Dead Lock

by B. David Warner

During WWII a tiny town in northern Michigan holds the key to Allied Victory. Reporter Kate Brennan narrowly avoids a mob hit and travels to Sault Ste. Marie to work for her uncle's newspaper. Investigating a murder, she runs headlong into a Nazi plot to destroy the Soo Locks and stop Allied war production cold.

238 pages, Nook

First published March 17, 2011

Reviews

[Jim Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

B. David Warner has written Dead Lock (Black Rose Writing, 2011), a novel set in 1943 during the middle of World War II. Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is located alongside the Soo Locks on the St. Mary’s River, the vital shipping line connecting Lake Superior with Lakes Michigan and Huron and to the lower Great Lakes. Kate Brennan, a widowed reporter for the fictional Detroit Times, survived the threat of a gunman out to stop her from reporting on the Detroit mob’s counterfeiting of gasoline rationing stamps. The killer captured her in her own home, but thanks partly to Kate’s bravery, a police sniper was able to kill the paid killer from across the street. Returning to work the next day, she reluctantly agreed to her editor’s request to take a month’s leave and travel to Sault Ste. Marie, where her uncle G.P. Brennan ran the Soo Morning News.

Leaving by car on June 17 for a trip which included a ferry ride across the Straits of Mackinac, Kate arrived two days later in the town where she spent her senior year of high school.
The threat she encountered looked real in 1943. Based at “New” Fort Brady, on high ground overlooking the St. Mary’s River and the Soo Locks, the Army was prepared for a German air raid. The planes would have to be shipped across the Atlantic on German submarines and assembled at an airfield yet to be created in northern Canada, but an assault could cripple the American war effort. The newly-completed MacArthur Lock would offer an important target on the day of its dedication, Sunday, July 11, 1943. Thousands would be on hand to witness the ceremony. Shortly after arriving, Kate went to work for her uncle at the Morning News. Over the weekend her best friend from her senior year at Soo High, Shirley Benoit, was murdered following her evening shift at a local bar. Kate is determined to learn why. Even if an attack from German warplanes now seemed unlikely, Kate’s new friend, the wealthy Scotty Banyon, may be too good to be true. In addition, certain others may not be what they seem. The author’s terse fast-paced style leads the reader through a series of twists, turns, and surprises to an unexpected but explosive climax.

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery. Based on a possible, real threat during WWII. Being from Michigan, I liked the local references and I had similar memories. Quick, short chapters made it a quick read.