The Oath

“I solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”

A lifetime ago, a young naval aviator took that Oath. Tom McGuire, now a San Francisco PD Homicide Inspector, hadn’t thought about the Oath in years. That was all about to change. A famous San Francisco newspaper columnist has been murdered. In her own kitchen. One bullet between the eyes. Her arms had been tied behind her, knotted together from shoulder to wrist. McGuire feels an eerie chill of recognition. After being shot down over North Vietnam, he suffered seven years as a Prisoner of War in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, enduring rope torture many times—his arms tied in exactly the same way. A lifetime ago, another young naval aviator also took that Oath. He also was shot down over North Vietnam, and joined McGuire as a POW in Hanoi. After 30 years, their lives were about to intersect once again. This time with explosive consequences.

Winner - 2016 BAIPA Book Award for Best Fiction

"The Oath is one of those books difficult to put down. If you are one of us who did not appreciate Jane Fonda giving aid and comfort to the North Vietnamese during her visit to Hanoi in July 1972, you will appreciate this book. Very entertaining."—RADM Thomas F. Brown III, Naval Aviator and veteran of three deployments to the Gulf of Tonkin in support of the war.

"The characters and dialogue are ultimately believable. The ending is unpredictable in the extreme. Combined, you've got a real page turner."—The Irish Herald Book Review

"Weaves politics, murder, romance and the wry ruminations of a middle-aged cop into a satisfying page-turner."—Saint Mary's College Magazine

© 2020 Pen Books (Audiobook): 9781094284132

Release date

Audiobook: 8 March 2020