“This Boy’s War,” “The Bitterroots,” “The Dead Girl in 2A” and more

“This Boy’s War,” “The Dead Girl in 2A” and more

“This Boy’s War” by Arnold Grossman (Logis Books)

What do you do if World War II is your fault?

“If it wasn’t for the Jews, there wouldn’t be a Hitler killing our boys over there,” a schoolmate taunts David Saperstein, a 13year-old Teaneck, N.J., boy. “It’s your fault, you know that, don’t you?”

As one of the few Jews living in Teaneck in the early 1940s, young Saperstein is discriminated against almost daily by teachers and students, especially by members of the Black Cat Gang, a bunch of rowdies who make his life hell. Maybe he is responsible for the war, and if that’s true, maybe he should do something about it, he thinks.

So Saperstein hatches a plan to stow away as a soldier on an Army ship headed for Europe and eventually Normandy. He succeeds in “This Boy’s War,” a gripping novel by Denver author Arnold Grossman. This is not just a tale of a young boy going to war but also a telling account of what life was like for a Jewish boy in a world filled with hatred and discrimination. Some of the incidents are based on Grossman’s own childhood in Teaneck. The account is filled with pathos, humor and irony. Saperstein’s best friend on board is another Jew — who happens to be black.

Saperstein is caught, of course, but he manages to evade his superior officers and land on Normandy, where he becomes an unlikely hero. The climbing skills he learned to evade the Black Cat Gang allow him to scale a Normandy cliff and confront the Germans.

The story is improbable, of course (although there were underage boys who managed to enlist during WWII), but it is believable. Saperstein is an endearing character, and his coming-of-age story is both funny and sobering.

“The Bitterroots” by C.J. Box (Minotaur Books) It looks like a slam-dunk for the prosecution. Blake Kleinsasser, scion of a powerful Montana ranch family, is accused of raping his teenage niece. The evidence includes the victim’s statement, Blake’s DNA on her underwear, his fingerprints on a glass found at the deserted house where the incident supposedly took place, even tire treads from his car.

Private investigator Cassie Dewell is disgusted with the suspect and doesn’t want to doublecheck the evidence. But she owes Blake’s attorney, so she takes off for the remote Montana town where the Kleinsasser ranch is located.

Of course, things aren’t quite what they appear to be in C.J. Box’s latest novel. Box, best known for his Joe Pickett books, brings his well-honed writing skills and his love of the Western landscape to this new series.

Cassie quickly discovers that the sheriff, his office and virtually everybody in town is in the pocket of the Kleinsasser clan. The patriarch, now drooling and wheelchair-bound, still rules the family, through son John Wayne and his brother Rand. As women, sister Cheyenne and mother Margaret are tolerated. None of them is to be trusted, Cassie realizes, after she is arrested and thrown into jail, allegedly for a DUI. Then her car is burned.

Meanwhile, back home, things are tense. Son Ben and Cassie’s mother, who cares for Ben since Cassie is a widow, are at odds with each other. While Cassie’s away, Ben and his strange new girlfriend are nearly killed by the driver of an 18-wheeler. That terrifies Cassie, since in a previous case, she was responsible for apprehending a serial killer who drove a semi.

These days, with that sensitivity thing going with publishers and readit may not be politically correct for Box to write from a woman’s point of view. Still, he pulls it off, and Cassie is bound to become as popular among Box fans as Joe Pickett.

by Carter Wilson (Poisoned Pen Press)

On a plane to Denver, Jake Buchannan strikes up a conversation with his seatmate, the woman in seat 2A. She’s familiar, but he can’t place her. That’s not surprising, however, because he has memory problems. She says he’s familiar, too. In fact, she feels so comfortable with him that she admits to him she is going to Aspen to kill herself. She spends most of the flight writing in a death journal.

Jake has his own problems, including a failing marriage and overriding guilt for a car accident that almost killed his daughter. A writer, he’s on his way to Denver to ghost-write a memoir for a man who’s agreed to pay him an outrageous sum of money. The man, it turns out, is a weirdo, and Jake has an almost uncontrollable desire to kill him. In fact, Jake has changed in both good and bad ways in the past few months, ever since he began participating in a program that requires him to take pills and to read a strange book of drawings. Turns out that Clara, the woman in 2A, is participating in the same medical study — which is no study at all, but an attempt to plumb the memories of just four people.

Dead Girl in 2A” is a somewhat unbelievable story that requires readers, especially in Colorado, to swallow hard. For instance, who can believe that there are the remains of a collection of buildings at the foot of Maroon Bells that nobody has come across in decades? Still, with its tangled plot and a couple of nasty villains, it’s a pretty good thriller. by

Bruce Holsinger (Riverhead Books)

What would you do if your smart child had a chance to attend a new school for gifted students? For parents in Crystal, Colo. (read: Boulder), the answer is everything: lie, cheat, turn on your best friend, whatever it takes.

Former Boulder resident Bruce Holsinger tells a story of four mothers, best friends since their children were babies, who are convinced their kids should be accepted in the new school for gifted scholars. Rose is an uptight scientist who uses her position to worm her way into the new principal’s sphere. Lauren, a widow, alienates her friends and her daughter to advance her genius son. Samantha calls on her social position and her husband’s political connections, while Azara fights with her former husband over whether their twins should even apply.

The women struggle to maintain their friendship but find themselves squaring off against each other as they resent their tactics to push their children forers, ward. The kids, meanwhile, have mixed feelings about the school. The close friendship between Rose’s and Samantha’s daughters, both named Emma, is threatened. Azara’s twins are pitted against each other not only in academics but also in soccer.

Friendships are fractured, secrets spilled and values shattered in this complex story that shows how competition for status brings out the worst — and the best — in people.

“American Red,” by David Marlett (The Story Plant)

Big Bill Haywood, head of the Western Federation of Miners, was a giant in labor history. Accused of the murder of the governor of Idaho, he was tried in 1906 with Clarence Darrow as his lawyer. This is sensational true“the life fodder, so little wonder that author David Marlett used it as the basis of his lengthy novel. “American Red” captures the excitement and violence of the West’s early labor unrest.

“Beneath A Towering Sky,” by Tom Keith (Black Opal Books)

Fort Collins writer Tom Keith draws on history as well as his own family background in his tale of a young couple settling in Montana in the 1880s. David and Nellie Mcharg, based on the author’s great-grandparents, face a laundry list of hardships and challenges as they try to make a go of their ranch.

Sandra Dallas is a Denver author. Contact her at sandradallas@msn.com.