In the fascinating historical novel, Cain’s Chameleon by Mark G. Bearss, Stan Neumann's and Dan Driscoll’s lives are irrevocably intertwined when an innocent remark over drinks sets fate in motion. One night on his way home from the factory, Stan stops for a drink at a local tavern. There, he bumps into Dan, an old high school friend he hasn’t seen in years. After that chance meeting, life for both men takes a drastic turn. Stan’s family experiences a home invasion, and Dan’s life is threatened due to his gambling debts. In addition, Pearl Harbor is bombed, and America declares war on Japan. Stan joins the Navy, but Dan disappears and is declared dead when a body surfaces on the lakeshore. However, when stationed in Hawaii, Stan unexpectedly crosses paths with Dan and is confused. Is there something nefarious behind Dan's disappearance? Who died in his place?

Set in the onset of World War II, Cain’s Chameleon by Mark G. Bearss is a stunning novel with two separate, intriguing plotlines. When the first story ends abruptly, the second storyline begins. Although a little unsettling, the overall story is heartfelt and genuine. I especially admired the portrayal of Stan’s training in the Navy; it is an authentic replication of history. The actual newspaper articles included in the story also enhance its sense of authenticity. I was impressed by the factual representation of history and was grateful for the ability to experience it with such accuracy. It is a realistic depiction of the World War II era and the repercussions that the families and loved ones on the home front experienced as a result of the war.

Mark G. Bearss’s Cain's Chameleon is set in 1941 along the Lake Michigan shoreline, where Daniel Driscoll learns that Stan Neumann keeps years of saved coins hidden in glass jars, seeing this as a way to escape his mounting gambling debts to Chicago bookmakers. He persuades Earl “Tuck” Porter to retrieve the money under the cover of darkness, setting in motion a violent mistake at a cottage near Mich-Chi-Won Beach. This leaves two people wounded and draws suspicion toward Stan’s circle. As the United States enters World War II, Stan enlists in the Navy and later encounters a familiar figure serving under an assumed name. Years pass, identities change, and a journalist named Clare Miller begins tracing the inconsistencies that connect a drowning, a vanished laborer, and a man who reappears in Michigan, still searching for the same buried jars.

Mark G. Bearss’s Cain's Chameleon is a meticulously researched historical crime novel based in wartime Michigan and Pacific naval operations, with a unique mix of investigative literary fiction and a huge amount of military chronicling. The period details and settings, and how they transition over two decades, are amazing. Bearss takes us to places like the abandoned Camp Claybanks, with rusted shell casings, a concrete turret, and wind cutting across the Lake Michigan bluff. I love Lucy Neumann, Stan's wife, who is a supremely resourceful and active woman supporting the war effort at home and working in a library. Who knew the Dewey Decimal System could be so important beyond book classification? I absolutely loved the inclusion of the USS Enterprise and its history, which I got to tour in the '80s when it was in Alameda, California. Bearss's writing style is elegant, especially as time progresses. His knowledge is so organically embedded in the story that this book is worth every moment, on every page.

Cain’s Chameleon by Mark G Bearss poses the question: What is the best way to escape when threatened by gambling debts, bookies, and loan sharks? Dan Driscoll is in such a position. Addicted to gambling, he will go to any lengths to get his fix of beating the odds and making that big score. When his high school buddy Stan Neumann confides in Dan that he has a hidden cache of numerous jars of loose change collected over many years, Dan sees a way of clearing all his problems in one simple plan. When that all goes awry, he is desperate to escape the ever-circling violent criminal bookies and loan sharks. A drowned body, misidentification, and Dan being declared dead are all he needs to escape and reinvent himself. But the truth will always come out, and a chance meeting in World War II sets the stage for justice and retribution.

Cain’s Chameleon is a solid, enjoyable historical mystery/thriller that will appeal to all lovers of the genre. Author Mark G Bearss does an excellent job of rooting the story in the period. The background, scene setting, and character development go a long way in ensuring the reader is fully invested in the characters and action. I particularly enjoyed many of the small coincidences and serendipities that enabled those convinced that Dan was alive and free, under an assumed name, to track him. The writing style is highly descriptive, ensuring readers are carried along at a suitable pace. I appreciated that the author based these characters and events on real people and events that actually occurred in West Michigan and other locales from the 1920s to the 1960s, lending the narrative an air of authenticity and inevitability. This is a relaxing, fun read that I enjoyed greatly and highly recommend