5 Star Review 

Reviewed By Ray Simmons for Readers’ Favorite

Little Wars by J. David Bethel is listed as a historical event/era novel, but it read as a compelling murder mystery in a small town. I grew up in a small town and I was fascinated at this behind the scenes look at politics, business, corruption, and crime in a small town in America during the final days of World War II. J. David Bethel does a great job as he slowly pulls back the curtain on small-town life and the machinations that go on in backrooms and country clubs across America even today. I loved this novel and found it relevant now even though it is set in the past. The writing is great, and the story unfolds at a pace that keeps the reader engaged to the last page. This is a sweeping, well-written look at corruption and crime and how it seeps into the fiber of American life.

The writing brings Little Wars to life and it does this with the use of great characters like Milton Adams, Peter Dillon, and Wynn Bradford. This review is not long enough to list them all because there are so many of them. But rest assured, J. David Bethel writes them beautifully. They all do their part to move the story forward while painting a very real and accurate picture of American life, not only of the era in which the story takes place but even today. Little Wars is a great murder/mystery. It is a great portrait of life and crime in small-town America. But most of all, it is a great read.