Beginning with a blurry account of a cold-blooded shooting of a couple, singled out while having dinner at an Officer’s Club, the prime suspect is apprehended hours later while apparently attempting to flee the state. With over a dozen eye-witnesses collaborating the incident, little was left in the puzzle for the military investigators to piece together; especially once it was determined the two … two victims were in fact the perpetrator’s wife and the man she was having an on-going affair with. After the shocking beginning of the novel, the reader in taken on a journey throughout the life and career of the characters while interlacing the technical jargon and vernacular of naval flight training and the nuances of the military lifestyle. Combined with a steamy undercurrent of lust, love, sexual fulfillment, jealousy and primordial desires of the cast of characters, the human condition of married life versus the structure and demands of military careers are juxtaposed against the strength and will of personal upbringing and ethical behavior.
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Kaya is a frequent member of my reading list. He is a local (relative to my area) of the Florida panhandle and a lot of the places and areas he mentions are familiar. This is especially interesting because even though this book was written years before the incident, there was a shooting at the Naval Air Station recently (in the last couple of years). Then circumstances were very different (this book is definitely fiction), and Kaya writes the book in a way that seems obvious from the start but it really isn’t. It twists in an interesting and believable way that really makes this story fantastic, and Kaya really grabs you early on and keeps the pacing fantastic.
The book starts off with the main character/suspect (Belguzar) after the murder. The book really digs into his emotional state and his vehement insistence that he is innocent. Kaya captures his desperation to clear his name perfectly, and keeps the book interesting and moving forward at a great pace. This is another great hit by the author, I certainly recommend this book!
Murder on the Naval Base throws the reader directly into the action. This quick beginning sets the tone for the book perfectly. It is an action-packed mystery story. The story takes on the complicated nature of people especially when lust, jealousy, anger, and love are involved. The greatest strength of this book for me was author Behcet Kaya’s ability to write intriguing, flawed, and human characters. We get to see the moments leading up to the murder and its aftermath from such a human perspective that it kept me enthralled from beginning to end. This is the kind of mystery story that unravels just as you think you know what is going to happen next. If you love murder mysteries, this book is for you!
Another fantastic book by Behcet Kaya. Although this is one of his older books, it was still incredible. It is a bit shorter than his other ones, but it is perfect for newer readers to start with.
It is about a man who is accused of the murder of his wife and best friend. I like how the book is separated into two parts; the history, and the court case. First, I got the time to learn about the characters and their behavior. Then I got the time to see the case in action.
Behcet does a great job with character development, and that is something I have noticed with all the books I’ve read by him. The story is very entertaining, and you don’t want to stop reading till you know the verdict.
I have also noticed that when I read his books, I can not stop reading. I need to know what is going to happen. It is not a want, but a need.
Murder on the Naval Base By Behcet Kaya
I received a copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A double fatal shooting occurs within the first few minutes of reading. The only victims are a deceased couple, entangled in a messy affair. This is the only information that we learn for definite.
Lieutenant Anderson Garrett is a tormented soul, married to the charming Bevin. Stopped and apprehended whilst driving, he is then questioned after officers reveal the tragic murder of his spouse and the man who used to be his best friend. Making matters worse at that moment, he becomes the prime suspect of the double homicide!
What can I say, I loved this book! I have read several books by the accomplished Behcet Kaya. It’s a hard choice to make, but I have to say, this is my favourite. Tantalisingly spinning the tale from start to finish, I wanted nothing to interrupt my reading. Mr Alpine is the civilian lawyer appointed, the fees mysteriously settled by an unnamed origin. As he is the best of the best, both thorough and conscientious, they are far from being cheap. Bemused, who would do such a thing for him, the primary concern for Anderson is clearing his name and taking the best option on offer that would succeed.
