Early one cold, wintry morning in late May 1942, the bullet-ridden body of Driver Roy Willis was found on the side of the road. He had been shot a number of times with a military revolver. Despite extensive enquiries by some of the Victoria Police’s most experienced homicide detectives, the murderer was not found. Then three months later, the killer struck again. In September 1942 Gunner John Hulston went missing whilst on guard duty. His gun crew immediately began a search. Two soldiers followed what appeared to be drag marks from the gate down towards the beach. They saw a figure some way off and thinking it was Hulston, they called out to him. Instead of a friendly reply, they were met with a barrage of bullets. The figure ran off and disappeared towards the camp. Incredibly the garrison was not turned out to search for the missing man or the mysterious figure. The searchlights which could have turned the night into day along the beach, were not activated. Hulston’s rifle and bayonet were found in the water. His torn trousers were also found on the beach. His body was eventually recovered further along the coastline, 10 days later. Like Driver Willis, back in May, he had also been shot in the chest with a .455 calibre army revolver. As with any good murder mystery, this story has more twists and turns than the Great Ocean Road. They range from black market operations, confessions, suspects identified in later years, lost or missing police files, disagreements between the police and the army over the investigation, and an attempted cover-up that went all the way to the wartime Deputy Prime Minister’s office.

Early one cold, wintry morning in late May 1942, the bullet-ridden body of Driver Roy Willis was found on the side of the road. He had been shot a number of times with a military revolver. Despite extensive enquiries by some of the Victoria Police's most experienced homicide detectives, the murderer was not found. Then three months later, the killer struck again. In September 1942 Gunner John Hulston went missing whilst on guard duty. His gun crew immediately began a search. Two soldiers followed what appeared to be drag marks from the gate down towards the beach. They saw a figure some way off and thinking it was Hulston, they called out to him. Instead of a friendly reply, they were met with a barrage of bullets. The figure ran off and disappeared towards the camp. Incredibly the garrison was not turned out to search for the missing man or the mysterious figure. The searchlights which could have turned the night into day along the beach, were not activated. Hulston's rifle and bayonet were found in the water. His torn trousers were also found on the beach. His body was eventually recovered further along the coastline, 10 days later. Like Driver Willis, back in May, he had also been shot in the chest with a .455 calibre army revolver. As with any good murder mystery, this story has more twists and turns than the Great Ocean Road. They range from black market operations, confessions, suspects identified in later years, lost or missing police files, disagreements between the police and the army over the investigation, and an attempted cover-up that went all the way to the wartime Deputy Prime Minister's office.

Based on actual events, this is the story of a murder/suicide investigation that takes place on an army installation in Arizona.

California homicide detective Vince Magliore returns to his hometown of Hull, Massachusetts for some rest and relaxation. He's on medical leave for wounds sustained in a shootout with a deranged LA cop intent on killing other cops as payback for having been fired. Magliore, hooked on prescription painkillers, is dealing with personal demons as well as physical pain. During the takedown of the rogue cop, he committed an act contrary to his oath of honor as a law enforcement officer. His hopes for a quiet thoughtful recuperation in his sleepy childhood hometown are dashed when he becomes embroiled in a blackmail scheme, child abuse, the murder of two former classmates and an international human trafficking conspiracy which places him in the crosshairs of ruthless cartel thugs. The odyssey of blackmail and murder begins with the discovery of the body of a Roman Catholic priest whose reckless behavior yields many suspects from irate boyfriends and husbands to parents who suspect he may have molested their children. Bodies fall as the killers are discovered and an unexpected individual exacts revenge.

The Medbury Fort Murder, first published in 1929 for the Crime Club, is a ‘golden-age’ murder mystery involving the killing of an unpopular British Army officer stationed at an out-of-the way post in England. Loathsome Lt. Lepean is found with his throat cut and his head nearly severed from his body in a locked room at the isolated Medbury Fort situated on the Thames. Lepean was not at all admired among his fellow soldiers. The arrogant, sneering soldier was a known user of women and is revealed early on to be a ruthless blackmailer. There are at least four men who had very good reason to kill Lepean, two of them were being blackmailed. Was it one of them who slew the soldier or someone else?

Originally published: Atlanta, Ga.: Peachtree Publishers, 1981.