Books like A Missing Plane — picked by fans

A WWII P-51 pilot, lost in Germany during WWII, was not located by the Americans for decades. He left a widow and a baby daughter, who felt her father’s absence her whole life. The area where he fell became part of East Germany, so was inaccessible for decades. One local man buried his remains and cared for the grave for years.

This is the amazing story of how several people, speaking three different languages, eventually became a "society of the heart" through the internet and in person. The P-51 pilot's remains were brought home for a military burial. 

Bones of My Grandfather is a grandson’s search for answers to the astonishing saga of a soldier lost in brutal fighting on a remote atoll in the Pacific and the hole that loss left in his family and their descendants. His loss was in the headlines because his family was well-known and wealthy, but even that didn't help them bring home his remains.

Woven among details of the battle are pockets of family history, the politics of finding and identifying remains, discussion of the War Graves Registration Service, amphibious warfare history, and even the politics of awarding war medals, the Medal of Honor had been denied to Bonnyman in 1944, but awarded to him two years later.

This is not only the story of a young American serving in WWII, it's a family story about what happens when that MIA or KIA telegram arrives. And how it permeates through the family when the family member is never found and the family is left in limbo, dealing with an ambiguous loss and unresolved grief that even affects more generations.

Because my Grandma Leora lost three sons during WWII, I can relate to the not knowing, as for one of the brothers, only God knows where his remains lie today.

It is encouraging to read about the author's trips to Europe and to learn how much the Dutch revere the young Americans who helped liberate their homeland. They publicly remember anniversaries and welcome visiting Americans, especially those hunting for answers.

This family history and historical journey, aiming for closure by one family, is a real American treasure.

Howard Snyder’s B-17 and crew were part of the 8th Air Force, stationed in England. They were shot down in February of 1944 on the French/Belgium border. Two members of the crew of 10 were killed in the plane, some were rescued and in hiding, and some were captured.

The author, Howard Snyder’s son, not only researched what happened to his father, but also the rest of the crew. He contacted a former German pilot who shot down the Susan Ruth.

Howard Snyder was kept hidden by brave Belgians. Paul Delahaye was 13 years old when the Americans forced out the Germans. Delahaye made it his mission to make sure the Americans were never forgotten, building memorials and starting museums. Steve Snyder kept in touch with his father’s rescuers, visiting Belgium and meeting Paul Delahaye.

A remarkable story.

Winner of the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel, James Kestrel’s Five Decembers tells a gripping story of survival that spans the entirety of World War II.

It’s got it all, man, and it is a helluva fantastic read. The story begins in Honolulu, Hawaii, and follows detective Joe McGrady on the trail of a murder that takes him far from home and far from the woman he loves.

Before he knows it, he’s in the middle of the war, in Japan, no less, and nothing for him will ever be the same.

Don’t walk for this one, run, and keep a copy on your shelf. You’re sure to reread it a few times and the cover’s a true beaut.

An Agatha Christie-style mystery set in Buenos Aires. At two in the morning, Pancho Soler returns drunk to his apartment building on Santa Fe Avenue. He presses the button for the lift, and it arrives with a surprise inside: a beautiful blonde woman, sitting upright, but dead. Many of the suspects who live in the building are recent immigrants from Europe and, as the novel is set in the 1950s, their memories and secrets from WW2 are still fresh. Boris, a Bulgarian chemist who worked for the Nazis, is the most entertaining of the lot. There are the usual red herrings and revelations in the search for the murderer. The young Argentinian detective is a little flat by Christie's standards, but this is a satisfying whodunnit.   

A mystery that confounds the world. How can a flight completely disappear? There are several conspiracy theories and ideas but the truth is – no one really knows what happened and probably never will. This book sets out the facts and leaves the reader to decide and it will have you mulling over the endless possibilities. The facts are troubling and the theories continue. Every time I board a plane I think of Flight MH370 and what those passengers must have endured. Bad enough as fiction but to realise it’s true is devastating.

I have to confess that I discovered these books after watching the TV series Department Q. As soon as I saw "Based on the books by Jussi Adler-Olsen," I knew I had to read them.

The books differ significantly from the TV show. For one thing, they are set in Copenhagen, not Scotland. But the dark humour and clever plots are still the same. In this, the first of the series, Carl Morck—who is recovering from an incident where two of his colleagues were shot—is made the head of Department Q, looking into cold cases.

His first case is the disappearance of a politician who we know is still alive, but no one—apart from Morck—is looking for him anymore, assuming he fell off a ferry.

If you aren’t ready for Scandinavian Noir, perhaps you’d like a dose of Scandinavian Blanc. Alexander McCall Smith excels at mysteries on the lighter side—which isn’t to say this book isn’t very strange, with its own hints of darkness. Detective Ulf Varg and his colleagues solve crimes that are deemed too weird for the regular police: a possible werewolf menacing a spa, a non-lethal knee-stabbing, and a missing (imaginary) person. AMS’s great gift is imbuing small puzzles with weight and humanity. And if the human cast here isn’t off-kilter enough for you, be reassured…there’s also a dog who can lipread in Swedish.

Frieda Klein is a psychotherapist dedicated to helping her patients overcome their private horrors. She tells them that they are in a safe place with her—nothing will go beyond these walls. Until one day, a patient’s dreams and desires accord so closely to the case of a missing child that she decides to break that promise.

She finds herself involved in a complex police investigation that can only be solved with her specialist insight. The tension mounts to breaking point as she tracks down the killer, ending in a shocking climax that comes straight out of the left field.