Review - Unpunished by William Peter Grasso

Just a short review of what, in my opinion, is an excellent book.

Unpunished is a tale of murder, ambition, corruption, and the redemptive power of love. Leonard Pilcher, a scion of entitlement and privilege, is a congressman, presidential candidate...and a murderer. As an American pilot interned in Sweden during WWII, he kills one of his own crewmen and gets away with it, without suspicion. Two people have witnessed the murder--American airman Joe Gelardi and his secret Swedish lover, Pola Nilsson-MacLeish--but they cannot speak out without paying a devastating price. Tormented by their guilt and separated by a vast ocean after the war, Joe and Pola maintain the silence that haunts them both...until 1960, when Congressman Pilcher's campaign for his party's nomination for president gains momentum. As he dons the guise of war hero, one female reporter, anxious to break into the "boy's club" of TV news, fights to uncover the truth against the far-reaching power of the Pilcher family's wealth, power that can do any wrong it chooses--even kill--and remain unpunished. Just as the nomination seems within Pilcher's grasp, Pola reappears to enlist Joe's help in finally exposing Pilcher for the criminal he really is. As the passion of their wartime romance rekindles, they must struggle to bring Pilcher down before becoming his next victims.

I cannot really add anything of substance to the synopsis of the book without going into spoilers, so let me just say this: William Peter Grasso successfully juggles a large and diverse cast of characters, each of them with their own motives and desires, and each of them fully involved in a plot spanning 16 years. While the plot takes place largely on the ground, there are again several scenes in which Mr. Grasso's expertise in avation gets room to shine. I won't spoil it, just this much: you're going to like it.

As it is, I can wholeheartedly recommend "Unpunished" to everyone who likes thrillers & historical novels (and, if we're pedantic, probably alternate history as well). A well-deserved 5 stars. You can get Unpunished at Amazon for just .99 cents.