Houston, TX -- (SBWire) -- 03/13/2013 --While Canada is known for being diplomatically “officially non-belligerent” during the Vietnam War, the United States’ northern neighbour did become home to an estimated one hundred thousand Americans who protested the US military draft. The subject has attained mythic status on both sides of the US-Canadian border, but it’s a topic relatively untouched by novelists. Now, however, those dubbed draft-dodgers play a central role in Kay Kendall’s powerful new book.

As the initial volume in the Austin Starr Mystery series, ‘”Desolation Row” fuses fact with fiction to tell the story of one Texan couple’s journey due north, where they encounter a life as fraught as the war itself.

Synopsis:

It's 1968. The Cold War is hot, the Vietnam War is raging, and the women's movement is beating a far-distant drum. When Austin Starr's husband decides to protest the war by emigrating from Texas to Canada, she goes along, with the biblical dictate of "whither-thou-goest I will go" ringing in her ears. No activist herself, Austin is already homesick and drowning in culture shock when her husband is accused of murdering a fellow draft resister, the black-sheep son of a U.S. Senator.

The Mounties aren't supposed to harass draft-age boys but the truth is very different, especially when political pressure is applied by both the victim's father and the Canadian prime minister's office. They may have a reputation for always getting their man, but Austin is convinced this time they have the wrong one. Once courted by the CIA, and a lover of mystery and espionage novels, Austin launches her own investigation into the murder. When ominous letters warning her to stop her sleuthing turn into death threats, Austin must find the real killer or risk losing everything. Her love-and her life-are on the line.

The author explains a burning desire to share the story of thousands of women caught in their own battles during the Vietnam War era.

“I wanted to show what life was like for typical young women of that era—not the type that made headlines, the Hanoi Janes or Angela Davises, but moderates who nonetheless got swept up by history's tides during the turbulent sixties. All that turmoil lends itself to drama, intrigue, and murder,” says Kendall, who grew up against the backdrop of the Cold War. An American by birth, Kendall also acquired Canadian citizenship while working in Canada in the seventies and eighties.

Discussing her inspiration to write the book, she continues, “Many authors locate their sleuths and their spymasters during the wars of the twentieth century. The two world wars and the Cold War all have countless mysteries set during those times. The only large wars of last century not “taken,” not overrun with novels, occurred in Korea and Vietnam. The latter is a comparatively empty niche that I concluded needed to be filled with mysteries—and I decided I was the one to do the filling.”

“The first half of ‘Desolation Row’ may irritate Canadians as Austin longs to return home to Texas and lacks understanding of Canadian ways,” Kendall explains. “By the end of the story, however, Austin Starr embraces Canada for its fairness and the many kindnesses its citizens showed her. I illustrate to Americans that Canada is a distinct country, different from the US, and Canadians that Americans can truly value their northern neighbour.”

Even in its pre-release period, the book has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews.

"A brutal murder, a young woman fighting to prove her husband's innocence--DESOLATION ROW hooked me on page one. Kay Kendall is one author who knows how to burrow into your heart,” says Norb Vonnegut, bestselling author of Mr. President, The Trust, The Gods of Greenwich and Top Producer.

Hank Phillippi Ryan--Anthony, Agatha and Macavity award-winning author, was equally as impressed. She said, “Deception, intrigue and authentic sixties nostalgia. Those who remember this turbulent time-gone-by will connect with the tension and conflict of the passionately anti-war generation that hoped to give peace a chance, but in this entertaining mystery, wound up with murder instead."

Harry F. Miller noted, “Sleuthing with amateur investigator Austin Starr is a joy ride - thrilling & fun! A solid whodunit that is soundly constructed, Kay Kendall's extraordinary debut novel is filled with anxious moments, daring intrigue and scandal on a back-drop of anti-war activism. Set in Toronto, Canada during the Vietnam War, we find American expatriates enveloped in murder and suspense involving one of their own. Who would think? A great read!”

With the book’s popularity steadily increasing, interested readers are urged to purchase their copy as soon as possible. “Desolation Row” is available in trade paperback and E book formats now on all online book retailers.

For more information, visit: http://kaykendallauthor.com , http://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor and twitter.com/kaylee_kendall

A book trailer can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq2n-M8Odq0

About Kay Kendall
Kay Kendall is an international award-winning public relations executive who lives in Texas with her husband Bruce, their five house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. She’s now working on the second Austin Starr mystery, “Rainy Day Women.”