CANR
WORK TITLE: The Second Sun
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.ptdeutermann.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: CANR 313
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born December 27, 1941, in Boston, MA; son of Harold T. (a naval officer) and Dorothy Deutermann; married Susan Cornelia Degenhardt (a horse trainer), July 25, 1968; children: Daniel Thomas, Sarah Laffan.
EDUCATION:U.S. Naval Academy, B.S., 1963; University of Washington, M.A., 1970; Royal College of Defense Studies, graduated, 1987.
ADDRESS
CAREER
MiTech, Inc., senior engineer, 1990-92; senior consulting engineer for Unisource Systems, Inc; member of board of advisors, SpaceVest Venture Capital Group.
MIILITARY:U.S. Navy, 1963-89, became captain; gunboat commander during Vietnam War, 1966-67; missile destroyer commander during Lebanon Crisis, 1981-84; commander of a squadron of destroyers, 1985-86; technical delegate to United Nations and arms control negotiator with Soviet Union, both 1988-89.
AVOCATIONS:Breeding ponies, carriage driving, gardening, computer science.
MEMBER:Authors Guild, U.S. Naval Institute, Dartmoor Pony Society of America, Retired Officers Association.
AWARDS:Nineteen military decorations. For writing: American Library Association, W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, for Pacific Glory, 2012, for Last Paladin, 2023, and for Iwo, 26 Charlie, 2024.
POLITICS: “Conservative Republican.” RELIGION: Episcopalian.WRITINGS
Contributor to U.S. Naval Institute’s periodical Proceedings.
SIDELIGHTS
A decorated former naval officer who served in Vietnam and was on active duty during the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, P.T. Deutermann has had considerable success in his second career as a novelist. In 1992 he published Scorpion in the Sea: The Goldsborough Incident, a military thriller about an outmoded naval destroyer that suddenly finds itself pitted against a Libyan submarine off the Florida coast. In his review of Scorpion in the Sea for the Florida Times-Union, Bill Roach affirmed that “the characters are interesting and dialogue is fast-paced,” and he added that the novel achieves “a crashing, pounding climax.” A critic for Publishers Weekly stated that “Deutermann tells a convincing naval detective story.”
Deutermann’s successive thrillers have met with similar praise. A writer for Publishers Weekly called his second novel, The Edge of Honor, “a lot more than the standard military thriller” and an “exciting genre standout.” The book’s action takes place in 1969 and centers on weapons officer Lt. Brian Holcomb, assigned to the U.S.S. John Bell Hood in the Gulf of Tonkin during the height of the Vietnam War. Official Privilege, which features a murder investigation after the mummified body of a navy officer is found on a decommissioned ship in Philadelphia, was commended in Publishers Weekly as a “fine suspense novel enhanced by solid background detail.” Sweepers, which a Publishers Weekly reviewer deemed a “gripping new addition to [Deutermann’s] line of naval mysteries,” returns to the legacy of the Vietnam War, as Admiral Tag Sherman must confront the man he left for dead in the Mekong Delta years before.
In Zero Option, a container of deadly nerve gas disappears from a Georgia army base; military investigator David Stafford encounters FBI agents and bureaucrats, as well as a psychic young girl, in his quest to retrieve the terrifying weapon. Noting that the story “fits nicely between The X Files and the reality of what could be tomorrow’s headlines,” Booklist writer Budd Arthur hailed the book as an “engrossing” thriller. A contributor to Publishers Weekly noted that the book is “also something else: an unexpectedly resonant portrait of people, good and bad, who have been chewed up and spit out by military and government bureaucracies.”
This sensitivity to character was also praised in Train Man, in which FBI shortcomings are showcased when a military train is caught in a dangerous race against a psychotic bomber of railroad bridges. Calling the book Deutermann’s “most accomplished thriller yet,” a Publishers Weekly writer hailed the novel as “intelligent, expertly detailed and highly suspenseful.”
In Hunting Season, Edwin Kreiss is an intelligence operative who was recently forced to retire, and Janet Carter is a young agent who is new to the FBI and lacks experience. In his day, Kreiss was known for his use of violence in obtaining information. Now his daughter has been kidnapped during a camping trip, and he discovers that he is being hunted by a “sweeper” who may enact a similar violence upon his daughter. He and Carter must team up to rescue his daughter and prevent a bombing in Washington, DC. Despite their differing tactics, Kreiss and Carter come to respect each other because of their similar code of honor, which ultimately makes them allies. Writing in Booklist, Arthur praised the novel for having “plenty of well-banked curves and clever twists.”
Darkside is set at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where a cadet has plunged to his death from the roof of a six-story building. Suspicions abound: was he pushed or did he fall? Senior class member Julie Markham, one of the academy’s brightest stars, is drawn into the scandal when the dead plebe is discovered to be wearing her underwear. Rumors circulate regarding “Darkside,” the nickname for the academy’s entrenched, hierarchical, and Byzantine traditions and protocol. The resulting investigation leads to another death, and some believe a serial killer is on the loose. As the investigation uncovers secrets that upset the powers that be—especially Julie—romantic entanglements complicate the case. The novel exhibits “a dead-on sense of place,” wrote a critic for Kirkus Reviews, and a writer for Publishers Weekly found that Deutermann “paints a detailed picture of the lives of midshipmen … as well as the inner workings of navy bureaucracy.”
Deutermann uses the newly created Department of Homeland Security as the backdrop in his novel The Firefly, in which a retired Secret Service agent, Swamp Morgan, is called back to duty after two doctors and two nurses are killed in the firebombing of a plastic surgery clinic. Many involved in the investigation believe the incident is a “firefly,” a crime that first appears to have great significance but later turns out to be an isolated incident. Morgan is not convinced; the person who was being operated on at the time of the fire—a possible terrorist—is missing. Summarizing the book for Kirkus Reviews, a writer concluded that “Deutermann always makes his backgrounds impeccably authentic, but it’s those three-dimensional people in peril who drive his tales.”
Pacific Glory is Deutermann’s 2011 World War II novel. The story mostly takes place amongst the epic naval battles in the Pacific theater of the war. At the heart of the story are Mick McCarty, Marsh Vincent, and Glory Hawthorne. Marsh is a navy officer who fought in the battle of Savo Island. In the battle of Midway, Mick McCarty is a pilot who helped put away the aircraft carrier that was largely responsible for the attacks on Perl Harbor. Glory Hawthorn is a nurse stationed at Pearl Harbor. Marsh and Mick have fallen for Glory. Their personal struggles add a layer of difficulty to their love triangle. Marsh is afraid to return to the frontlines after bearing witness to a battle firsthand. Mick is an alcoholic, an affliction that could leave him grounded. His short temper does not help his predicament. Both soldiers receive an assignment to go to the Samar province in the Philippines and are greeted by a large Japanese force that is there to stop Americans from using the islands as a strategic point.
In his review of Pacific Glory in Booklist, Thomas Gaughan wrote: “Deutermann … was a destroyer captain, and his evocation of naval life and naval war seem virtually note perfect.” Writing in Library Journal, Robert Conroy stated: “Brutal yet poignant, this excellent novel will appeal to fans of David L. Robbins.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly noted: “Those who like pulse-thumping action, cinematic prose, and intrepid heroes will be rewarded.”
