November's Shadow

It is the fall of 1963, and the discovery of a young girl's mutilated body in a ditch on the outskirts of Geistburg, Germany forces Steve Bodowski of the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Division to reawaken his instincts in order to solve the horrific crime. Still recovering from the alcoholism and depression that ended his rising career as a homicide detective in civilian life, Bodowski joins with his affable partner, Stan Melcher, to overcome the obstacles thrown up by their commander, Major Palls, who seeks to protect his own boss, Colonel Fulbright. The two senior officers are responsible for the crime: Fulbright rapes and murders the child, and Palls, hoping to curry the Colonel's favor and to keep his own criminal enterprise a secret, cover it up. Complicating Bodowski's efforts, Palls feeds information to an eccentric German detective, Hermann Kross, an ex-intelligence officer conducting a separate investigation of the crime. Kross, an unwitting accomplice to Palls, dogs Bodowski at every turn. Despite falling for the red herring that implicates Warrant Officer Nowak, a craven pedophile and Sergeant LeMarc, a drunken war hero who holds his family in a constant state of terror, Bodowski stumbles upon a child pornography/sex slave ring operating under Palls' protection. The case is broken following a dramatic chase through the dense German forest in pursuit of Tino, the head of a traveling Romani clan who supplies young girls for the local sex trade. Once captured, Tino reveals enough information for the detectives to set a trap and bring the criminals to justice. However, Bodowski does not celebrate his accomplishments. Sergent LeMarc, released from custody while Bodowski was occupied with bringing the sex ring to justice, suffers a psychotic episode that results in the death of his entire family, paralleling the abusive upbringing that still haunts Bodowski. The successfully concluded case represents only a single step forward in the detective's recovery.

Bruce Rehburg of Austin, TX

Bruce Rehburg is a freelance writer living in Austin, Texas. He has lived a colorful life, whether soldier or actor, software designer or theatrical producer, he has maintained a life-long interest in crime fiction.