PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – is an acronym that has passed into common parlance these days. Two new mysteries incorporate this timely issue.
John Lescroart’s Betrayal tells the story of Evan Scholler, a young National Guard reservist riddled with “survivor guilt” who is having difficulty readjusting to civilian life after his service in Iraq.
Seven men in Scholler’s platoon, as well as an innocent Iraqi family, were killed in a deadly incident because of the apparent mistakes of an ex-Navy SEAL and private contractor named Ron Nolan. Scholler publicly vows to kill him, and when Nolan is indeed murdered, is convicted of the crime.
When fellow attorney Charlie Bowen suddenly vanishes, Lescroart’s long-time protagonist Dismas Hardy agrees to take on his open cases, one of which is an appeal of Scholler’s conviction. It is left to Hardy to uncover terrible truths that take him far beyond the case and into the realms of assassination and treason.
The Mystery Gazette calls Betrayal “a fascinating timely thriller that is incredible when it looks into the legal accountability of contract guards in a war zone and into the post traumatic stress including survivor guilt of returning veterans especially those suffering physical injuries.”
Edgar and Gold Dagger winner Minette Walters’ latest book, The Chameleon’s Shadow, tells the story of Lt. Charles Acland who survived a tank bombing in Iraq that killed two of his men. He is badly scarred, both physically and emotionally. As his behavior becomes more and more irrational and violent he finds himself under investigation for a series of recent beatings and murders in London.
Publishers Weekly calls it a “sizzling psychological thriller.”
If you want to learn more about PTSD, the United States Department of Veteran Affairs National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) has a huge website devoted to stress-related disorders. The Connecticut National Guard has also put up an “open letter to all returned soldiers” with information on the services available to Guard members returning from active duty as they readjust to life in the Nutmeg State.