"The Yard Dog"

"The Yard Dog" is the first book in the Hook Runyon mystery series authored by Sheldon Russell.
The setting is rural Oklahoma during World War II at a time when there a large number of Nazi POW's scattered in camps across the prairies of the United States.  The book offers insights into how these camps were run with discipline maintained by the German officers and some of the prisoners being allowed to exit the camps during the day to serve on work details.  Although they are helping locals at a time when a lot of the young men are off fighting a war in Europe, there is still a fear of these prisoners by the locals -- perhaps with some justification.

Hook Runyon is the local railroad detective and his job is mostly catching pickpockets on local train runs.  However, when a friend of his, Spark Dugan, is discovered run over by a reefer car, it doesn't set well with Hook because there are some discrepancies that raise questions in his mind.  Spark was a local indigent who lived in a shack and picked up loose coal, drank moonshine, and stole milk bottles off locals porches but he'd been seen to hop freight trains while drunk so the idea that he had an accident just doesn't fit with Hook.  His suspicions grow when he checks out Spark's shack and is beaten by two men who find him there.

Hook enlists Runt, the local moonshiner (who has taken a job at the POW Camp Alva to help support his mother and younger siblings while his older brothers are in Europe fighting Nazis) to assist him in his investigations.

Hook lives in a caboose that he has the railroad move from location to location and Spark used to keep him supplied in coal.  Hook also is well read and likes to collect books -- rare editions when he can find them.  When he meets Dr. Reina Kaplan, they hit it off and find they have a lot in common.

Dr. Kaplan, a Jewess, is an unlikely candidate to be sent to Camp Alva but there she is nonetheless and she is charged with "reeducating the prisoners."  The thinking is that the Germans are losing the war and the government would like to send them home with some changed thinking.

I read the last book in this series ("The Hanging of Samuel Ash") and decided I want to learn more about Hook Runyon starting with the first book in the series..  I highly recommend this book as I found the mystery interesting and the historical information fascinating.   pazt