The Lethal Shore: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:40, 25 August 2023

The Lethal Shore (working title) is the possible first book in the Eden Pond Series.

Overview

In February 1942, a man gathering shellfish finds the blood-soaked coat of Harry Pond on an isolated Oregon beach. But there’s no sign of Harry, who had neither means nor reason to visit that beach—the location of a secret army defense project. With war nerves wound tight in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, some locals think he fell prey to collaborators laying the groundwork for Japanese incursions of the American mainland. Others darkly imply he fell in with them. The U.S. Army captain who takes over the investigation seems more interested in protecting his defense projects than learning what happened to Harry.

Eden Pond, Harry’s twin sister, determines to find him. Childhood polio left him with a chip on his shoulder and a desperate need to prove himself—and little concern for who he provoked along the way. There’s also Harry’s best friend, Jonah Shibuya. The grandson of Japanese immigrants, he’s been in hiding for weeks, perhaps because of intensifying pressure on the government to address the “problem” of west coast Japanese. Rumors fly Jonah had a hand in Harry’s disappearance—and deeds far worse.

With the investigation going nowhere and hostility mounting toward Eden over her own fraught history with Jonah, she sets out to learn what happened to Harry Pond. In the process, she risks the wrath of Army officials, a civilian militia with grand visions of repelling invasion, and an anxious community still coming to grips with life in a nation at war.

Chronology
The events of the novel take place in February and March 1942, with the denouement in May. The Lethal Shore is followed by Murder at the Shipyard.

Characters

Points of Interest

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-''Tillamook Guerillas'' (working title) is the possible first book in the [[:category:Eden Pond Series| Eden Pond Series]].
+''The Lethal Shore'' (working title) is the possible first book in the [[:category:Eden Pond Series| Eden Pond Series]].
 At present, it is a [[:Category:Works-in-Progress|work-in-progress]].
 ==Overview==
-On February 23, 1942, a [https://aoghs.org/petroleum-in-war/wwii-sub-attacks-oilfield/ 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.
+In February 1942, a man gathering shellfish finds the blood-soaked coat of [[Harry Pond]] on an isolated Oregon beach. But there’s no sign of Harry, who had neither means nor reason to visit that beach—the location of a secret army defense project. With war nerves wound tight in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, some locals think he fell prey to collaborators laying the groundwork for Japanese incursions of the American mainland. Others darkly imply he fell in with them. The [[Damian Nesmith|U.S. Army captain]] who takes over the investigation seems more interested in protecting his defense projects than learning what happened to Harry.
-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 [https://amcmuseum.org/collections/aircraft-warning-service-volunteer-observer-pin/ 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 [http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5154 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.
+[[Eden Pond]], Harry’s twin sister, determines to find him. Childhood polio left him with a chip on his shoulder and a desperate need to prove himself—and little concern for who he provoked along the way. There’s also Harry’s best friend, [[Jonah Shibuya]]. The grandson of Japanese immigrants, he’s been in hiding for weeks, perhaps because of intensifying pressure on the government to address the “problem” of west coast Japanese. Rumors fly Jonah had a hand in Harry’s disappearance—and deeds far worse.
-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.
+With the investigation going nowhere and hostility mounting toward Eden over her own fraught history with Jonah, she sets out to learn what happened to Harry Pond. In the process, she risks the wrath of Army officials, a civilian militia with grand visions of repelling invasion, and an anxious community still coming to grips with life in a nation at war.
 '''Chronology'''<br />
-The [[Eden Pond Chronology|events]] of the novel take place in February through May, 1942. ''Tillamook Guerillas'' precedes [[Murder at the Shipyard]].
+The [[Eden Pond Chronology|events]] of the novel take place in February and March 1942, with the denouement in May. ''The Lethal Shore'' is followed by [[Murder at the Shipyard]].
-'''Alternative Titles'''<br />
-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==
@@ Line 23: / Line 18: @@
 * [[Harry Pond]]
 * [[Paul Berenger]]
-* [[Clifford Stern]]
 * [[Jonah Shibuya]]
 * [[Tillie Larkin]]
-* [[Damian Melrose]]
+* [[Damian Nesmith]]
+* [[Clifford Stern]]
 * [[Stewart Arnold]]
-* [[Kenneth Meacham]], M.D.
+* [[Ignacio Mirtillo]], M.D.
 * [[Fred Turley]]
 * [[Arf Walker]]
+* [[Val Getty]]
+* [[Una Rapp]]
+* [[Lillian Zweifel]]
+* [[Nanette Howard]]
+* [[Quenelle Sisters]]
+* [[Ragin' Ratto]]
 ==Points of Interest==
 * [[Short Beach]]
 * [[Pond Salvage and Repair]]
+* [[Happy Day Bakery]]
 [[Category:Books]]
 [[Category:Eden Pond Series]]
 [[Category:Works-in-Progress]]