Robert Goldsborough, Shadow of the Bomb

Shadow of the Bomb

Robert Goldsborough

Echelon, October 2006, $12.99

ISBN: 1590803515

In 1942 most of the newspaper coverage is on the war, but Steve Malek covers the local police beat for the Tribune. He gets a tip that in the Hyde Park area foreigners are walking around, but his snitch knows nothing about this. Even more interesting is a University of Chicago scientist telling people, including the reporter that they are developing a secret weapon to win the war.

When Malek goes to interview Arthur Bergman about this, he finds him murdered with a rope around his neck. Further digging leads to the fact that the victim worked in the boarded up Metallurgy Lab guarded by soldiers. Rumors fly that a team headed by Enrico Fermi were trying to create a controlled nuclear chain reaction. A second project scientist is killed, so Malek spies on the Fermi team, but the killer watches him just in case he gets too close and needs to become the next victim.

Readers obtain a glimpse of how the war impacted Chicago, and how careful everyone is not to reveal anything on weapons development. Malek is more interested in solving the homicides than in uncovering top secret weapons that could harm his nation if revealed. His investigation is realistic and engrossing, as he works his crime beat to the delight of fans of historical mysteries. Robert Goldsborough is a fantastic storyteller.