Deutermann released The Last Man in 2012. Seventy-three years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman army laid siege upon a gathering of Jews at Masada who sought refuge on top of a mountain there. Rather than surrender to the Roman soldiers, the Jews decide to commit suicide. One man, Judah Sicarius, carries the responsibility of hiding a mysterious treasure after making sure all of his companions are all dead. Then he is to join them in the afterlife. Almost two thousand years later, engineer-turned-archaeologist David Hall is given permission by Israeli authorities to excavate parts of Masada. David’s missing girlfriend floated a theory that the historical site of Herod’s mountain holds water, which could mean that the Jews that held up there did not in fact commit suicide at all, as the legend tells. David must find the truth. The authorities are suspicious of David, who bobs around like a novice, rather than giving off the air of true authority he actually possesses. Joined by David is the lovely Dr. Judit Ressner. She will be his chaperone.
Critics gave The Last Man mixed reviews. A critic of the novel writing in Publishers Weekly said that Deutermann “tries the reader’s patience by taking too long to get to the good stuff.” In a more favorable assessment, a contributor to Kirkus Reviews commented: “Unlike some thrillers that keep the reader’s adrenaline going with increasing body counts and steamy sexual encounters, this one just tells a terrific story with a satisfying payoff.” David Pitt, writing in Booklist, concluded: “Readers who focus on the ancient puzzle and the fast-paced action should have a good time.”
In Ghosts of Bungo Suido, Gar Hammond is a submarine commander for the U.S. military during World War II. His ship is called the Dragonfish. Gar is known as a firebrand who favors unorthodox methods and maneuvers. He and the Dragonfish men are sent to destroy a Japanese aircraft carrier, but they must first pass through the dangerous Bungo Suido strait. Gar is also in charge of a prisoner of war, who is assigned to perform a secret task in Hiroshima. A writer in Kirkus Reviews described the volume as “a first-rate yarn of war and the sea that will keep the reader on edge right to the end.” Nick Ellison, a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, commented: “This is marvelous military fiction; fast-paced, exciting, and utterly convincing.”
Sentinels of Fire: A Novel is also set during World War II and features a naval officer as a protagonist. Connie Miles has recently taken a job as an executive officer of a destroyer. The ship, the USS Malloy, has been fighting off attackers for a long time, and the stress has taken a toll on its captain. Connie must compensate for the captain’s lack of leadership as he and his men undertake a dangerous mission. “This is an excellent WWII naval adventure,” asserted Pitt in Booklist.
Set in the near future in Washington, DC, Cold Frame finds a detective named Av Smith investigating the murder of a senior bureaucrat, who had been involved in a project called the Kill List, which has been created to prevent terrorism. Government and city employees in the town are heavily armed, and tension is in the air. Av turns to a scientist and an FBI agent to help him determine who killed the bureaucrat. However, his investigation leads him into danger, as he discovers disturbing government secrets.
Janet Webb, a contributor to the Criminal Element Web site, remarked: “If you’re looking for a story that feels suspiciously plausible … and if your funny bone is tickled by dark cop humor, Cold Frame is a book that will capture your interest.” “The reliable Deutermann has again assembled a smartly written, smoothly paced drama that never rings false,” asserted a Publishers Weekly writer. Writing in Reviewer’s Bookwatch, Michael J. Carson declared: “An absolute masterpiece of a suspense thriller novel, Cold Frame takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of unexpected plot twists and turns.”
In addition to his stand-alone novels, Deutermann is the author of the “Cam Richter” series, which begins with The Cat Dancers. The plot hinges on two convicts who, while guilty of killing three people, are set free on a technicality. They soon turn up dead, and the body count has only just begun to rise. Cam Richter, a police lieutenant stationed in rural North Carolina, believes a group of vigilantes may be responsible. Frustrated police officers and Cat Dancers, a group of people who track panthers and photograph them in the wild, may also be connected to the murders.
Applauding The Cat Dancers in his Library Journal review, Robert Conroy commented that “Deutermann has a great feel for the rugged North Carolina landscape and its people.” Calling the book “gripping,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that although the novel is “somewhat over-plotted, … the besetting conflict is substantive, and the characters are credible and sympathetic.” In Entertainment Weekly, Gilbert Cruz complained that Deutermann “conclude[s] the book not with a roar, but with a measly meow.” On the other hand, a Publishers Weekly writer called the book a “testament to his well-drawn characters, intelligent, realistic dialogue and top-notch writing.”
Spider Mountain, the second installment in the “Cam Richter” series, finds Cam working as a private detective. The Creigh family, which heads a gang that makes and deals methamphetamine, is now abusing children, and Cam is determined to end their reign. Grinny Creigh, the family matriarch, however, is a brilliant and calculating leader, and her defeat will not be easily accomplished. Reviewers mostly praised Spider Mountain as a well-written, character-driven novel that is a welcome series addition. Others however, felt that the suspenseful plot outweighs character development. This was the case for a Kirkus Reviews writer, who felt that “most Deutermann novels … are character-driven. Here, slam-bang action outweighs nuance. The result is best for short attention spans.” On the other hand, Booklist contributor David Pitt applauded the characters in Spider Mountain. Grinny Creigh “makes what could have been a ho-hum novel into something altogether different,” he wrote. Commenting on the series setting in the countryside of North Carolina, a Publishers Weekly critic found that “the author’s impressive ability to bring the remote Appalachian region to life bodes well.”
In Nightwalkers, Cam has stopped working for the sheriff’s office in Manceford County and has since opened the Hide and Seek Investigations firm. Initially, he appreciates the variety of cases he receives and is making consistent money. However, over time, Cam realizes that he is feeling uninspired. He is driving through Rockwell County when he sees that a beautiful old plantation called Glory’s End is for sale. Cam decides to purchase the property. Meanwhile, he learns that a man named Billie Ray Breen has just been released from prison. Billy Ray wants to take revenge on Cam for having put him in jail. Another person, who may have a connection to Glory’s End, begins leaving threatening notes for Cam in his new home. A Publishers Weekly reviewer praised the volume’s “electrifying conclusion.”
Author Comments
Deutermann once told CA:“My writing career began at the Naval Academy, where I wrote short stories and poetry for the school’s monthly magazine. During my active duty career in the navy I continued to write, publishing The Operations Officer’s Manual, which is a textbook on naval operations, and nineteen professional articles. I wrote Scorpion in the Sea in hopes of initiating a career as a novelist, and so far, so good. Scorpion in the Sea has been classified as a techno-thriller, but I tried to differentiate it from many books of that genre by developing realistic, three-dimensional characters whose personal fates become as important as the resolution of the underlying ‘thriller.’”
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Continuing the “WWII” series, The Commodore finds U.S. Navy Vice Admiral William “Bull” Halsey fighting the Japanese in the Pacific for control of the Solomon Islands. Ordered to defeat the Japanese, Halsey takes a chance on intelligent, belligerent, yet innovative Captain Harmon “Sluff” Wolf to command the USS John B. King. Half Chippewa, half Irish, the stubborn Sluff (short for “short little ugly fat fucker”) proves his worth and surprisingly advances through the predominantly white ranks of the Navy until he eventually reaches the rank of Commodore. Deutermann “handles the human-interest aspects well, but it’s his battle sequences on the high seas that stand out,” declared a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Thomas Gaughan commented in Booklist that Deutermann’s experience and knowledge of WWII naval warfare illuminated the story and that “Sluff is a fascinating character, and The Commodore is top-shelf naval adventure.”
