The Commodore by P. T. Deutermann, a Mysterious Review.

Review: The United States Navy's battle with Japan for the control of the Solomon Islands is not going well in 1942. Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey is assigned to change the course of this war by any means necessary, and the path he chooses is to appoint a number of non-traditional commanders to lead their own destroyers, in The Commodore a military thriller by P. T. Deutermann.

One of the new commanders is Harmon "Sluff" Wolf, an American Indian from a Minnesota reservation. He was the son of a Chippewa father and an Irish mother whose family emigrated from Canada to the United States. He received the nickname of "Sluff" at the Naval Academy. Although a graduate of West Point, has never fit in with the time-honored naval officer's league. Even so, he was one of six graduates in his class 1926 who was given the command of his own ship: the USS John B. King, DD-711, a brand new 2,100 ton, Fletcher-class destroyer. Under Halsey, Wolf was soon able to reveal his capability to bring aggressive resolutions to the losing battle. After Wolf scored a few more wins than losses, he was quite quickly promoted by Halsey to Commodore of the entire destroyer squadron. Applying innovative answers to questions about naval tactics and then putting them in action brought a much needed victory over the Japanese fleet and bringing reinforcements to Guadalcanal. As new ships were sent to join Wolf's forces some, advised by their superiors, were slow to appreciate and adopt Wolf's tactics but he was stubborn and stuck to his guns. In a series of night conflicts Wolf proved his worth.

The Commodore is more than a sequence of battles fought in the Pacific, though to be sure it includes vivid and memorable descriptions of them. It is also a human-interest story, one of valor and prejudice, of trust and respect and the lack thereof that can and no doubt has affected the outcome of many of this country's conflicts. A fictional story with the backdrop of authentic history, this military action thriller is an exciting and rewarding read.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Commodore.

Acknowledgment: St. Martin's Press provided a copy of The Commodore for this review.

The Commodore

A Military Thriller by P. T. Deutermann