VETERANS DAY MYSTERIES // VETERANS DAY CRIME FICTION

Today is the start of Veterans Day Weekend. Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day), is November 11. Veterans Day commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, that took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" 1918.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day on November 11, 1919. The U.S.  Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. The 11th of November is"a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'." It was later changed to Veterans Day.

I love to read mysteries that reflect regions and holidays, so I'm reposting my Veterans Day list with some new additions. 

Julia Spencer-Fleming's Once Was a Soldier,  Jacqueline Winspear, Renie Airth, and Charles Todd's mystery series are at the top of my list of Veterans Day Mysteries. There's also the Joe Sandilands series by Barbara Cleverly. And Bulldog Drummond is a WWI veteran in the Sapper/H.C. McNeile books. Add to that Walter Mosley's WWII Vet Easy Rawlins. Don't miss Marcia Talley's All Things Undying in which Hannah Ives helps to locate the grave of a WWII serviceman. James Lee Burke is another great mystery author whose Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux is a Vietnam Veteran. And, of course, the Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers where the mystery turns on the poppy in the lapel. (and so many more below)..

BV Lawson's 2007 post of Veteran's Day Mysteries is great. No need to duplicate her efforts. Be sure and read her blog, as well as all the comments. 

 

I also did a Memorial Day post here on Mystery Fanfare that covers some of the same territory. It is  a good resource, as many of the books overlap.

You'll want to read J. Kingston's Pierce's article 9 Mysteries Set in the Immediate Aftermath of WWI on CrimeReads.

Wikipedia has an entry about Veterans Day Mysteries. Several hardboiled heroes have been war veterans. Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and many others from World War II, and John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee from the Korean War. "The frequent exposure to death and hardship often leads to a cynical and callous attitude as well as a character trait known today as post-traumatic stress characterizes many hardboiled protagonists."

ADDITIONAL VETERANS DAY MYSTERIES with Veteran Protagonists

River of Darkness by Rennie Airth

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Billy Boyle series by James R. Benn

Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Tom Clancy Oath of Office by Marc Cameron

The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly

Quarry; The Million Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins

Long Shot by Jack Coughlin

Foul Trade by B.K. Duncan

One Killer Force by Dalton Fury
Young Blood by Matt Gallagher

The Man Who Won the Medal of Honor by Len Giovannitti

The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Direct Hit by Mike Hollow

A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang

Operation Burning Candle by Blyden Jackson

Berlin Noir: March Violets, The Pale Criminal, A German Requiem by Philip Kerr

Lone Jack Trail by Owen Laukkanen

After the Rain by Chuck Logan

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Hystopia by David Means

First Blood by David Morrell

Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee

The Odd Angry Shot by William Nagle

The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien

The Given World by Marian Palaia

The Drifter by Nick Petrie (and others in the Peter Ash series)

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers

Dog Day Afternoon by Vern E. Smith

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone

A Test of Wills and others; A Duty to the Dead and others by Charles Todd

Dragonfish by Vu Tran

Maisie Dobbs; Messenger of Truth; The Mapping of Love and Death; and others by Jacqueline Winspear

For the young set, one of the first Veteran-related mysteries: 
Cherry Ames: Veterans' Nurse by Helen Wells. 

As always, let me know any Veterans Crime Fiction that you recommend.

Read a Veterans Day mystery today and remember the men and women who have served our country. Thank you for your service.

In Memory of Veteran - Major Joseph Rudolph, M.D., WWII