The series continues in The Iceman, where Lt. Comdr. Malachi Stormes destroys three German U-boats off the coast of France and is promoted to command of the USS Firefish based in Perth, Australia, to cover the western Pacific. Dubbed “the Iceman” for his emotional detachment from his crew and risky, unorthodox tactics, he battles his inner demons of an alcoholic and violent past in his home in Kentucky. Deutermann “packs authentic information on submarine tactics and naval warfare in between the taut underwater action,” noted a Publishers Weekly critic.
In another book in the series, The Nugget, novice Ensign Bobby Steele is a “nugget” who needs to learn the ropes in the U.S. Navy. During his miliary career he sees some of the most important battles of the Pacific conflict of World War II. He survives the attack at Pearl Harbor and vows vengeance. He flies fighter planes, gets shot down, gets rescued, participates in the Battle of Midway, rescues POWs from a Japanese internment camp, and ends up in an American military court. “Deutermann, long a master of military thrillers, is at the top of his game here,” according to Booklist reviewer Jeff Ayers. A Wisconsin Bookwatch critic praised the book as “Packed from cover to cover with authentically presented military action on land and at sea.”
Trial by Fire is Deutermann’s fictional account of the final battle of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin in March 1945 near the end of World War II. Part of the largest wartime armada ever assembled, the Franklin is a behemoth carrying 3,500 crewmen and 100 aircraft. A single Japanese bomber drops two 500-pound bombs on the carrier that set off a chain-reaction explosion. Characters like Commander George Lowry Merritt and fire marshal Lt. John Ryan McCauley rally the men and rescue 300 men trapped below decks. Though some characters can feel interchangeable and a working knowledge of military terms is needed, “fans of naval history will be enthralled,” noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In Wisconsin Bookwatch, a writer remarked: “Here are recounted true tales of valor, firefighting, and desperation, as the USS Franklin’s sailors fought to save their ship and the survivors.”
In Deutermann’s standalone contemporary spy thriller, Red Swan, retired CIA medical officer Preston Allender is informed by deputy director of operations Carson McGill that Henry Wallace is dead. Wallace had set up a “black swan” operation to thwart China’s national intelligence service and undermine China’s chief of the Ministry of Security Services at the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. Allender investigates whether Wallace’s death means there is a mole in the CIA.
In an interview with Ryan Steck online at Real Book Spy, Deutermann explained that he lets his characters come to life: “I create the characters, throw them into a situation, and then imagine how they would react. If they end up doing something different from what I might have planned, then that means they’re alive and realistic. If not, I rewrite until they’re ready to declare independence from whatever I had planned.” In reviewing Red Swan, a writer in Publishers Weekly said the book has “such cunning that readers will rush through the pages to find out what happens next.”
Deutermann’s novel Second Sun posits whether Japan was working on its own atomic bomb at the end of World War II. In this historical thriller, Captain Wolfe Bowen in Washington, DC, is sent to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine where a captured German U-boat is being inspected. Inside a hidden deck are containers of unrefined U-238 uranium that the Germans planned to send to Japan for their weapons program. Bowen is informed of the Manhattan Project, which Vice President Harry Truman didn’t even know about until he assumed the presidency after Roosevelt’s death. Bowen is sent to Japan to learn whether the Japanese have the technology to produce an atomic weapon. He works with Lieutenant Commander Janet Waring who knows Japanese culture and language. In Publishers Weekly, a contributor declared: “Deutermann’s fans and WWII buffs alike will enjoy this gripping treatment of an underexplored aspect of the war.” “Bowen and Waring are exceptionally good at finding out what the big shots need to know, and readers will like them both,” reported a writer in Kirkus Reviews.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
AudioFile, June 1, 2007, review of Spider Mountain.
Booklist, April 1, 1994, Dennis Winters, review of The Edge of Honor, p. 1423; June 1, 1995, Gilbert Taylor, review of Official Privilege, p. 1734; August, 1997, Gilbert Taylor, review of Sweepers, p. 1884; August, 1998, Budd Arthur, review of Zero Option, p. 1962; January 1, 2000, Budd Arthur, review of Hunting Season, p. 924; November 15, 2003, Michael B. Gannon, review of The Firefly, p. 583; December 1, 2006, David Pitt, review of Spider Mountain, p. 25; April 15, 2007, Sheri Melnick, review of Spider Mountain, p. 61; May 15, 2008, Jeff Ayers, review of The Moonpool, p. 25; January 1, 2011, Thomas Gaughan, review of Pacific Glory, p. 56; April 15, 2012, David Pitt, review of The Last Man, p. 26; May 1, 2014, David Pitt, review of Sentinels of Fire: A Novel, p. 41; July 1, 2016, Thomas Gaughan, review of The Commodore, p. 40; September 15, 2019, review of The Nugget, p. 26.
Entertainment Weekly, December 9, 2005, Gilbert Cruz, review of The Cat Dancers, p. 94.
Florida Times-Union, January 31, 1993, Bill Roach, review of Scorpion in the Sea: The Goldsborough Incident.
Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2002, review of Darkside, p. 1332; October 15, 2003, review of The Firefly, p. 1240; September 15, 2005, review of The Cat Dancers, p. 992; November 1, 2006, review of Spider Mountain, p. 1091; April 15, 2009, review of Nightwalkers; May 15, 2012, review of The Last Man; May 1, 2013, review of Ghosts of Bungo Suido; February 15, 2025, review of The Second Sun.
Library Journal, April 15, 1994, Elsa Pendelton, review of The Edge of Honor, p. 111; May 15, 1995, Elsa Pendleton, review of Official Privilege, p. 94; June 1, 1997, Marylaine Block, review of Sweepers, p. 146; September 1, 1998, Edwin B. Burgess, review of Zero Option, p. 212; October 1, 2005, Robert Conroy, review of The Cat Dancers, p. 65; January 30, 2013, Robert Conroy, review of Pacific Glory, p. 102.
New York Times Book Review, June 25, 1995, Newgate Callendar, review of Official Privilege, p. 34.
Publishers Weekly, August 31, 1992, review of Scorpion in the Sea; March 28, 1994, review of The Edge of Honor, p. 82; May 8, 1995, review of Official Privilege, p. 287; July 7, 1997, review of Sweepers, p. 52; July 13, 1998, review of Zero Option, p. 63; July 12, 1999, review of Train Man, p. 75; December 18, 2000, review of Hunting Season, p. 52; October 21, 2002, review of Darkside, p. 54; November 3, 2003, review of The Firefly, p. 52; September 12, 2005, review of The Cat Dancers, p. 38; October 23, 2006, review of Spider Mountain, p. 32; March 31, 2008, review of The Moonpool, p. 38; April 6, 2009, review of Nightwalkers, p. 29; November 22, 2010, review of Pacific Glory, p. 40; March 12, 2012, review of The Last Man, p. 38; April 29, 2013, Nick Ellison, review of Ghosts of Bungo Suido, p. 106; June 1, 2015, review of Cold Frame, p. 42; June 6, 2016, review of The Commodore, p. 64; June 11, 2018, review of The Iceman, p. 42; May 24, 2021, review of Trial by Fire, p. 52; January 13, 2025, review of The Second Sun, p. 44.