Murder on the Naval Base begins with the shooting then walks us through past events. The story touches on Anderson’s childhood then his first meeting with Charles, the man who became his best friend. Life at the Naval Academy and the details of how they became close friends completes their history together. I couldn’t help but sense from first impressions something that concerned me relating to Anderson. I couldn’t put my finger on it but at certain points, alarm bells rang. I didn’t sense that he was capable of premeditated murder, but neither did I rule out the possibility of him being a killer, taken over by rage and jealousy. He came across as a loner with psychological issues because of childhood trauma, so no wonder witnesses identified him as the suspect. Aren’t such actions the ideal examples of crimes of passion?
Putting the elements of the story into place one by one as we continue to read, we can connect the dots, until the author uncovers the picture at the end.
A compelling page-turner presented very much as a puzzle, untangling the mystery the reader is drawn in, which heightens the suspense and drives the narrative.
Behcet Kaya provides careful planning and presentation ensuring an ultimate result of a gripping page-turner that keeps the audience guessing.
I rate Murder on the Naval Base 5 out of 5 stars.
Enjoyable quick read about a murder on a naval base and the court martial trial of the accused.
Lieutenant Anderson Belguzar has a difficult life. His stepfather died when he was a young boy, and his mother died when he was 14. He was then sent to foster homes before receiving an appointment to the Naval Academy and becoming a fighter pilot. Along the way, he became friends with Charles McPhearson, son of an admiral. Charles’s girlfriend was the beautiful and wealthy Elizabeth, but Elizabeth had her sights on Anderson. However, Anderson was loyal to his friend, and turned Elizabeth down. Meanwhile, Charles meets Bevin, a sultry and sexy model and falls deeply in love. However, his mother nixes the relationship. Later, Anderson falls in love with Bevin and they marry.
But, Charles and Bevin continue their affair, even after Charles married Elizabeth (to keep his mother happy and keep his inheritance) and Anderson married Bevin.
When both Charles and Bevin are shot dead, Anderson is accused of their murders, especially since it came to light that he knew about the affair.
The courtroom drama is actually a court martial trial, vs. a criminal trial, so there are some unique features.
I actually was not at all surprised by the identity of the murderer due to clues throughout the novel and one big descriptive hint. But, I was surprised at the reveal of Anderson’s family secret. While not impossible, I thought it was not that plausible, and a little too pat.
However, even with that, and the murderer’s quick admission at the end, I did enjoy this novel. I thought the length was just right and the dialogue and scenes and setup were all well done.
Murder on the Naval Base by Behcet Kaya is another well-written novel by this prolific author. A murder mystery that holds your attention and keeps it throughout. A grisly murder scene opens the book and immerses you right into the story. You must read on to figure out what is going on. Kaya has a true sense of creating tension and intrigue probably due to his acting background. He knows how to create scenes that are riveting and well-drawn. The plot has a fast pace, the details are extensive and the characters are truly relatable and very human. The military slant here also adds a nice element. Highly readable and engrossing, this mystery is strongly recommended.
Murder on the Naval Base by Behcet Kaya starts as a simple military thriller but quickly becomes more entangled than imaginable. Anderson comes from a dysfunctional family, leaving him alone and scarred by the age of fourteen. He spent his teenage years in foster homes with one thought in mind, becoming a naval pilot like his deceased father. Years later he finds his best friend and wife have been murdered and he is the only suspect. The trial brings out all forms of secrets, nightmares, and deceit.
Behcet Kaya is a master author that weaves his story in one direction then reveals events that twist the story completely. Murder on the Naval Base is a story that draws the reader’s attention and then mesmerizes them at the end. You will wonder if justice is served to the killer and the length in which they covered their tracks.
