Down a Dark Road, winner of the 2024 MWSA Gold Medal, transports readers to the shadowy forests of WWII Austria, where a weary and battle-worn Army platoon is about to discover the war’s darkest secret...

“...a gut punch of a novel. A tale of war’s end, when the bill comes due in blood...” —Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of Sleepless City

As the war in Europe draws to a close, young Army lieutenant Jim Thayer finds himself and his platoon on the point of the American advance into Austria. Jim and his men are no strangers to the horror of war. But what they find hidden in the forests of Western Austria is beyond anything they have yet experienced.

Battling remnants of the legendary Waffen SS, Germany’s elite fighting force, Jim and his men come face to face with the cruel brutality of the Nazi regime. And bear witness to the fields of death left in its wake.

Determined to hunt down the architect of this atrocity, Jim dispatches an unofficial team of unlikely allies—an American bomber pilot, a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot, and a young Austrian woman.

The war may be ending. But for these strange comrades in arms, the final battle has only just begun...

In Down a Dark Road, former Air Force officer H.W. "Buzz" Bernard plunges readers into the final dark and bloody chapter of the war, as they follow Jim and others into the true heart of darkness.

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Praise for DOWN A DARK ROAD:

“Read this book. Share it with your friends and neighbors. Discuss it. Never forget!” —Gene Simmons, cofounder of rock group Kiss

“...an action-packed story that also informs on some of the darkest events of World War II.” —Lee Jackson, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of After Dunkirk

“Bernard nails the character of Jim and his significant role in the final chaotic days of WWII.” —Major General Raymond F. Rees, USA (ret.)

“...reveals the kindness and gentleness—the humanity—of a life-long warrior.” —Ted Kulongoski, Governor of Oregon (2003-2011)

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What readers are saying:

★★★★★ "...heroic story..."

★★★★★ "...a read of a lifetime."

★★★★★ "An incredible WWII read!!"

★★★★★ "I could not put this book down."

★★★★★ "...you owe it to yourself to read this..."