Reviewer’s Bookwatch, July, 2015, Michael J. Carson, review of Cold Frame.
Wisconsin Bookwatch, November 2019, review of The Nugget; September 2021, review of Trial by Fire.
ONLINE
Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 26, 2006), interview with P.T. Deutermann.
Criminal Element, http://www.criminalelement.com/ (July, 2015), Janet Webb, review of Cold Frame.
Fantastic Fiction, http://www.fantasticfiction.com/ (May 16, 2016), author profile.
Macmillan Web site, http://us.macmillan.com/ (May 16, 2016), author profile.
P.T. Deutermann Home Page, http://www.ptdeutermann.com (May 16, 2016).*
Real Book Spy, https://therealbookspy.com/ (August 22, 2017), Ryan Steck, “Five Questions with P.T. Deutermann.”
Publishers Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/ (June 5, 2017), Allen Appel, “Golden eyes: PW talks with P.T. Deutermann;” (August 2017), review of Red Swan.
Peter T. Deutermann was born in 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Lieutenant Commander (later Vice Admiral) and Mrs. H.T. Deutermann. The family moved in 1944 to La Jolla, California, where they lived until the end of the Second World War in the Pacific. Between the end of the war and 1959, when Peter entered the Naval Academy, the family lived in various places throughout the United States and also in Argentina. Peter Deutermann attended parochial, public, and Jesuit high schools, graduating from Creighton Prep in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1959. He was commissioned in 1963 at Annapolis into the surface line, where he was ordered to the new destroyer USS Morton (DD-948). He served in Morton for two years, and was onboard for the second Gulf of Tonkin incident in September,1964, which precipitated the first significant aircraft carrier strikes against North Vietnam.
Following his tour in Morton, he was assigned to class 13 of the destroyer department head school in Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduation he was diverted from the destroyer forces to Coronado, California, to train in the new Swift class gunboats. Upon completion of training, he went to Manila, Philippine Islands, as officer in charge of a mobile training team which trained Philippine navy crews to use Swift boats against the pirates plaguing Manila Bay and the waters off Corregidor. From Manila, he went in-country Vietnam as officer in charge of PCF-39, based at the mouth of the main Mekong river channel that led up to Saigon. After a year there, he was assigned as operations officer in USS Hull (DD-945), which operated intermittently for the next two years off the coasts of North and South Vietnam providing naval gunfire support for Army and marine forces ashore.
In 1968, he married Susan Cornelia Degenhardt, of Gainesville, Florida, and went off to two years at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, where he was awarded a masters degree in public administration and international law. Following graduate school, he returned in 1970 to the Pacific Fleet as operations officer of the guided missile cruiser Jouett (CG-29). A month later, the ship went back to Vietnam, serving as the overall air warfare commander in the Gulf of Tonkin and also as a recovery ship for downed navy and air force pilots. During that deployment the ship visited Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and the Philippines. In 1972, he went to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, for one year. He was then assigned to the Pentagon for three years, serving on a joint command and control computer integration project.
Following shore duty, he returned to sea, this time in the Atlantic Fleet as executive officer of the guided missile destroyer USS C.F. Adams (DDG-2), which made two deployments to the Mediterranean over the following two years. He returned to the Pentagon in 1978 as a staff officer in the politico-military policydivision of the navy headquarters staff. He published his first book in 1980, a handbook for navy operations officers, through the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1981, he assumed command of the guided missile destroyer Tattnall (DDG-19) for a three year tour of duty, which included combat operations off Lebanon. Following that assignment he was ordered to be the executive secretary to the Chief of Naval Operations for JCS matters in Washington, D.C. In late 1985, he assumed command of Destroyer Squadron 25, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for two years, during which he made one deployment to the Indian Ocean, where he visited Kenya, Pakistan, Singapore, and Japan.
Upon conclusion of the Pearl Harbor tour of duty, he was assigned to the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London, England, for one year. The RCDS was an international course studying the influence of military affairs on geopolitics, whose members represented forty different countries. In 1988 he returned to the Pentagon as the head of the Strategy Planning branch on the navy staff. He was then assigned as the division director of the arms control negotiations office concerned with chemical, biological, and radiation weapons on the joint staff. He was appointed as a technical delegate to the United Nations, and participated in arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union in Geneva. He retired from active duty after 26 years in 1989 with nineteen military awards and decorations. He then worked successively for three companies over the next four years which supported the Federal Aviation Administration in the procurement of large scale computer systems.
He published his first fiction novel, Scorpion in the Sea, in 1992 through the George Mason University Press. This book landed him an agent, and then a contract with St. Martins Press in 1993, with whom he has published all of his successive novels. Three of the books have been optioned for feature film development, and the audio versions of the books are published by Brilliance Audio in both abridged and unabridged versions. Foreign translation rights have been sold into Japan, China, Spain, England and the British Commonwealth, Poland, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Russia, the Czech Republic, to name some.
Mr. Deutermann and Susan live in Rockingham County, North Carolina, where he helps her run her Dartmoor Pony breeding farm. Their son, Daniel, a 20-year military veteran pilot, currently has his own company, called The Squadron, which provides helicopter aviation safety services to mega-yacht owners throughout the world. Dan’s wife remains on active duty in the Coast Guard as a Search & Rescue helicopter pilot. The Deutermann’s daughter, Sarah, flew as a RIO in F-14 fighter jets, then left the Navy to start her family. She now practices law in Greensboro, NC.
Two of Mr. Deutermann's uncles, his father, and both his brothers served in the armed forces, as have some of their children. There has been someone from the Deutermann family serving on active military duty continuously since 1920.
P T Deutermann
USA flag (b.1941)
Captain Peter T. "P.T." Deutermann USN is an American writer of mystery, police procedural and thriller novels. Deutermann served in the United States Navy for 26 years, earning 19 medals and decorations. He served as the commander of the USS Tattnall between 1981 and 1983. He also served on the USS Morton, USS Hull, USS Jouett and USS Charles F. Adams, while also serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. After retring from active duty, Deutermann moved to Georgia to work on his writing career. He published his first fiction novel, entitled Scorpion in the Sea, in 1992 through the George Mason University Press. The book landed him an agent, and then a contract with St. Martin's Press in 1993. Three of his later books have been optioned for feature film development.
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Thriller
Series
Cam Richter
1. The Cat Dancers (2005)
2. Spider Mountain (2006)
3. The Moonpool (2008)
4. Nightwalkers (2009)
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WWII
1. Pacific Glory (2011)
2. The Ghosts of Bungo Suido (2013)
3. Sentinels of Fire (2014)
4. The Commodore (2016)
5. The Iceman (2018)
6. The Nugget (2019)
7. The Hooligans (2020)
8. Trial by Fire (2021)
9. The Last Paladin (2022)
10. Iwo, 26 Charlie (2023)
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Novels
Scorpion in the Sea (1992)
The Edge of Honor (1994)
Official Privilege (1995)
Sweepers (1997)
Zero Option (1998)
Train Man (1999)
Hunting Season (2001)
Darkside (2002)
The Firefly (2003)
The Last Man (2012)
Cold Frame (2015)
Red Swan (2017)
The Second Sun (2025)
P. T. Deutermann
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
P. T. Deutermann
Born December 27, 1941 (age 83)[1]
Boston, Massachusetts[1]
Occupation Author
Nationality American
Period 1992–present
Genre Mystery
Police Procedural
Thriller
Detective
Military career
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Navy
Years of service 1963–1989
Rank Captain
Commands USS Tattnall (1981–1983)
Battles / wars Vietnam War
Relations Vice Admiral H. T. Deutermann
Website
www.ptdeutermann.com
Peter Thomas "P. T." Deutermann[2] (born December 27, 1941)[1] is an American writer of mystery, police procedural and thriller novels.
