Historical Fiction Mystery Thriller
Date Published: 01-26-2026
Publisher: Bearss Lair Books
Dan Driscoll is consumed by gambling debt, cornered by bookies and loan sharks, forced to bet on one last scheme. When things turn violent and two people are shot, his best friend, Stan Neumann, swallows what he suspects. He can’t risk divulging a closely-held family secret.
Then a body washes up on the Lake Michigan shoreline, and the lake gives Dan what the bookies never would: a way out. Authorities call it an accident and list him as the drowning victim. For Dan, it’s an escape route delivered in black ink.
He becomes a ghost, an imposter, a chameleon. But lies don’t stay buried.
As America is pulled into World War II, Stan enlists, choosing duty on his terms before the draft can rewrite his life. In Pearl Harbor, one chance encounter dredges up a name he thought was long buried.
Interview with MARK G. BEARSS
Author of CAIN’S CHAMELEON
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Two things. The first is the timeline. Since I write historical fiction mysteries, I have to be careful and make sure the timeline is accurate and relevant. For example, I can’t introduce a character’s who is arriving into central London in June 1940 and describe her utter dismay and shock over the extensive destruction from Nazi bombing when, in reality, the Blitz didn’t start until September 7, 1940.
Another situation where this comes into play is when I need to have a character present at a pivotal event (say, a funeral, for example) then realize the age I intended him to be won’t work for what happens later in the story.
The second relates to cliché’s or phrases, products, businesses, or songs … whether or not they existed during a particular decade.
For example, when I was describing a character’s difficulties navigating life’s hurdles, I referred to them as “life’s speed bumps.” Unfortunately, in 1940, there were no such things as speed bumps. Pot holes…yes. Speed bumps…no.
I had to make sure products I referenced existed withing the story’s timeline. One of the characters used the phrase “We have more eyes and ears around here than Carter has liver pills.” (A colleague of mine used to say that.) Naturally, I had to make sure Carter Liver Pills were a product before 1940.
I wanted to use certain local businesses in the story. Therefore I needed to make sure they were still in business. One in particular, the Stony Lake Tavern, had gone through name changes with different owners. It took a bit of research, and an interview with the current owner, to make sure I had the right name for the proper decade.
Another example has to do with a certain song I heard while driving. I do some of my best thinking during my windshield time. Since the novel begins in 1940, I listened to XM’s “40’s Junction” and Pandora’s “BBC Big Band Orchestra Radio.” I’ll hear a song and I think, “Can I make that fit into the story?”
In my recent novel, “Cain’s Chameleon,” the Protagonist is in a local tavern having a drink and a cigarette. To set the mood further, there’s a song playing in the background on the radio. Again, the timeline is March 1940.
The one in particular I wanted to use was “I Could Write a Book” by Les Brown and his Band of Renown. The lyrics would fit perfectly. However, before I could do this, I needed to do quite a bit of research about that piece and determine when it was written, produced, when it would have aired, and would it fit into the timeline. It was rare that songs played over the radio back then were recorded; most stations broadcast live music. Fortunately, I could make that song fit.
What are your most played songs?
As I alluded to in the previous question, I often listen to 40’s Junction on Sirius XM and the BBC Big Band Orchestra on Pandora. This began when I wrote a book about my father’s WW II military journey. Like many returning veterans, they didn’t talk much about what happened “over there.” My father was no exception. While doing some genealogy research, I discovered some declassified military documents that alluded to details he never mentioned. That began a two year research project, and a book, “Undisclosed Stories Discovered: Honoring the WW II Military Journey of Lt. Joseph Ward Bearss, USNR.” Listening to songs from those two stations help set me “back in time.”
This music also served to set the mood for “Cain’s Chameleon”, which began in 1940. I recall my parents talking about taking trains between naval air stations and flight training fields where my father was assigned. I transfer that memory to my character, Stan Neumann, when he has to leave for basic training. A popular song associated with wartime troop trains was Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
Absolutely! Without them, a book would simply be black ink on pieces of white paper. No substance. They make sure there’s a story with credible characters who evoke emotions, tension, intrigue, and humor. They make sure there’s a story in the pages and that it flows. They ensure the dialogue is true to the era.
What book are you reading now?
I have two books that I’m reading currently. The first is “The God in the Woods,” by Liz Moore. This is about a teenage girl who vanishes from a summer camp located in the Adirondacks. She’s not just one of the campers; she’s the daughter of the family that owns the camp and employs most of the locals.
The second book I’m reading is “Seven Beaches, Seven Murders,” by Henry Granger. Henry is a Michigan murder mystery author who I met at the 3rd Coast Author and Book Fest in Grand Haven, Michigan. The story is about a serial killer that finds his victims along the Lake Michigan coastline, close to where I grew up summers. Since my novel also takes place in West Michigan, I am a strong supporter of other Michigan indie authors.
How did you start your writing career?
It began after I finished the book about my father, which I described in an earlier question. Much of the research I conducted for his military journey used the weekly newspaper, The Oceana Herald, that served the community where my parents grew up; Shelby, Michigan. I was able to track my father’s whereabouts using the Local News column in that paper. Families would submit a short blurb of events, gatherings, or short announcements about their friends and relatives. “Mr. & Mrs. Herman Ladegast and their daughter Katharine were guests for Sunday dinner at the home of Oscar and Vera Newman.” Or, “Ensign Ward Bearss began flight training with the U.S. Navy in Corpus Christi, TX. He will be there through March 1943.” One might think of these announcements as the Instagram or Facebook of the 1940s.
