failed romance with Cléo, an American Red Cross volunteer. His eagerly anticipated return to the States is interrupted by the arrival of his stepfather, a powerful U.S. senator who comes to Vietnam with an assignment—a clandestine diplomatic mission to find the elusive Le Van Duc, a mysterious and immensely wealthy Vietnamese veteran with contacts in the North Vietnamese Politburo. Finding and then convincing Duc to relay a secret peace proposal is the most audacious of the U. S. government’s efforts to orchestrate an end to the war in Vietnam.

Marwick reluctantly accepts the assignment, which takes him to Duc’s lavish hidden residence near the Golden Triangle in eastern Burma, to the back alleys of Bangkok, to a reunion with Khanh, Duc’s exotic daughter—an intimate friend from Marwick’s college days in Paris—to a monastery in communist-infested Cambodia, and finally to the British hill station of Darjeeling, India.

Once a naive, frivolous junior army officer, Marwick becomes an adroit and resourceful player in a high-stakes and perilous game of international intrigue. In the course of his mission his honor and courage are put to an even more demanding test when he discovers that he is the father of a child.

Twenty-two years later, at this child’s college graduation, a reconciliation takes place, and the drama that was Vietnam is finally laid to rest.

Twelve years in the making and loosely based on the author’s eighteen months in Vietnam and Southeast Asia in 1969−1970, this coming-of-age adventure story unfolds amidst tense scenes of war, personal tragedy, and a turbulent love affair.

Title: Tracks: Memoirs of a Vietnam Veteran
Author: Clyde Hoch
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Reviewer: Bob Doerr

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0615396577

This book is a remarkable account of a piece of American history that is rarely talked about: My name is Sergeant Clyde Hoch of C Company, First Tank Battalion, First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. I served in Vietnam from February of 1968 to April of 1969. When I was eighteen, I had a fast, hard lesson on how to become a man. It is called the United States Marine Corps. My life, like all of our lives, has been a series of trials and tribulations, triumphs and failure. We have many memories, thoughts, and stories that make up our history. This is a part of my history.