Deutermann served in the United States Navy for 26 years, earning 19 medals and decorations and retiring with the rank of captain. He served as the commander of the USS Tattnall between 1981 and 1983. He also served on the USS Morton, USS Hull, USS Jouett and USS Charles F. Adams,[1] while also serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.
Biography
Early years
Deutermann was born in Boston, the son of Lieutenant Commander (later Vice Admiral) H. T. Deutermann. The family moved in 1944 to La Jolla, California, where they lived until the end of the war. Between the end of the war and 1959, when Deutermann entered the Naval Academy,[1] the family lived in various places throughout the United States and also in Argentina. Deutermann attended parochial, public, and Jesuit high schools, graduating from Creighton Preparatory in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1959.
Military career
Deutermann was commissioned in 1963 in Annapolis, Maryland into the surface line,[1] where he was ordered to the new destroyer USS Morton. He served on the Morton for two years, and was on board for the second Gulf of Tonkin Incident in September 1964, which precipitated the first significant aircraft carrier strikes against North Vietnam.[3]
Following his tour on the Morton, he was assigned to class 13 of the destroyer department head school in Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduation he was diverted from the destroyer forces to Coronado, California, to train in the new Swift class gunboats. Upon completion of training, he went to Manila in the Philippines, as officer in charge of a mobile training team which trained Philippine navy crews to use Swift boats against the pirates plaguing Manila Bay and the waters off Corregidor. From Manila, he went in-country Vietnam as officer in charge of PCF-39, based at the mouth of the main Mekong River channel that led to Saigon. After a year there, he was assigned as operations officer on the USS Hull which operated intermittently for the next two years off the coasts of North and South Vietnam providing naval gunfire support for Army and Marine forces.
College and return to the military
In 1968 Deutermann entered the University of Washington for two years,[1] where he was awarded a master's degree in public administration and international law. He rejoined the Pacific Fleet in 1970 as operations officer of the USS Jouett. A month later, the ship went back to Vietnam, serving as the overall air warfare commander in the Gulf of Tonkin and also as a recovery ship for downed Navy and Air Force pilots. During this deployment the ship visited Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and the Philippines. In 1972 Deutermann entered the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, for one year. He was then assigned to The Pentagon for three years, serving on a joint command and control computer integration project.
Return from shore duty
Following shore duty, Deutermann returned to sea, this time in the Atlantic Fleet as executive officer of the guided missile destroyer USS Charles F. Adams,[1][4] which made two deployments to the Mediterranean over the following two years. He returned to the Pentagon in 1978 as a staff officer in the politico-military policy division of the Navy headquarters staff. He published his first book in 1980, a handbook for navy operations officers, through the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis, Maryland.
First command
In 1981 Deutermann assumed command of the guided missile destroyer USS Tattnall for a three-year tour of duty,[1][3] which included combat operations off Lebanon. Following that assignment he was appointed the executive secretary to the Chief of Naval Operations for JCS matters in Washington, D.C. In late 1985, he assumed command of Destroyer Squadron 25,[1][3] based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for two years, during which he made one deployment to the Indian Ocean, where he visited Kenya, Pakistan, Singapore and Japan.
Upon conclusion of this tour Deutermann was assigned to the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London, England, for one year. It was an international course studying the influence of military affairs on geopolitics, whose members represented forty different nations. In 1988 he returned to the Pentagon as head of the Strategy Planning branch of the Navy staff. He was then assigned as division director of the arms-control negotiations office concerned with chemical, biological, and radiation weapons on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[3] He was also appointed as a technical delegate to the United Nations, and participated in arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union in Geneva.
Retirement
Deutermann served for 26 years in the Navy, retiring in 1989. He earned 19 military awards and decorations. He then worked successively for three companies between 1989 and 1993, which supported the FAA in the procurement of large-scale computer systems.[1]
Career as an author
After retiring from active duty, Deutermann moved to Georgia to work on his writing career.[1] He published his first novel, entitled Scorpion in the Sea, in 1992 through the George Mason University Press. The book landed him an agent, and then a contract with St. Martin's Press in 1993. Three of his later books have been optioned for feature film development. Nightwalkers, was published May 26, 2009.[5] In 2012, he was named the recipient of the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction by the American Library Association for his novel Pacific Glory.[6]
In 2023 he was again honored by the American Library Association for his novel, Last Paladin, as recipient of the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction.[7] He was honored a third time by the American Library Association in 2024 for the novel Iwo, 26 Charlie.[8]
Other ventures
Since the late 1990s, Deutermann has served on the board of directors for two high-tech companies and on the board of advisors of the SpaceVest Venture Capital Group in Washington, D.C.
Personal life
Deutermann married Susan Cornelia Degenhardt, of Gainesville, Florida in 1968. They presently live in Rockingham County, North Carolina, where they run a Dartmoor pony breeding farm. Their son Daniel retired after 20 years active duty in both the Navy and the Coast Guard in 2011. Daniel's previous assignments included being a flight instructor in Pensacola, Florida. Their daughter, Sarah, flew in Navy F-14 fighter jets, as a radar intercept officer (RIO).[1] She is now an attorney in Greensboro, North Carolina.[citation needed] Deutermann's father, two of his uncles, as well as both of his brothers served in the armed forces, as have some of their children.
Deutermann's hobbies include the design and construction of formal gardens, reading American Civil War history, and the study of the 1st century Roman Near East.
Bibliography
Main article: P. T. Deutermann bibliography
The Ops Officers Manual (1980)[3] ISBN 0-87021-505-1
Scorpion in the Sea (1992) ISBN 0-312-95179-5 OCLC 29743498
Edge of Honor (1994) ISBN 0-312-11051-0
Official Privilege (1995) ISBN 0-312-95713-0
Sweepers (1997) ISBN 0-312-15669-3
Zero Option (1999) ISBN 0-312-19210-X
Train Man (1999) ISBN 0-312-20375-6
Hunting Season (2001) ISBN 0-312-97906-1
Darkside (2002) ISBN 0-312-28120-X
The Firefly (2003) ISBN 0-312-20377-2
The Cat Dancers (2005) ISBN 0-312-33377-3
Spider Mountain (2006) ISBN 0-312-33379-X
The Moonpool (2008) ISBN 0-312-37159-4
Nightwalkers (2009) ISBN 0-312-37241-8
Pacific Glory (2011) ISBN 0-312-59944-7
The Last Man (2012) ISBN 0-312-59945-5
Ghosts of Bungo Suido (2013) ISBN 1-250-01802-1
Sentinels of Fire (2014) ISBN 1-250-04118-X
Cold Frame (2015) ISBN 9781250059338
The Commodore (2016) ISBN 9781250078070
Red Swan (2017) ISBN 9781250114082
The Iceman (2018) ISBN 1-250-05933-X
The Nugget (2019) ISBN 9781250205889
The Hooligans (2020) ISBN 9781250263094
Trial by Fire (2021) ISBN 9781250273048
The Last Paladin (2022) ISBN 9781250279866
Iwo, 26 Charlie. (2023) ISBN 9781250284990
August 22, 2017Ryan Steck, The Real Book Spy
RED SWAN: Five Questions with P.T. Deutermann
518i2N+eyYL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_
P.T. Deutermann is no stranger to cranking out top-notch spy thrillers. He’s already delivered some really well-written, underrated novels–none of which are better than his latest book, Red Swan.
