Dear Billie: A World War II Love Story by Karen Lundy

 Hello, Billie,

    I hope you won't be too surprised hearing from me. When I came down to Union Station Sunday night, I met Jean Wilcox there. She told me about you and gave me your address. So here I am. I hope you will not mind me writing to you. By the way, Jean is coming up Sunday. How about you coming with her? I would certainly like to meet you. Jean said you were a very nice girl. 

    I guess I will have to sign off here. The lights go out in a few minutes. Cheerio for now.

                                                                                                   Vern Ploughman

Dear Billie: A World War II Love Story is an autobiographical piece of non fiction based on the full text of a series of 92 love letters written by the father of author Karen Lundy. Roland "Vern" Ploughman of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland was just a 19 year old trooper in the 23rd Armoured Regiment when a friend of a friend, 17 year old Lillian Alice Wenman a.k.a. "Billie", became the object of his affection. Though they had never met, Vern was training to be deployed for active duty, when he had become smitten over all the good things he had heard about the blue-eyed brunette that hailed from Ontario, Canada. Having the chance opportunity to meet twice before being shipped overseas, many more letters would follow detailing the young tank gunner's experience of training, combat, being wounded in Normandy, and eventually returning home. As the letters progressed, and the young couple navigate a long distance relationship complicated by war, their love for one another flourishes and Vern returns to his sweetheart to be married in 1945. 

Poignantly written, daughter Karen Lundy presents the beautiful saga of two young teenagers separated by an ocean and a war. In and of itself, the story is mesmerizing but knowing that the author is presenting the love story of her parents is even more beautiful, and somewhat haunting. Having discovered the stacks of photos and letters amongst her parent's possessions after Billie's passing in 2019, Lundy suddenly realized the gift she had been entrusted when she began to transcribe her father's letters for her family. Her eyes, and indeed those of the readers of this wonderful story, were opened to the possibility that these two remarkable people were more than just her parents; they were two youngsters looking for love, finding solace in the written word as they exchanged intimate details of their hopes, dreams, and fears. The exceptional research and information gathered by Lundy in writing this book helps to piece together and make sense of the young soldier's fight for survival and realistic outlook. It also serves as a historical record of one man's account of that horrible time in history. Lundy captures and brings to life two wartime lives that may well have been lost had Vern's letter's not survived.

Dear Billie: A World War II Love Story is a story of love and loss, fighting and survival. Armchair historians and those who enjoy a great wartime love story would appreciate this well documented and excellently researched narrative. Dear Billie: A World War II Love Story is a Flanker Press publication. 

Tell Aunt Gert that I wrote to her a few days ago. And thank her for asking if there is anything I need. Tell her not to send me anything. I don't mean to be rude, but there is really nothing that I want. There's one that I would like to have though and that's you. I guess it would be impossible to send you over here to me though. I sure wish she could though. Do you know, darling, it's a year since I saw you last. It seems like a lifetime. I can remember when I saw you last, too. It was at Union Station.   

 

 

Operation Masonic by Helen C. Escott

The fifth novel in the Operation series, Operation Masonic by Helen C. Escott is another crime thriller that delivers!  Mortimer Williams, the Freemason's Grand Master, is found murdered on a stormy November night in a downtown theatre company building recently purchased from the secretive Freemasons Society. When Inspector Nicholas Myra of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary shows up to survey the crime scene, questions begin to swirl. Why is the victim dressed in full Freemason regalia, laid out in a secret room known as the Chamber of Reflection? What does a cryptic note, written in Latin and left next to the corpse, say? Are the three tools found close to the body part of some sort of sacrificial ceremony? Little does Myra know that he is about to embark upon a murder investigation that will take him through thousands of years of history and symbolism, uncovering secrets and scandals rooted in rumour with elements of truth. 

A page turning thriller that you won't be able to put down, Escott does a superb job at weaving fact and fiction through this Newfoundland style Da Vinci Code mystery. The cast of characters are both familiar and new to readers of the Operation series. Inspector Nicholas Myra, who we've come to both respect and love in previous narratives, opens up and the reader becomes intimately aware of his struggles with PTSD.  And if we don't already know that police officers are human too, enter Constable Donna Whiffen. New to the Major Crimes Unit, and a cracker jack cop, Whiffen reminds readers that maintaining a work life balance with a child of autism is challenging for anyone. These subplots help to keep the story interesting and the reader grounded in reality.

 Surrounding the murder mystery is a unique closely knit group of characters who all seemingly have a motive for wanting Morty dead. From Morty's domineering wife, to his estranged brother, his oddball neighbours, and local church historian, Operation Masonic is a classic who-done-it that will keep you guessing to the end. Perhaps the biggest secret is the one held by Morty but all is revealed in the end and the charitable businessman who met with an untimely passing is able to finally rest in peace. 

Operation Masonic by Helen C. Escott is a tightly woven crime thriller that is well researched and intriguing. Readers will delight in the mystery but long after the book ends one question will remain; Are the Freemasons a secret society or just a society with secrets? Operation Masonic is a Flanker Press publication.