Post Great War Mysteries
BY ALEXANDER C JUDEN
A Shiver of COMFORT
by Alexander C. Juden
A Post GREAT war MYSTERY FROM THE WORLD OF JOHN GRIFFIN
London, September 1920. Nearly two years after the Armistice, Britain is still haunted by its dead. Some return to the continent to search the battlefields for those who never returned. Others seek them through mediums and séances, and many try to escape their memories in London's glittering, often debauched, nightlife.
Hackworth, a veteran of the war and the butler to a small Mayfair household, believes such torments are best borne in silence. But when his niece, Mary Fielding, becomes convinced that the spirit of her husband—missing since a night bombing raid over Lorraine in 1918—will lead her to his grave, Hackworth reluctantly agrees to accompany her across the Channel. His American employer, William Mitchell, joins them, hoping to outrun his own heartbreak that no amount of late-night revelry has managed to dull.
Before they leave for France, a young woman is murdered in Mayfair, and by the time they return from France, another has died. With the investigation stalled, Scotland Yard turns to Mitchell, whose acquaintance with both the dead women and London's nocturnal world gives him access to people the police cannot reach and secrets they cannot uncover. As Mitchell and Hackworth seek the truth in the city's clubs, pubs and back alleys, they discover that for many, the wounds of the war remain open. As more victims surface, Hackworth begins to suspect that the murders are rooted not in madness but in wounds left by a war that continues to claim the innocent.
John Griffin Mystery Series
BY ALEXANDER C JUDEN
REd Tiger Hunting by Alexander C. Juden
John Griffin Post Great War Mysteries Book 1
“Griffin, I beg you. Go to Europe and find my daughter. I’ll give you any damn thing you want. I’ve got a bad feeling about waiting…”
April 1919. Scarred and disillusioned, John Griffin has returned home from the Great War with no job and no real prospects. He is contacted by Harry Armistan, a very worried father and a rich New York City financier. While on her honeymoon, Harry’s daughter disappeared from her London hotel. Armistan enlists Griffin to find her after receiving a recommendation from Griffin’s former marine commander. With nothing better to do and against his better judgment, Griffin agrees. He returns to England and his haunted past. There, his only lead is the missing girl’s widowed sister-in-law. Intrigued by the young widow, violence and mystery follow.
The clues lead him to Paris, a city just beginning to recover from four long years of war. He encounters a host of diverse characters reveling in the war’s end, while still mourning their losses. With the help of this unlikely group, Griffin narrows his search. But as he closes on his quarry, he stumbles upon a terrible plot, which threatens to shatter the world’s chance for peace.
Red Tiger Hunting Reviews
Juden’s historical thriller transports the reader back in time and gives a convincing account of the postwar experience at home and abroad.…the century-old settings are both familiar and sleek, and the characters (including real historical figures, such as war hero and jazz musician Eugene Bullard) are mysterious enough to keep the action scenes interesting.
A rousing adventure in jazzy post–WWI Europe.
~Kirkus
IndieReader Review - 4.5 Stars!
… a hard-boiled noir reminiscent of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Jim Thompson.…the book is also a fast-paced action thriller that still finds moments to contemplate deeper topics, like the political machines and businesses that profit from war and the terrible price of taking another human’s life. In RED TIGER HUNTING, author Alexander C. Juden has crafted a slick, action-packed page-turner that still finds time to ruminate on deeper questions of justice, nationalism, and the nature of war.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader
In Red Tiger Hunting, the protagonist John Griffin is a war-weary man who never stops fighting. The apocalyptic nightmare that was the first world war is near its official end but is still too close for John, his friends, and his associates. The shell shock felt by the veterans is palpable in many of their interactions with others. Juden adeptly conveys the emotional wounds of the veterans as well as the bonds formed between enlisted men in this engaging narrative.…an excellent historical fiction novel and layered it with intense drama and mystery. Red Tiger Hunting is an absorbing read that will appeal to history lovers as well as those desiring a page-turning yarn. It is deft and balanced.”
~Philip Zozzaro, The Book Commentary
Crossing Darkenss by Alexander C. Juden
John Griffin Post Great War Mysteries Book 2
“…the continuation of peace is no sure thing. It sits on a knife’s edge, and a nudge could send the world tumbling back to war. Help the French. Convince them we are with them because we need this peace to last. Hell, the whole world needs it.”
June 1919. The Treaty of Versailles is nearly complete, and the Bolshevik plot to prevent it was successfully thwarted, but the cost to Griffin was high. Physically wounded and emotionally shattered, he finds that he is trapped by the lies he told the French authorities when saving the very peace that may now cost him everything. Paired with an enigmatic French spy masquerading as his wife, Griffin travels into the heart of a defeated but dangerous Germany. He realizes he is a pawn in a murderous and complicated game that leaves him fighting for his life. He must find a way to escape Germany and the plots that threaten to kill him, while embarking on a quest that his own confused nature has created. As he scrambles to survive, he learns that, sometimes, survival isn’t worth the price demanded.