For spy thriller purists, this book checks all the boxes. It’s written in a similar vein as Jason Matthew’s Red Sparrow but features a faster plot and a tad more action. The characters are developed nicely, and the story itself feels almost too real to be considered strictly fiction. There are twists, turns, and plenty of suspense–all of which combine to make for a rich reading adventure that spy fans will love.
Ahead of the book’s release, Deutermann agreed to take part in our Five Questions segment, offering a lot of great insight into the plot of Red Saw and the characters he created for this story. He also touched, briefly, on his next project, and listed some of his favorite authors. See the full Q&A below, then head out and pick up a copy of Red Swan today!
TRBS: From beginning to end, this book is absolutely unputdownable. Parts of the plot are very timely and current in today’s world. Where did the story idea for Red Swan come from?
Deutermann: “It arose as the answer to a question I put to myself: how could a foreign intelligence organization gain influence in high places in the Agency without actually planting a mole? Where would they start?”
TRBS: Doctor Allender and Melanie Sloan are both really terrific characters. Which one was more fun to write?
Deutermann: “Allender, hands down. Just building his background was really interesting.”
TRBS: There are so many twists and turns to this book. Do you have all those twists figured out ahead of time and know exactly where the story will go when you sit down to start it, or is that something that you come up with as your writing?
Deutermann: “No. I create the characters, throw them into a situation, and then imagine how they would react. If they end up doing something different from what I might have planned, then that means they’re alive and realistic. If not, I rewrite until they’re ready to declare independence from whatever I had planned.”
TRBS: Which authors do you enjoy reading, and which books are currently on your nightstand?
Deutermann: “Unfortunately, since I’ve been writing fiction, I’ve pretty much given up reading fiction. I don’t want to unconsciously lift somebody else’s stuff. One current exception is Geraldine Brooks, whose writing I find almost painfully beautiful. Other than that, I read (and re-read) history – Shelby Foote for the civil war; Clay Blair for WWII submarine history; Hornfischer for spectacular naval battle history; and Abraham Lincoln’s speeches and correspondence to improve my vocabulary.”
TRBS: Lastly, with Red Swan hitting bookstores, what’s next for you?
Deutermann: “Next one is called The Iceman, a WWII story about the skipper of a submarine who defies conventional traditions, tactics, and policies within the badly bruised Pacific submarine force in the early years of the war – 1942-43. Tactically, he scares the hell out of his crew while racking up some spectacular Japanese ship sinkings, which galls his bosses no end. Set at sea in the southwest Pacific, and ashore in Perth-Fremantle, Australia, there comes a reckoning that has even the Iceman wondering if he’s going to survive the efforts of the infuriated Japanese destroyers to kill him – or his admiral boss, who wants to cashier him. Or, for that matter, the millionaire father of a young woman who’s supposed to marry into Australian upper crust, but who has taken an intense personal interest in this firebrand of a submarine captain. Out in August, 2018.”
The Commodore
P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin's, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-250-07807-0
Deutermann's experience as a U.S. Navy captain informs this engrossing novel set in the Pacific theater during WWII. Capt. Harmon "Sluff' Wolf commands the USS John B. King, "a brand-new, 2,100-ton Fletcher-class destroyer." The son of a Chippewa father and an Irish mother whose family emigrated to the U.S. from Canada, he received the nickname Sluff (for "short little ugly fat fucker") at the Naval Academy. Given the prejudice of the day, his rise in the formal white-gloved ranks of the Navy is all the more impressive. While patrolling the waters off Guadalcanal in the J.B. King, he develops new ways of fighting the enemy that save his ship and sink Japanese warships, but his superiors are slow to appreciate, much less adopt, his tactics. Sluff is stubborn and sticks to his guns, and in a series of night engagements he proves his worth and earns a promotion to commodore. Deutermann (Pacific Glory) handles the human-interest aspects well, but it's his battle sequences on the high seas that stand out. Fans of military action thrillers will race through the pages and finish the book wanting more. Agent: Nick Ellison, Nick Ellison Agency. (Aug.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Commodore." Publishers Weekly, vol. 263, no. 23, 6 June 2016, p. 64. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A454730982/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fb939c5d. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
The Commodore. By P. T. Deutermann. Aug. 2016. 304p. St. Martin's, $26.99 (9781250078070); e-book, $12.99 (9781250091758).
In the pre-WWII U.S. Navy, promotion was glacially slow, usually coming only through death or retirement. So, Harmon "Sluff" Wolf, USNA '26, only gets his first command in 1942, in the desperate early days of the naval war in the Solomon Islands. Sluff, whose nickname is a wonderfully vulgar acronym he coined about his appearance, is an unlikely naval officer. He's a Native American in a navy that limits men of color to menial assignments. But Admiral William "Bull" Halsey has been ordered to defeat the Japanese juggernaut that has inflicted crushing defeats on his ships and threatens the marines on Guadalcanal, and he gambles on Sluff's tactical intelligence, willingness to innovate, and bellicosity. Deutermann, who usually writes solid thrillers, once commanded a destroyer. His experience and his deep knowledge of WWII naval warfare illuminate every page. Japan's naval superiority immediately after Pearl Harbor--and the weakness of the U.S.--is forcefully portrayed. Sluff is a fascinating character, and The Commodore is top-shelf naval adventure.--Thomas Gaughan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
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Gaughan, Thomas. "The Commodore." Booklist, vol. 112, no. 21, 1 July 2016, p. 40. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A459888991/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3aa71072. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
In Deutermann's contemporary thriller Red Swan (St. Martin's, Aug.), the CIA clashes with China's Ministry of Security Services.
The book is broken into two sections: "Black Swan" and "Red Swan." Can you explain what these terms mean? A black swan is an event that has three characteristics: it's totally unexpected, it brings significant--usually bad--consequences, and then people spend a lot of time trying to explain how it could have happened. If a Western security service inflicts a black swan on the Chinese security service, the Chinese might well retaliate with a red, as in communist, swan.
Your lead character, Preston Allender, has golden-amber eyes so disturbing he usually wears sunglasses in public. Taken from life?
I met a German woman with eyes like that while I was taking a tour of occupied East Berlin in the 1970s as the U.S. representative of the occupying powers. She was the official custodian of the prison complex beneath the German Supreme Court building. She was not particularly attractive, but those amber eyes were a bit frightening to say the least.
Preston is also thought, at least on some level, to have the ability to read minds. Have you ever run across anyone with a similar ability?
I interviewed a so-called police psychic for one of my books early in my career. She explained that it was wasn't mind-reading, per se, but rather that it was more like the blooming in her mind of images, emotions, or guilty feelings--but only when the person "being read" was under great duress. The cops she worked for treated her with almost reverence. I asked the chief of detectives how she did it. He said, "She just talks to them, real quiet-like, and tells the suspects what she's 'seeing.' They stare at her and then start singing like a bird."