When a man’s wife and best friend or murdered leaving the officers club after dinner he is the first suspect. After all it was his wife and his best friend and they were cheating on him. It looks even worse when they find him trying to I mean what a gut punch after befriending Anderson who grew up in foster homes in group homes and to turn around and sleeping with his own wife… He had to of done it. This book was so good and so so so so so very entertaining. I have become a big fan of Bay S Kaya and am in awe of his great ability to write such good yet different stories. This is a book I highly recommend, but I have yet to run into one of his books but I couldn’t recommend they’re all so awesome!leave the area and they even have witnesses putting him at the scene of the crime… “Supposedly“
There is something to be said about the combination of a writer who also is an actor that somehow makes tension scenes more credible. At least that is the case with author Behçet Kaya who is also known by his stage name as an actor Ben Kaya (`Fast Food’, `The Practice’, `Being American’ on film and numerous roles on the legitimate stages such as The Noise Within among others). Whether it is the fallout of thinking though a storyline or actually taking on the role of a fictional character, the result in the case of Behçet Kaya heightens the verismo as is evident in his short stories and his novels VOICE OF CONSCIENCE, MURDER ON THE NAVAL BASE, ROAD TO SIRAN: ERIN’S STORY and his soon to be published BODY IN THE WOODS. True, his background of having been born and raised in a small village in Turkey, secretly consuming the crime novels Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer series as well as the exemplary works of the Turkish writer of Kurdish origin Yaşar Kemal, his subsequent rebellious flight to Istanbul and London, compelled and succeeding to earn a degree in engineering, his successful introduction to the stage while attending the inner London Education Authority and his subsequent move to the United States where he gained citizenship and worked successfully to achieve is Screen Actors Guild card after studies in Georgia, and then moving to Los Angeles to embrace both his acting ambitions and writing skills – all of this is the progress of a man committed to his art – and it shows.
MURDER ON THE NAVAL BASE was originally release in 2011 but now that it is available as an eBook it doubtless will become more accessible to a wider audience. The story is a disturbing one – the kind that glues you to the page without realizing the anticipation of the author’s ability to seduce the reader with vivid characters and action. From page one, during Hurricane Lori, we are faced with the cold blooded murder of Bevin Belguzar, the wife of Lt. Anderson Garrett Belguzar, and Charles McPhearson, her lover, a former friend of her husband. The dining room of Murat Officer’s Club contains plenty of eye witnesses and within hours Lt. Anderson Belguzar is arrested as the prime suspect for the double homicide based on the fact that the two victims were in fact the perpetrator’s wife and the man she with whom she was having an affair. Having jolted the reader with such a scene, the author goes back in time, unfolding the events that lead up to double murder while at the same time providing information about the military lifestyle as it creates schisms between the choice of commitment to naval flight training with accompanying sidebars of legal manipulation, the palpable tension during flight training, the crises of ethical values in a world that fosters illicit behaviors and affairs in contrast to the innate ethical behavior of the cast of characters. The result is a meticulous character study (fit for a screenplay!) in a setting of the duplicitous nature of military life. It is up there with the best of the military thrillers.
Behcet Kaya is the author of five novels. His first literary fiction novel, Voice of Conscience, follows, to some extent, his own life experiences. His second novel, Murder on the Naval Base is a fast-paced who-done-it, his recently published third novel, Road to Siran, Erin’s Story is the eagerly awaited sequel to Voice of Conscience and the fourth Treacherous Estate is a crime thriller and the fifth Body in the Woods “Appellant Judge”.
Murder on the Naval Base is the story of Lieutenant Anderson Belguzar who is the prime suspect in the gruesome murder of his wife Bevin and her lover Charles McPhereson, who also happens to be Andersons best friend. With plenty of circumstantial evidence that points to Andersons guilt things aren’t looking good! Just as you think there’s no way out of the guilty verdict the plot introduces you to Alpine, a leading lawyer who begins to show that all is not as it seems and the story guides the reader through a number of unexpected twists and turns and introduces new suspects into the mix!
I found Murder on the Naval Base to have a meticulously planned plot with excellent character building. This is the perfect fast-paced who-dun-it crime thriller that had me on the edge of my seat right from the start. I loved this book, it had all the components I could have asked for, murder, romance, suspense, jealousy and intrigue. Personally I think this would make a great movie, and hope one day to see it play out on the big screen.