Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown

By Steven G. Walker

The author, a former Marine Officer and historian brings this true story to life.

If you loved movies like Casablanca, and The Maltese Falcon; private eyes like Sam Spade, Charlie Chan, and Mickey Spillane, you will fall in love with Gunny Mac and his crew of tough, zany detectives in a book that reads like a black and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seadog Publishing
• Release date: Sep 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781735702612

Book preview

Prologue

September 12-14, 1942 Guadalcanal

Several hundred feet above the jungle floor, torrents of rain pounded and shredded the triple canopy of leaves. The drumming cadence of the rain drowned out the symphony of sounds usually heard on the jungle floor. Millions of raindrops splashed from leaf to leaf, flowing down wild orchid vines and cascading off big floating banana leaves. The wide-eyed monkeys scrunched under the larger leaves, just like a man might do, trying to keep from being washed away. Overflowing streams gurgled lustily, red water spilling over their embankments, hungrily eroding the stream beds.

Before the storm, the interior of the jungle had reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, the more cooling rain made the Marines pushing through the undergrowth shiver uncontrollably. They moved like old men before their time. They were bent at the waist, only their eyes darting to the left and right. They didn’t wear their GI ponchos, those ridiculous contraptions that allowed more water in than out, made them sweat ferociously, and smelled like the result of an all-night drinking binge in Shanghai. They used them only as an overhead cover, to try and keep foxholes dry.

Every day, every single day, the rain came down in sweeping bursts like a gray curtain. Then the rain would stop, and steam would rise from the jungle floor like it did from the sewer grates in New York City in the winter. Then, in the next moment, all was lost in another cloudburst. The Marines called this time, chills and pills, but they’d run out of quinine pills weeks before.

The wetness made the men miserable causing painful immersion foot. On patrol days, they prayed to the rain God to mask their movements in the jungle. If the downpours made their lives unbearable, they could only grin and know the Japs suffered also.

At the beginning of the battle for Guadalcanal, they had several hundred mules carrying supplies to the front quickly and efficiently. The Japs killed the mules off weeks ago, but they often joked that they were in the process of becoming more mule-like every day.

To a casual observer, the Marines seemed to slog across the jungle floor. But each movement they made was precise and planned. The jungle floor was a death trap. Gnarled roots would grab an unsuspecting ankle and snap it like a twig, leaving Marines writhing in pain. Swamps appeared like magic, swallowing the unlucky Marines whole. High, unfeeling winds, toppled over huge rotting trees, crushing unsuspecting men. Vines came out of nowhere to wrap themselves around hands, their nasty barbs ripping out chunks of flesh. Snakes and eight-inch centipedes feasted on them, inflicting poisonous bites,

Reviews for Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

situational-humor, verbal-humor, historical-fiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, action, suspense, greed, subterfuge, us-marine, ex-marine*****Fast paced action novel with strong characters and a believable plot including some surprising but real historical info. The publisher's blurb is really good! Couldn't stop reading until the end! Can't wait till the next one!