The news media have recently published stories about CIA assets killed by the Chinese government beginning in 2010. Is this the sort of action they would take in response to a black swan instituted by our government against them?
First of all, I'm pretty sure we're talking about Chinese nationals, not American spies cloaking and daggering around China. That's what the word assets usually means. Second, the PRC routinely executes people for crimes both criminal and political, so this is more of a propaganda announcement than anything else. Will we respond in kind? I doubt it. A captured spy is too valuable to just slip into the nearest wood chipper. Think exchange, or extreme leverage. Those 12 people could just as well have been "counterrevolutionaries"who were agitating against communist control of China.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
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Appel, Allen. "Golden eyes: PW talks with P.T. Deutermann." Publishers Weekly, vol. 264, no. 23, 5 June 2017, p. 31. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A495538313/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ec90e0cc. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
The Iceman
P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin's, $26.99 (320p)
ISBN 978-1-250-18137-4
At the start of this exciting WWII naval thriller set in 1942 from Deutermann (RedSwan), Lt. Comdr. Malachi Stormes launches a submarine attack on a German U-boat base in France that destroys three enemy subs. His daring earns him a promotion and the command of the USS Firefish, a new long-range sub based in Perth, Australia, replacing a timid skipper more concerned with preserving torpedoes than engaging foes. The Firefish's crew members are unprepared for his aggressive and unorthodox tactics. The phlegmatic captain earns the nickname "the Iceman" for his cool detachment, even taking time to grab a smoke while an enemy destroyer bears down on his boat. But a family history of alcoholism and violence back home in Kentucky haunts the captain and could adversely affect his judgment. Deutermann packs authentic information on submarine tactics and naval warfare in between the taut underwater action. Fans of old-school submarine novels like Run Silent, Run Deep will be rewarded. Agent: Nick Ellison, Nick Ellison Agency. (Aug.)
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"The Iceman." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 24, 11 June 2018, pp. 42+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A542967290/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=68a60af6. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
The Nugget. By P. T. Deutermann. Oct. 2019. 320p. St. Martin's, $27.99 (9781250205889); e-book, $14.99 (9781250205896).
Deutermann knows how to reveal navy life to even the casual reader, and his latest tells a harrowing tale of WWII. Ensign Bobby Steele is at the right place at the wrong time, but he survives the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He decides to jump right into the fray, and soon is learning how to fly fighter planes. His bold and sometimes dangerous actions give him the opportunity to participate in the biggest battles of the Pacific, and readers who enjoy WWII stories, especially those involving the air war, will be entranced by Steele's story, which is told in a gripping first-person narrative that extends from the Battle of Midway to a mission in which Steele is charged with rescuing POWs from a Japanese internment camp and, finally, to his appearance in an American military court. Deutermann, long a master of military thrillers, is at the top of his game here. --Jeff Ayers
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 American Library Association
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Ayers, Jeff. "The Nugget." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2019, p. 26. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A602231964/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=69ed9ac4. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
The Nugget
P. T. Deutermann
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.stmartins.com
9781250205889, $27.99, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Lieutenant Bobby Steele, USN, is a fresh-faced and eager naval aviator: a "Nugget," who needs to learn the ropes and complex procedures of taking off and returning safely to his aircraft carrier. A blurry night of drinking lands him in an unfamiliar bed aboard the USS Oklahoma; later that day, the Japanese destroy Pearl Harbor. After cheating death and losing his friend in this act of war, the formerly naive Steele vows to avenge the attack.
Flying sea battle after battle, Steele survives the most dangerous air combat in World War II, including Midway, is shot down twice, rescued twice, and eventually leads a daring mission to free prisoners from a secluded Japanese POW camp.
Critique: Packed from cover to cover with authentically presented military action on land and at sea in the Pacific Theatre of WWII and featuring a memorable protagonist based on a true-life hero, "The Nugget" is a first-class adventure novel by P. T. Deutermann--a former commander whose family served in the Pacific. While unreservedly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Nugget" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781982631772, $29.95, MP3 CD).
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Midwest Book Review
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"The Nugget." Wisconsin Bookwatch, Nov. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A710689168/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e7f959fe. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Trial by Fire
P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin's, $28.99 (256p) ISBN 978-1-250-27304-8
This harrowing WWII naval action thriller from Deutermann (The Hooligans) fictionalizes the final battle of the aircraft carrier USS Franklin. Early chapters introduce the key players, including Cmdr. George Lowry Merritt, the ship's executive officer, and Lt. John Ryan McCauley, the fire marshal and assistant damage control officer, going about their duties in the months leading up to the morning in March 1945 when a Japanese bomber dropped two bombs that pierced the Franklins flight deck, setting off a chain-reaction explosion of armed and fueled fighter aircraft that nearly sinks the ship. Heroism abounds as Deutermann skillfully brings moments like the rescue of 300 men trapped below decks to life, while also vividly conveying the sensations of pervading death. A working knowledge of military terms is assumed, and some characters can feel interchangeable or untapped (the ignominious captain isn't even given a name). Though more exhaustive details can be found in several nonfiction accounts, fans of naval history will be enthralled. Agent: Ed Maxwell, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (July)
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"Trial by Fire." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 21, 24 May 2021, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A663666036/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4e3ae33f. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Trial by Fire: A Novel
P. T. Deutermann
St. Martin's Publishing Group
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250273048, $28.99 hc / $14.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Trial-Fire-Novel-Deutermann-Novels/dp/1250273048
Synopsis: It's March 1945 and the war in the Pacific is approaching its apocalyptic climax. The largest wartime armada ever assembled, Task Force 58, is closing in on Okinawa; once taken, it will finally put American B-29 bombers in comfortable range of the home islands of Japan--and victory.
At the heart of the fleet are 14 Essex-class aircraft carriers, including the USS Franklin, known as "Big Ben"--a 27,000-ton behemoth, home to 3,600 crewmen and 100 aircraft. Just after dawn, while crewmen prepare for battle, a single Japanese Yokosuka D4Y bomber breaks through the clouds and drops a 500-pound semi-armor piercing bomb on Big Ben. The bomb rips through the wooden flight deck before exploding on the hangar deck, amidst two dozen fully fueled and armed fighter-bombers. The resulting explosion engulfs both the hangar deck and all the planes spotted on the flight deck. Bombs cook off and rockets howl in all directions, both on the flight deck and down in the hangar bays. Hundreds of men are forced to leap into the sea to escape the rivers of burning aviation gasoline, leaving the captain with only one third of his crew, of whom there are more dead, wounded and trapped men left onboard than able-bodied sailors.
Trial By Fire is the gripping novelization of how, against all odds, the sailors of the Franklin were able to save their ship, after 3 agonizing days of battling the flames that ultimately claimed the lives of 832 men and injured 300 more. Readers will be astounded and humbled by the heroic actions of a few extraordinarily brave sailors in the face of unending catastrophe.
Critique: Trial by Fire: A Novel is an intense, action-packed work of historical fiction that dramatically portrays the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. The story focuses upon the brave sailors of the USS Franklin, an aircraft carrier with over 3,600 crewmen that suffered a severe bomb attack with catastrophic casualties. Here are recounted true tales of valor, firefighting, and desperation, as the USS Franklin's sailors fought to save their ship and the survivors. Trial by Fire keeps the reader's attention riveted to the very end! Highly recommended. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Trial by Fire is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.99).
