Near the end of World War II, Hook Runyon is a railroad bull -- called a yard dog -- stationed in rural Oklahoma close to a prison camp for German POWs captured in Europe. He's nicknamed Hook, since he wears a prosthesis after having lost his arm in an accident. As the yard dog, he polices the area for hobos riding the rails or thieves accosting travelers.
When a local coal-picker Hook has befriended is found dead under a train car, Hook is not convinced it was an accident. He thinks the man may have already been dead before the train ran over him. Hook's further convinced when he checks out the man's shanty, finds what could be incriminating evidence and is then attacked by two men. Just what did the work detail from the POW camp see that night?
Enlisting the help of a friend who works in the POW camp kitchen, as well as an attractive professor newly arrived to re-educate the prisoners, Hook's investigation exposes more and is more far-reaching than he could ever have imagined.
When I first started reading this novel, I wasn't sure what to expect since the World War II setting was an unfamiliar one for me. But I am a big fan of mysteries, and this one came well-recommended. It didn't take me long to become "hooked" on Hook and his daring exploits. The plot is brilliant and riveting; the characterization is rich and vivid; the setting is distinctive and intriguing. I'm hoping this is the first in a long line of Hook Runyon mysteries.
THE YARD DOG takes place near the close of World War II,
when a large number of Nazi POWs were incarcerated in camps
scattered across the prairies of the United States.
At Waynoka Divisional Point, near POW Camp Alva, the
disillusioned Hook Runyon is assigned by the railroad to
run off hobos and arrest pickpockets. Left behind in the
war because of the loss of his arm in a car accident, Hook
lives in a caboose, collects rare books and drinks busthead
liquor. When a coal-picker by the name of Spark Dugan is
found run over by a reefer car, Hook and his sidekick,
Runt, the local moonshiner, suspect foul play and are drawn
into a scheme far greater than either could have imagined.
This conspiracy reaches the highest echelons of the camp
and beyond and will push Hook and Runt to their physical
and mental limits.
Hook is a complex character, equal parts rough and
vulnerable, an unlikely and unwilling hero. He is more than
matched by Dr. Reina Kaplan, a Jewish big-city transplant
to Camp Alva who is battling her own demons and has been
put in charge of educating the Nazi inmates in the basics
of democracy before their eventual return to Germany.
Vivid descriptions of period detail, stark landscapes and
unique characters make this first book in the Hook Runyon
series a fascinating mystery full of tension and deep
insight.
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