The Dictograph Case
Anti-German hysteria in the United States during the WWI and WWII eras is the chilling historical background for this mystery novel set in 1937, in an American city named Ellington. A local journalist, Michael Schumann, in reporting an assault on an old man, learns that anti-German slurs accompanied the attack. Michael’s personal background heightens his search to find the root of this current violence because his German immigrant grandfather was falsely accused of being anti-American in 1918. A dictograph, an early bugging device, was used to incriminate his grandfather and others by secretly recording and then twisting their words as supposed evidence of their guilt. The CPLE, the Citizens Patriotic League of Ellington, orchestrated the use of the dictograph as part of their campaign to harass and intimidate German Americans during WWI.
Michael fears that this group is resurfacing. Olivia Kendall, a high school history teacher, joins him in his investigation. Olivia’s connection comes through her deceased father, a lawyer who defended Michael’s grandfather and others in 1918, before being killed in an automobile crash that may or may not have been an accident. As Michael and Olivia investigate, they become aware of the complicity of ordinary citizens in allowing any menace of this nature to take hold and grow. Fear and bravery alike intensify as their search for the truth of what has happened and is happening again widens and incriminates powerful, influential city leaders.
The pieces of the puzzle that come together in the plot will draw readers in, as will the conflicted emotions of the characters and the story’s realistic setting. Recommended for readers interested in exploring facets of anti-German sentiment during the World Wars through the framework of an historical fiction mystery.