Editorial Note: P. T. Deutermann is the author of many previous novels including Pacific Glory, which won the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction. Deutermann spent twenty-six years in military and government service, as a captain in the Navy and in the Joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms-control specialist. He lives with his wife in North Carolina.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Midwest Book Review
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"Trial by Fire: A Novel." Wisconsin Bookwatch, Sept. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A710684228/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3b5202f4. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin's, $28.99 (288p) ISBN 978-1-250-27986-6
It's the summer of 1944 in this capable naval thriller from Deutermann (Trialby Fire), and Lt. Cmdr. Mariano deTomasi, captain of the destroyer escort USS Holland, has arrived in the Solomon Islands to assist the Pacific theater war effort. Previously stationed in the North Atlantic hunting German U-boats, the small ship is considered an afterthought to "the Big Blue Fleet" that will take the fight north to the Japan'ese home islands. The Holland is assigned to patrol an area of the empty ocean based on rumors of a line of Japanese submarines intent on ravaging the approaching U.S. armada. After aircraft spot a Japanese sub, the Holland begins a tense search and destroy mission for a pack of submarines, which may strike readers as unlikely, but as with all Deutermann's novels, it has a strong historical basis. Though the voices of deTomasi and his executive officer, Lt. Ephraim Edmond Enright, who shares narrative duties with the captain, sound much alike, Deutermann ably conveys naval battle tactics, day-to-day life aboard a vessel, and the pandemonium of warfare. This is smaller in scale than the author's usual fare, but no less potent. Agent: Ed Maxwell. Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (July)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
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"The Last Paladin." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 20, 9 May 2022, p. 34. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A706390524/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8daf5b81. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
IWO, 26 Charlie. By P. T. Deutermann. Nov. 2023. 288p. St. Martin's, $29 (9781250284990); e-book (9781250285003).
In this work of historical fiction set in 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima, narrator Lt. Lee Bishop is serving aboard the USS Nevada when he volunteers to transfer to shore duty as a "spotter." His new job is to transmit to the naval fleet the positions of the Japanese on the island. (The book's title comes from the radio call sign he assigns himself). Deutermann (The Last Paladin, 2022), who served in the U.S. Navy for more than a quarter century and has carved out a successful career as a writer of crime and military fiction, brings the infamous Iwo Jima conflict and its participants vividly to life in a terrific war story that is dramatic and tragic, but also exhilarating and triumphant. Readers who like their military fiction peppered with terminology will be satisfied; without slowing down the story or sounding clunky, the dialogue and narration are laced with acronyms and technical terms. Splendid. --David Pitt
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
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Pitt, David. "IWO, 26 Charlie." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 3, 1 Oct. 2023, p. 33. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A768548199/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3682ef11. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
The Second Sun
P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin's, $29 (304p)
ISBN 978-1-250-36097-7
This suspenseful historical thriller from Deutermann (Iwo, 26 Charlie) hinges on an intriguing question: was Japan working on its own atomic bomb in the waning days of WWII? It's the spring of 1945; Germany has been defeated, but Japan fights on. A surrendered German U-boat is escorted into the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine with a full crew, and U.S. Navy captain Wolfe Bowen, who works for the Navy's strategic planning committee, climbs aboard. He discovers that the submarine has a secret deck with containers of unrefined U-238 uranium that the Germans planned to send to Japan for use in their weapons program. Bowen's superiors then clue him in to America's greatest secret: the Manhattan Project, which has just produced two atomic bombs. Soon, President Truman assigns Bowen to investigate Japan's program and its relevance to the U.S.'s decision to drop the weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Deutermann's characters, both real and fictional, are well drawn, complex, and sympathetic; he makes a stirring moral dilemma out of Bowen's assignment and generates thrilling romantic heat between him and Lt. Commander Janet Waring, who's assigned to help translate his work into Japanese.
Deutermann's fans and WWII buffs alike will enjoy this gripping treatment of an underexplored aspect of the war. Agent: Ed Maxwell, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Mar.)
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"The Second Sun." Publishers Weekly, vol. 272, no. 2, 13 Jan. 2025, p. 44. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828299888/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=48bbd3ce. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Deutermann, P.T. THE SECOND SUN St. Martin's (Fiction None) $29.00 3, 18 ISBN: 9781250360977
A World War II Navy captain looks for signs of a Japanese atomic bomb program.
In March 1945, Germany has given up, but the war in the Pacific is far from over. Captain Wolfe Bowen is ordered to check out a surrendered German U-boat that had two Japanese passengers aboard and find out what they'd been doing in the North Atlantic. The sub is a strange one, having a second deck but no torpedo tubes. In that extra deck is uranium that the German captain will not show Bowen even at gunpoint. Strahlung, the German explains. Radiation. Bowen reports this to his superiors, who clue him in about our Manhattan Project, which is so secret that FDR (who dies within weeks) even keeps it from Vice President Truman. Bowen also learns that the Nazis had been trying to develop an atomic bomb, so is Germany sharing its technology with Japan? That is for Bowen to find out as he travels by submarine through dangerous Japanese waters. Indeed, as U.S. brass had never expected, he witnesses spectacular evidence of the enemy's nuclear efforts. This news must immediately get to the suddenly President Truman. What if an atomic bomb explodes on our invading troops? In this fictional telling, such a prospect drives Truman to drop U.S. bombs first. Bowen works closely with Lieutenant Commander Janet Waring, who knows Japanese culture and language. They get along quite well--he's a big fellow who pumps iron to relieve his stress, then learns that she is happy to relieve his stress in bed. After the bombs, President Truman directs the duo to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki and report back to him how bad it really was. And how did ordinary people feel about the American victors--was it rage or resignation? What "the Japanese were calling the second sun had bloomed in the early morning sky over Hiroshima" and left human shadows burned into sidewalks. Survivors looked like the living dead. All colors disappeared, leaving only black and white. Bowen and Waring are exceptionally good at finding out what the big shots need to know, and readers will like them both. Whether Japan ever had its own atomic bomb program is unknown, though the author thinks they probably did.
Dramatic history presented in vivid detail.
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Deutermann, P.T.: THE SECOND SUN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A827101172/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ebd8053e. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Red Swan
P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin’s, $26.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-250-11408-2
Doctor Preston Allender, the distinctive protagonist of Deutermann’s fascinating contemporary spy thriller, works for the CIA as a medical consultant at the rank of assistant deputy director. His official job is making sure that those involved in shaping the careers of clandestine operatives be psychologically sound. His most obvious unusual trait is his disturbing, deep-set, golden-amber eyes, an oddity that has earned him the nickname Dragon Eyes, but it’s his uncanny ability as an interrogator that fuels the speculation that he can read minds. Allender implements a scheme known as a “black swan” to discredit Maj. Gen. Chiang Liange-fu, the chief of the Ministry of Security Services at the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., and therefore strike a blow against the Chinese national security agency. The plan works, but the fallout results in Allender being forced out of his job. After agency deputy director Hank Wallace is reported dead, Allender is asked to take over the investigation as a private contractor to liaise with the FBI. Deutermann (The Commodore) spins his tale with such cunning that readers will rush through the pages to find out what happens next. Agent: Nick Ellison, Nick Ellison Agency. (Aug.)