While reading though volumes of these newspapers, I stumbled upon two news articles that piqued my interest. The first was about an attempted murder of a neighbor who’s cottage was very close to where we vacationed during the summers on Lake Michigan. The second was a story about a drowning victim who washed up on the shoreline very close to where we used to play on the beach. While growing up, I had never heard about these events.
My question: I wondered if these two events were related. Did someone become drowned to cover up loose ends over a foiled murder attempt?
I decided…I’ll make them related. That’s how “Cain’s Chameleon” began.
Then guess what? While doing research for that novel, I came across another story in The Muskegon Chronicle newspaper. This became the seed for my current work. Which leads me to your last question.
Tell us about your next release.
The story begins in 1907. 19 year-old Madeline Lovell becomes pregnant by her handsome and sophisticated Swedish lover. But they are not married. It’s a time in history when this was a widely frowned-upon and an embarrassing stigma for the mother…and her family. The father abandons her.
Madeline raises her son, Jason, with as much discretion and secrecy as she could. She’s constantly asked, “When will we meet his father?” Her pat answer is, “He’s away … with the Army.” Here again is another one of those timeline challenges. I had to make sure World War I was still going on.
Unbeknownst to her, the father turns to petty crime, then grander schemes of larceny, and eventually…murder. He and his accomplice are on the FBI’s most wanted list. (True history part of the story). While passing counterfeit twenty-dollar bills in Muskegon, Michigan, he gets arrested. But on his way to the police station, he pulls a gun and shoots the police officer. In the melee, both end up shot. Both end up dying.
Madeline discovers this while reading the newspaper and realizes, from the criminal’s photo, it’s her old lover…and her son’s father. This becomes another closely guarded secret that she does not divulge to anyone…especially Jason.
She wonders: Does the apple fall far from the tree? Does the son end up following the old adage, “you’re just like your father?”
About the Author
While author Mark Bearss was setting the stage for his retirement, concerned co-workers would ask, “What are you going to do when you’re not working?” He found this question rather curious. It should have been posed, “What are you going to do first?” Mark knew that if travel was involved, he had had enough of commercial flights after 28 years of teaching for the medical device industry. Mark yearned for road trips – to visit those places he only saw from 38,000 feet. Little did he know that wish journeyed down an unexpected fork in the road. He would become an author.
While conducting genealogy research, Mark discovered archived de-classified military documents that revealed the name of a U.S. Navy destroyer his father served aboard during WWII. The reason this was a poignant discovery was because, while growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his father made no mention of this. Apart from being a U.S. Naval Reserve flight instructor, he knew his father served aboard the carrier USS ESSEX. But in what capacity? That, too, was not revealed. More discoveries materialized the further he dug. In fact, there was a lot more his father didn’t mention. This wasn’t unusual. Many WWII veterans didn’t talk about what happened back then.
Because of the pandemic, the National Archives in St. Louis was closed and rendered Lt. Bearss’ military records unavailable. Thus began a project that challenged Mark’s research endeavors for over two years and about 5,000 miles on the road. The biographical sketch was sorted from creative Internet search strings, history books, navy publications, and networking with journalists, librarians, archivists, bloggers, aviation enthusiasts, museum and historical society curators, navy veterans, relatives, and more. One online resource that was instrumental in tracking his father’s journey was the weekly newspaper published in the county where his parents grew up: The Oceana Herald. It included a Local News section where family members and organizations could submit a short blurb about a relative’s visit, a social gathering, or – where a son or husband was currently stationed.
This project culminated in 2022 with Mark’s first publication titled, Undisclosed Stories Discovered: Honoring the World War II Military Journey of Lt. Joseph Ward Bearss, USNR. When asked what was one of the highlights surrounding this story, he described the road trips to seek out and discover places where his father lived, trained and was stationed during the war. What prompted him to write this as a biography took place during a meeting with the curator of the World War II Home Front Museum on St. Simons Island, Georgia. St. Simons Naval Air Station was the site for the U.S. Naval Radar Training Station, where Lt. Bearss was trained in shipboard radar operations, enemy interception, and Fighter Direction. While the museum had ample archived materials about the facility, it had very little documented about the servicemembers who trained there.
Only 250 copies were printed. Mark went back on the road in his Class-B motorhome and personally donated those copies to family members, friends and relatives, the librarians, archivists, researchers, museums, curators, historical societies, newspapers, The American Heritage Center, VFW Posts, airport FBOs, and other assorted WWII enthusiasts in 12 states who helped in his endeavors. It was a two-fold reward. Not only did his father’s story finally become told, Mark experienced the pleasure of meeting all these wonderful people who were his resources, advisors, collaborators, and consultants. Up until that point, they were only names in an email contact list.
You’re probably asking, “How is all this relevant to Mark’s new novel, Cain’s Chameleon?” It was the research from The Oceana Herald that planted the seed for this story. While perusing its issues, Mark stumbled on two articles that piqued his curiosity. The first reported an attempted murder in a home close to his family’s summer cottage on Lake Michigan. The second reported a drowning victim that washed up on the beach right where Mark and his friends used to play. Just two more stories never divulged while growing up. He wondered, Were these two events related? Then Mark decided — he would make them related.
https://mybook.to/CainsChameleon
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