{"id":27697,"date":"2021-08-27T10:19:45","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T15:19:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=27697"},"modified":"2021-08-27T10:20:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T15:20:06","slug":"the-cryptographers-dilemma-by-johnnie-alexander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=27697","title":{"rendered":"The Cryptographer’s Dilemma by Johnnie Alexander"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/The-Cryptographers-Dilemma.jpg” title_text=”The Cryptographer’s Dilemma” admin_label=”Book Image” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”MY REVIEW” _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”4px|||||”]<\/p>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I did not realize until I reached the end of The Cryptographer\u2019s Dilemma<\/em> that it was based on a true case during World War 2. I loved the fact that such an enjoyable tale had such a strong element of history embedded within its pages. That is why I love historical fiction so much. I want to know about the people involved in our past, not just the facts.<\/p>\n

Eloise\u2019s talent as a Naval cryptographer captured the notice of the FBI who enlisted her help in solving a case involving several odd letters. Assigned to work with agent Phillip Clayton, she quickly realizes that he is not at all happy about his assignment but is determined to fulfill her duty as best as she is able.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed traveling across the U.S. with Phillip and Eloise as they searched for answers. It was fun observing how Eloise interpreted\u00a0 hidden messages within the letters and how the pair of them put the clues together to find the traitor. I also enjoyed getting to know both characters as little by little their backgrounds were revealed and I learned what made them react the way they did. The romance that developed between them was subtle which allowed the meat of the story to take precedence.<\/p>\n

The plot of The Cryptographer\u2019s Dilemma<\/em> moved along at a steady pace with bits of action and danger inserted at just the right points. The identity of the traitor was fairly obvious early on but the methods and actual process of apprehension kept me involved until the very end. A side story involving Eloise and her estranged father also reached a satisfying conclusion.<\/p>\n

Another excellent offering from Johnnie Alexander, The Cryptographer\u2019s Dilemma<\/em> is a book that lovers of World War 2 history should love.<\/p>\n

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I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”ABOUT THE BOOK” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE BOOK:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Book:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The Cryptographer\u2019s Dilemma<\/p>\n

Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Johnnie Alexander<\/p>\n

Genre:\u00a0<\/b>Historical Christian Fiction<\/p>\n

Release date:<\/strong>\u00a0August, 2021<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to get your copy!<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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A Code Developer Uncovers a Japanese Spy Ring<\/strong><\/p>\n

Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes\u2014the heroines of WWII.<\/em><\/p>\n

FBI cryptographer Eloise Marshall is grieving the death of her brother, who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor, when she is assigned to investigate a seemingly innocent letter about dolls. Agent Phillip Clayton is ready to enlist and head oversees when asked to work one more FBI job. A case of coded defense coordinates related to dolls should be easy, but not so when the Japanese Consulate gets involved, hearts get entangled, and Phillip goes missing. Can Eloise risk loving and losing again?<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”ABOUT THE AUTHOR” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Johnnie Alexander<\/strong> creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won\u2019t forget in a variety of genres. An award-winning, best-selling novelist, she serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts Writers Chat, and interviews other inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. Johnnie lives in Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.com<\/a> and other social media sites via https:\/\/linktr.ee\/johnniealexndr<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM JOHNNIE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

American Traitor in WWII<\/p>\n

Not all secret messages involve substitution codes where random letters and numbers replace the original letters and numbers. Velvalee Dickinson, a doll collector who owned a doll shop on Madison Avenue in New York City, used jargon code to pass along information to the Japanese about the U.S. ships that had been damaged at Pearl Harbor.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an excerpt from one of the letters (as originally written):<\/p>\n

The only new dolls I have are THREE LOVELY IRISH dolls. One of these three dolls is an old Fisherman with a Net over his back\u2014another is an old woman with wood on her back and the third is a little boy\u2026.I can only think of our sick boy these days. You wrote me that you had sent a letter to Mr. Shaw, well I want to see MR. SHAW he distroyed Your letter, you know he has been Ill. His car was damaged but is being repaired now. I saw a few of his family about. They all say Mr. Shaw will be back to work soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Velvalee, who the FBI nicknamed The Doll Woman, wrote this letter on her Underwood typewriter. She used the return address and forged the signature of one of her regular customers, Mary Wallace of Springfield, Ohio. Then Velvalee mailed the letter to an address in Buenos Aires, Argentina.<\/p>\n

Unknown to Velvalee, the Japanese had abandoned the Buenos Aires address as a drop point. The letter was marked \u201creturn to sender.\u201d When Mrs. Wallace received it, she turned it in to the Post Office Director in Springfield who passed it along to the FBI.<\/p>\n

Cryptographers determined that the letter was written in jargon code. To the casual reader, the letter is about dolls. But the intended recipient would have understood it\u2019s about much more than that.<\/p>\n

In this example, only one of five letters given to the FBI between February and August of 1942, cryptographers decoded the message as follows:<\/p>\n