A Time to Kill, a Time to Heal: War, Treasure, Deception, Murders, and Two Endings

Klaus Gustmann, a young, politically moderate, professional is shattered by the sudden death of his wife and deeply disturbed by the invasion of Poland in 1939 that is sure to commit Germany to another huge war. How can he both protect his young son, Horst, and fulfill his sworn patriotic duty to defend the homeland? With reluctance, he listens to his former professor, now a rising Nazi, who urges him to join a new military unit of the SS that might never leave Dresden since Germany is sure to win quickly this time. It doesn't, but as his battle scarred unit retreats from Leningrad in 1944, Klaus finds an amazing Russian treasure and hides it in Latvia. After that, nothing but defeat, and in a state of abject terror as the Russians overrun Berlin, Klaus commits an act making it necessary to forever hide his true identity. And the treasure? By turns it makes Klaus a hunter and a hunted man, emerging once more in 2014 as Horst Gustmann is found murdered. His daughter, Eva, then teams with a friend, Derek Todson, to learn more about Klaus, decrypt a code telling where he hid the treasure, and flush out Horst's killer who's tracking them.

About the Author

D. J. West is a former college teacher of microbiology and director of vaccine clinical studies for a major pharmaceutical company. The author of numerous scientific papers, this is his first novel.

West's hobbies and other interests include stained glass crafting, light hiking, and reading medical history, especially the development of vaccines.

His wife, a retired registered nurse, spent many years working in various areas, and helped him through an undergraduate and two graduate degrees. They have two children, a son who is a senior manager of security for a major U.S. corporation and a daughter who is a professor of neurobiology, and three grandsons.