Buffalonian and Bishop Timon High School grad John Grandits will visit Dog Ears Bookstore & Café from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 12 for a book-signing event.
Also a graduate of Niagara University, Grandits served with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. Among his works are Wayfarer’s Passage, a political mystery, and Canalside Tale, the story of a detective’s redemptive quest for justice set against a backdrop of powerful elites and struggling masses in 1880’s Buffalo.
In his most recent novel titled 1936, Hitler has cemented his grip on Germany, and his evil ideology was making inroads in other countries, including the United States, where these toxic beliefs were resonating with hate groups such as the KKK, along with a new organization, the German American Bund, whose ultimate aim was to spread the Nazi message.
Alex Wagner is the scion of a wealthy German-American family in Buffalo. Hoping to find himself, he is working as a reporter for a German-American community newspaper owned by a friend of his father.
After covering the inaugural convention of the Bund for his paper, Alex confronts a gang of fanatical Nazis intent on anti-semitic and racist attacks. Eventually, he enlists his girlfriend and her grandfather — a retired police commissioner — to help investigate and identify these terrorists. In the course of pursuing the story, they make a discovery that could have national security implications. With little help from official authorities, they rush to foil the scheme. At the same time, she becomes a target of the gang.
Set against a colorful backdrop that includes jazz clubs, big band dances, a bustling aircraft factory, a grand train terminal, a 1930s era ballpark and an exclusive German-American campground, the story captures the atmosphere of pre-War America, yet is as topical as today’s headlines. 1936 takes its readers on a thrilling, action-packed adventure of espionage, terror, family tensions, betrayal, romance and a quest for justice.
For more information on Dog Ears Bookstore, please visit http://dogearsbookstore.org. You can also follow Dog Ears Bookstore on Facebook for frequent updates.
