Who’s the “John Doe”?
What if you discovered your name was reported in the local newspaper as the identity of a drowning victim. Would you call the authorities to correct their error?
Now imagine you are in debt to sports gambling bookies and loan sharks. Your life is at risk. A mistaken identity could be your salvation and escape these ruthless vultures. Hmmm. What to do? What to do?
Meet Dan Driscoll—for a short while, anyway. He’s about to become a ghost, an imposter, a chameleon. He has more than just gambling debts to hide from. A LOT more.
Unbeknownst to Dan, there are two people who are privy to his deceptions. Regrettably, one of them dies unexpextedly.
This leaves Clare Miller, an investigative journalist, relentlessly uncovering leads to find Dan and turn him in. All she has to track him down with is a newspaper photo—with a different name.
Was Clare conned into a conspiracy to mislead her? After all, the only other person who can corroborate who Dan is and her story is dead.
The Storyline
This historical fiction begins in 1941. It weaves its mystery around a plethora of places, true stories and events that actually happened in West Michigan from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Two high school buddies and teammates from Shelby, Michigan … Stan Neumann and Dan Driskoll … lead lives after graduation that evolve into polar opposites, and ultimately crash head on into each other at Pearl Harbor during WWII.
It will take you on their journeys from a small enclave of summer cottages on the shore of Lake Michigan all the way to the western Pacific Ocean aboard the USS Enterprise, and ultimately circle back to Whiskey Creek where you meet five boys spending summer vacation at Mich-Chi-Won Beach. While exploring an abandoned army camp, they discover a long-lost secret.
About the Author
During my career in healthcare, I worked for two major medical device companies; both had worldwide subsidiaries and distributors. My territory was … the globe. Over a span of 28 years that began in 1987, I achieved what could be considered double million-miler status from the combined flights aboard Northwest, Delta, America, United, Midwest, Southwest, US Air, and KLM Airlines. Gazing out my window seat on countless flights at 38,000 feet over the contiguous United States, I often wondered, Why is there a town in THAT location?
While setting the stage for my retirement, concerned co-workers would ask, “What on earth are you going to do when you’re not working?” Are you kidding me? The question should have been posed, “What are you going to do first?” I knew right then that if travel was involved, I had had enough of airports. I yearned for road trips. I wanted to visit those places I only saw from my airplane seat. Little did I know that wish played into a fork in the road I never expected to follow.
While conducting some genealogy research, I discovered a site that archived de-classified military documents. It revealed the name of a U.S. Navy destroyer my father served aboard during WWII as a radar intercept officer. The reason this was a poignant discovery was because he never mentioned this. Actually — what I discovered — there was a LOT he didn’t mention. Many WWII veterans didn’t talk about what happened back then. Thus began a research project that spanned two years, about 5,000 miles on the road, and culminated in a book titled, “Undisclosed Stories Discovered: Honoring the World War II Journey of Lt. Joseph Ward Bearss, USNR.” One of the fun parts about writing this story; the road trips to seek out and research places where my father lived, trained, and was stationed as a naval aviator and later, as a radar intercept officer.
This novel was published in 2022. All 250 copies were donated. I was back on the road in our Class-B motorhome and personally delivered those copies to librarians, archivists, researchers, military museums, museum curators, historical societies, newspapers, The American Heritage Center, VFW Posts, airport FBOs, and other assorted WWII enthusiasts in 12 states who helped in my endeavors. It was a two-fold reward. Not only did my father’s story finally become told, I experienced the pleasure of meeting all these wonderful people who were my resources, advisors, and consultants. Up until that point, they were only names in my email contact list.
It was the research from that book that planted the seed for this novel, “Cain’s Chameleon.” I hope you enjoy the read.
Bearss-Lair Books 
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