War Paint

by Brian Lehman

WAR PAINT is a quirky thriller and a naval warfare story like no other from the Vietnam War. It is April 1972 and the fading war has suddenly reawakened with the Easter Offensive, a massive invasion by North Vietnam into South Vietnam. United States troop strength in the war has fallen to new lows and twenty-year-old surfer Jeffs Ryder is a new member of the crew of a destroyer known as the Rat at the very time that the United States Navy has become the tip of the spear in repelling this aggression. He and his fiancée Cathy’s lives are turned upside down as his ship and many others are sent to the war. Unknown to Jeffs and the crew of the destroyer, their most dangerous enemy is not the one they expect. A secret group committed to the destruction of the ship, and an unbalanced navy fleet commander have joined forces in a conspiracy to send the Rat on a perilous mission and a confrontation with patrol boats carrying ship killing missiles.

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 6, 2019

About the author

Brian Lehman, besides working on several novels, has had a variety of life experiences. As a teenager and later he worked in the family liquor store where he learned to deal with an endless stream of interesting situations and people. After a couple years of college he spent four years in the United States Navy working in communications on three different ships. One of those was a destroyer where he became a Vietnam Veteran. Serving on that warship as well as the other ships and duties he took part in contributed to the inspiration and authenticity of his storytelling for WAR PAINT. After his time in the navy he finished college, earned his bachelor's and master's degree, and spent 32 years teaching elementary school. There he discovered that his experience dealing with liquor store customers and the navy bureaucracy turned out to be more useful that you might think.

Parts of FINDERS TAKERS is based on some of his life experiences as well. Readers might be interested to know that the parts of the book that are set in Bakersfield, California are lifted directly from the neighborhood where he grew up in Fresno, California. "I took that neighborhood, street names and all, and set it down in Bakersfield. I needed it to be closer to Las Vegas and Los Angeles."

And, on top of everything else, he says he's a decent cook, but he doesn't practice guitar very much because he's busy writing his next novel which might be published by the end of the year or just into next year..

Reviews

[Paul J. Petersen]

Interesting story but seriously fictional

Interesting in its venue but the back story is very fictionalized. I felt that staged chapters developed the plot but weighted down the book.

[David Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiction, of course. As real as it can be.

He captures the mundane and the terror that could occupy the same day. This is a very well written account of the common mans experience in Vietnam. He writes a real places and events and blends in a good yarn as well.

[Dava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the characters in this book!

This is a great read, both from a historical perspective and for the well-developed and fleshed out characters. Hang on to your hats for the battle finale! My heart was racing - literally!

[Ronnie Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Enjoyed it very much. As a former tin can Sailor it brought back many memories. I recommend this book to everyone.