“The sea action is exciting and thoroughly convincing.” —Kirkus Reviews

Todd Ingram is back in the fight.

After narrowly escaping the Japanese-held Philippines, he is promoted to the destroyer USS Howell.

His new assignment puts him in the middle of two epic naval engagements: the Battle of Cape Esperance and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. But his fight against the Imperial Japanese Navy is just the beginning.

Todd learns that his lost love has joined the Philippine resistance on a nearby island. He sets off to find her...under the watchful eye of an enemy spy in the ranks.

With the war at its apex, Todd must put his life on the line not only for the woman he loves, but for his country, and a world that is perilously close to collapse.

Praise for John J. Gobbell and A CODE FOR TOMORROW:

“The sea action is exciting and thoroughly convincing.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A Code For Tomorrow” is as big as a Fletcher-class destroyer and the story races along with pace and power … A thrilling read.” —T. Jefferson Parker, author of Iron River

“Gobbell … (once) a naval officer, combines painstaking research and solid storytelling to produce a highly readable military adventure.” —Booklist

“From its exciting beginning onboard a Russian prisoner ship off the coast of San Francisco to its incredible high-action conclusion off the coast of Mindanao, this World War II novel cooks with intrigue … This stick-to-your-fingers novel is John J. Gobbell at his best.” —Stephen J. Cannell, author of the Shane Scully series, including The Pallbearers

What readers are saying:

★★★★★ "A strong sense of history and vivid character development wrapped around an interesting and ongoing WWII naval career."

★★★★★ "Best historical WWII fiction in a long time. JJ Gobbell's has sure got it right. His descriptive narrative of the action has you right there in the thick of it and I highly recommend the whole series."

★★★★★ "All I can say is, that if you like true Naval history, the war in the Pacific , good character development, interesting back stories, exciting and authentic well researched action...this Todd Ingram series is for you!"

Review

"From its exciting beginning on board a Russian prisoner ship off the coast of San Francisco to its incredible high-action conclusion off the coast of Mindanao, this World War II novel cooks with intrigue....This stick-to-your-fingers novel is John J. Gobbell at his best."
--Stephen J. Cannell, author of The Tin Collectors

" A Code for Tomorrow is big and fast as a Fletcher class destroyer, and the story races along with pace and power...a thrilling read." --T. Jefferson Parker, author of Red Light and Silent Joe
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In his sequel to the WWII adventure The Last Lieutenant, former navy lieutenant Gobbell unfolds a pedestrian tale of combat, espionage and romance in the Pacific during 1942. Officer Todd Ingram is serving on a destroyer as the U.S. Navy battles the Japanese Imperial Navy around the hotly contested Solomon Islands. Hailed as a hero after his daring escape from Corregidor, Ingram battles his fears of capture and death, and his worries about his sweetheart, army nurse Helen Durand, trapped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Via an implausibly obvious ruse, a Russian double spy working for the Japanese dupes Ingram and his bigmouth pals into revealing military secrets about faulty American torpedoes. Then Ingram is conveniently sent to the Philippines, where he means to rescue Helen and retrieve those secrets in one heroic sweep. Instead, he is captured and tortured by the Japanese. Helen proves resourceful, however, rescuing her would-be rescuer as she leads a Filipino guerrilla unit in an attack on the Japanese naval base where Ingram is held. Blustering and never notably bright, Gobbell's characters come across as caricatures, especially the Japanese and Russian bad guys. With little suspense, no humor and no emotional spark, the story lumbers along amid sophomoric dialogue, side plots that go nowhere and reams of useless data. (We learn, for example, each character's height and weight.) Though its battles seem well researched, the choppy prose drains even those scenes of excitement. Lieutenant Ingram's further adventures turn out to be as much a dud as one of those bad torpedoes. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

This is the follow-up to Gobbell's well-received The Last Lieutenant (1995). This time Gobbell tracks young naval officer Todd Ingram, a Corregidor escapee, through more World War II action afloat in the Pacific, ashore in the Philippines, and through the hallowed halls of military high command. It is still early in the war, and despite the promise of easy duty, Ingram is quickly sent back to help fight the Japanese navy in places few Americans knew existed prior to Pearl Harbor. Ingram is also anxious to get back to the Philippines where Helen Durand, his army-nurse sweetheart, is working with a resistance force behind enemy lines. Gobbell, himself a young naval officer, combines painstaking research and solid storytelling to produce a highly readable military adventure. The novel ends in 1943, leaving fans anxious for the next installment of Ingram's wartime exploits. Budd Arthur --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A near-miss sequel about the Navy during WWII that's only at sea when it's ashore. After his gallantry on and eventual escape from Corregidor in The Last Lieutenant (1995), Todd Ingram finds himself high and dry in San Francisco. Its August, 1942, and high and dry is exactly the way Todd likes it. His assignment is undemanding. Enemy guns are, for a change, aimed at targets other than him. It's the Navy's way of allowing him to lick his wounds, both physical and emotional. Lieutenant Ingramsoon to be promoted to lieutenant commander, soon to be awarded the Navy Crosshas been promised six months of cushy duty, and he wants every day of it. But there's a war on, you know, and the Navy reserves the right to change its mind. Which it does in Ingram's case because battle-savvy officers are scarce and desperately needed. Before he can say Davy Jones, Ingram is piped aboard the destroyer Howell as its executive officer just as his new ship is about to play a significant role in a bloody fight off the coast of Guadalcanal. In the meantime, Nurse Helen Durand, the love of Ingram's life, is maneuvering on Mindanao, one of the Philippine Islands swarmed over by the rampaging Japanese army. While Ingram makes like Horatio Hornblower, Durand does Mata Hari, stealing mighty important secrets having to do with those terrific Japanese torpedoes. Ingram performs bravely when the Howell comes under fire. Durand is equally intrepid when her lover is later captured by the enemy. Safely back in San Francisco, the two get all the sweet rewards justly reserved for superheroes. The sea action is exciting and thoroughly convincing. It's those land-locked melodramatics that a bit too often require a grain of (old) salt. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

"From its exciting beginning on board a Russian prisoner ship off the coast of San Francisco to its incredible high-action conclusion off the coast of Mindanao, this World War II novel cooks with intrigue....This stick-to-your-fingers novel is John J. Gobbell at his best." --Stephen J. Cannell, author of Riding the Snake and King Con

" A Code for Tomorrow is big and fast as a Fletcher class destroyer, and the story races along with pace and power...a thrilling read." --T. Jefferson Parker, author of The Blue Hour and Where Serpents Lie

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

JOHN J. GOBBELL is a former Navy Lieutenant who saw duty as a destroyer weapons officer. His ship served in the South China Sea, granting him membership in the exclusive Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club. As an executive recruiter, his clients included military/commercial aerospace companies giving him insight into character development under a historical thriller format. The Last Lieutenant is the first of six stand-alone novels in the Todd Ingram series. The most recent is: Dead Man Launch, A novel of the Cold War. Altogether, John has written eight novels involving U.S. Navy action and is currently at work on his ninth, At Danger's Ebb. He and his wife Janine live in Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at john@johnjgobbell.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.