Franklin author Elaine Hume Peake is set to release her gripping World War II novel The Kaboom Boys on September 9, 2025. The historical fiction debut draws inspiration from Peake’s own family history and follows a daring U.S. Army bomb demolition squad through the harrowing landscapes of Nazi-occupied Europe. Co-written with best-selling author Don Keith, the book blends vivid action with emotional depth, capturing the high-stakes reality of unsung wartime heroes. The Kaboom Boys will be available in eBook, paperback, and audiobook formats through Severn River Publishing.
Book Description:
A historical saga of courage, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. With the specter of the Great Depression behind him and the horrors of Nazi-occupied Europe ahead, Edward Hume leaves his Pennsylvania coal mining town to volunteer as one of the first US Army bomb demolition captains in the Second World War. Trained alongside the RAF in the English countryside, Hume takes command of an eclectic team of misfits, tasked with the perilous job of defuzing unexploded bombs in the heart of Europe’s fiercest battlegrounds. Their chances of survival are slim—most soldiers with this assignment don’t make it past ten weeks.
The group’s journey culminates at the ancient and mystical Mont Saint-Michel, left abandoned by the Nazis in the chaotic aftermath of D-Day. Hume and his squad face not only a deadly cache of jettisoned bombs but also treacherous tides, quicksand, and maritime mines. With each successful defuzing they save countless lives and inch closer to victory. But the cost of failure looms large, as they witness the devastating consequences of explosives left unattended.
With the war intensifying, Edward and his men find themselves caught between their duty and their humanity, knowing that each mission could be their last.
Based on real events, Elaine Hume Peake and Don Keith deliver a gripping, cinematic tale of bravery and sacrifice, capturing the relentless perseverance of the men and women who answered the call to war. Perfect for fans of Lee Jackson’s After Dunkirk series and Mark Sullivan’s Beneath a Scarlet Sky.
About the Author:
Elaine Hume Peake was born on Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland, the site of the first United States Army Bomb Disposal testing and training base. Here her father, Captain Edward Hume learned the fundamentals of BD and became part of the first American army ordnance squads of World War II, setting the stage for the origins of the historical drama series, “The Kaboom Boys”. Elaine studied journalism/mass communications at Towson State University leading her to a multi-year career in television news. She received multiple journalism awards including Emmys and the George Foster Peabody Award for her 9/11 coverage. Elaine lives in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee with her husband Christopher where she writes and has been enjoying life with their precious golden retriever Lucia.
Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith has lived in the South all his life and is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Broadcast and Film. As a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting and was also the first winner of Troy University’s Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don was twice named Billboard Magazine “Radio Personality of the Year.” His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, received the Alabama Library Association’s “Fiction of the Year” award. He has since published more than thirty-five books, fiction and non-fiction, including several nationally best-selling thrillers.
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