Shadow and the Coconut Caper Book

It is Christmas Eve six years after Chipper Gaines came home from World War II. He is laid off from his job which triggers a return to the bottle. Chipper does not handle alcohol well. He has traumas from the war that he has not dealt with. He has three mysterious encounters that night which begin his healing. The book is written very descriptively. The author gives us a good view of Chipper's thoughts and behavior as he gets himself further and further into a mess that finally takes a turn for the better.