Crossing Darkness Reviews
IndieReader Review - 4.8 Stars
”Crossing Darkness has a cinematic flair that imbues its scenes with life, from vivid settings—such as Paris and Berlin—to snappy dialogue that is reminiscent of a fast-paced action thriller.”
The Book Commentary - 5 stars
”The intelligently crafted narrative melds political intrigue, espionage, and the personal struggles of a wounded soldier against the backdrop of a tumultuous post-war Germany.”
Stalking Ghosts by Alexander C. Juden
John Griffin Post Great War Mysteries Book 3
“I just need a trusted messenger,” Winston Churchill said to me. “President Wilson and Senator Lodge know me and have some small respect for me. They will listen. They must. The ties between the recent terrorist attacks and the current massive labor strikes are undeniable evidence of the workings of Bolshevism in the United States. These are not the arbitrary, isolated events directed by a few uneducated immigrant anarchists. These are coordinated efforts promoted and guided by Moscow.”
September 1919. All combatants of the Great War, save Russia, have signed the Treaty of Versailles formally ending more than four years of slaughter. In Russia, civil war continues to rage, and the government in Great Britain sees a Red revolution as a very real threat to the world order. In the United States, the past four months have brought riots, strikes, and bombings. Against this uncertain backdrop, the world must hold its collective breath while it waits for President Wilson to overcome the opposition of isolationist American senators in order to win ratification for the treaty he promises will end all wars.
While traveling to Washington at the request of the British, John Griffin, Great War veteran and agent for Wilson and Colonel House, encounters a German plot to undermine Wilson’s efforts. He also learns, to his horror, that he is the key for the success of their plan. Pursued by enemies, real and imagined, and battling the demons inside his head, Griffin strives to escape his role in the scheme while protecting his friends and family. Betrayal hounds his efforts and, ultimately, upends much that he had come to believe.
Stalking Ghosts Reviews
“An engaging and action-filled mystery, Alexander C. Juden’s Stalking Ghosts believably and vividly portrays the complicated mind of a man struggling with trauma while keeping the reader in suspense until the final resolution.”
The Book Commentary - 5 stars
“It is cleverly plotted and features stellar storytelling with emotionally rich scenes, a protagonist whose psyche is finely drawn, a phenomenal conflict, and an immersive historical setting. This novel scores winning points at multiple level, but the genuinely flawed and unforgettable protagonist will win readers’ hearts.”
Quieting The storm by Alexander C. Juden
John Griffin Post Great War Mysteries Book 4
“I sat on the couch with my forearms on my knees and my fingers interlaced and considered the meaning of what I’d discovered in the steamer trunk. The trunk had traveled with me from France. I’d seen the stevedores in Cherbourg carry it up the gangway to be stowed in the hold of the SS Lapland. When I’d opened it, I had expected the smell of the Cosmoline grease protecting the layered weapons packed inside. I had not expected the smell of perfume. It was slight and didn’t belong in a chest full of weapons, but then neither did the body. Beneath the packing blanket and on top of the paper and grease-wrapped gun parts was the corpse of a young woman.”
John Griffin, a disfigured and disturbed veteran of the Great War, has returned to New York City to rescue his unlikely friend, Patricia Kingsbury, from her estranged father, Harry Armistan. However, his quest to save Patricia is immediately derailed by the sinister appearance of the body of a young woman in his steamer trunk. Convinced the girl’s death is somehow connected to Patricia and her father, Griffin seeks the girl’s killer. He soon finds himself wanted by the police and hunted by unknown assassins. When Patricia disappears, Griffin embarks upon a violent quest to find her. His search brings him from Wall Street to Long Island and beyond. He is forced to confront his own dark nature, and, ultimately, evils that are beyond even his imagining.
Quieting The Storm Reviews
IndieReader Review - 4.5 Stars
“It’s full of historical detail but never dry; aggressive and deadly but never overly gory; dangerous and morally grey but never cruel for cruelty’s sake. Noir fans will warm to this story immediately, and fans of early 20th century history will love getting lost in the story’s world.”
The Book Commentary - 5 out of 5 Stars
“… the best I have read this year on sleuthing, packed with action, and the tension builds in intensity from page to page….a crime thriller with an unpredictable plot; it is as propulsive as it can get.”
Alex Juden is the author of the John Griffin Post Great War Mysteries Series, which includes four books: Red Tiger Hunting, Crossing Darkness, Stalking Ghosts, and Quieting the Storm. He lives with his wife in Houston, Texas. Prior to writing, he enjoyed a variety of jobs, including naval aviator, trial lawyer, and public company general counsel. Alex now has a small farm in Texas where raccoons continue to eat the grapes but have had the courtesy to invite the possums. They missed the plums this year but will no doubt find them next year.
He studied history and political science at Rice University.
Alexander C. Juden
www.instagram.com/alexandercjuden
