The Lethal Shore

Tillamook Guerillas (working title) is the possible first book in the Eden Pond Series.

At present, it is a work-in-progress.

Overview

On February 23, 1942, a Japanese submarine shells an oil field in southern California. The next morning, the body of Harry Pond is found near the planned site of a U.S. Army radar station at Cape Meares, Oregon. Though a thousand miles from the oil field, many locals believe Harry’s death is connected. They argue he was bayoneted when he interrupted a group of Japanese commandos, part of a coordinated scouting mission in preparation for a full-scale invasion of the U.S. mainland. With “war nerves” wound tight all along the West Coast in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, interest in investigating the young man’s death as a murder quickly fades.

But Eden Pond, Harry’s twin sister, isn’t so sure her brother is a casualty of war. He’d had run-ins with a number of locals through his work as air raid warden and volunteer with the Ground Observer Corps. These older men—many veterans of the Great War—thought they knew better than the callow cripple whose childhood polio had left him with a chip on his shoulder and a desperate need to prove himself. There’s also Harry’s best friend growing up, Jonah Shibuya, the grandson of Japanese immigrants who disappeared the day after learning President Roosevelt had signed the executive order which would lead to the internment of Japanese-Americans. Rumors fly that Jonah served as guide for the commandos who killed Harry.

Soon, the only people who believe Eden are Tillie Larkin, a barnstorming lady pilot who helped raise Eden and Harry after their parents died, and Clifford Stern, a young deputy anxious for release from the Sheriff’s Department so he can enlist in the Navy. Together, they try to learn what really happened to Harry Pond, risking the wrath of Army officials, a newly-formed civilian militia with grand visions of repelling invasion, and an anxious community still coming to grips with life in a nation newly at war.

Chronology
The events of the novel take place in February through May, 1942. Tillamook Guerillas precedes Murder at the Shipyard.

Alternative Titles
The following are other possible titles under consideration. Over time, this list is likely to expand until a final title is chosen.

• The Lethal Shore
• Let Us Speak of the Sky

Characters

• Eden Pond
• Merton Pond
• Harry Pond
• Allen Birch
• Clifford Stern
• Jonah Shibuya
• Tillie Larkin
• Beatrice Derby
• Damian Melrose
• Stewart Arnold
• Kenneth Meacham, M.D.
• Fred Turley
• Arf Walker

Points of Interest

• Short Beach
• Pond Salvage and Repair