JOHN DUNNING

Widely acclaimed for his groundbreaking crime novels Booked to Die and The Bookmans Wake, award-winning author John Dunning triumphantly returns with a riveting new thriller that takes us back to the summer of 1942, when radio was in its prime, when daylight saving time gave way to "wartime," when stations like WHAR on the New Jersey coast struggled to create programming that entertained and inspired a nation in its dark hour. Into this intense community of radio artists and technicians in Regina Beach, New Jersey, come Jack Dulaney and Holly Carnahan. They are determined to find Hollys missing father, whose last desperate word came from this noisy seaside town. Holly sings like an angel and has what it takes to become a star. Jack -- a racetrack hot-walker and novelist whos hit every kind of trouble in his travels from sea to sea -- tries out as a writer at WHAR and soon discovers a passion for radio and a natural talent for script writing. While absorbing the ways of radio, from writing to directing, he meets some extraordinarily brave and gifted people who touch his life in ways he could not have imagined -- actresses Rue, Pauline, and Hazel; actor-director Waldo, creator of the magnificent black show Freedom Road; and enigmatic station owner Loren Harford, among others. Jacks zeal for radio is exceeded only by his devotion to Holly, who needs his help but who is terrified for his safety. Strange things are happening in Regina Beach, starting with an English actor who walked out of the station six years ago and was never seen again. And Hollys father is gone too, in equally puzzling circumstances. As Jack and Holly penetrate deeper into the shadows of the past, they learn that someone will do anything, including murder, to hide some devastating truths. In a stunning novel that transcends genre, John Dunning calls upon his vast knowledge of radio and his incisive reading of history to create a poignant, page-turning work of fiction that sheds new insights on some of the most harrowing events of the twentieth century. Like E. L. Doctorows Billy Bathgate or Caleb Carrs The Alienist, Dunnings brilliant tale of mystery, murder, and revenge brings to life another time, another place, another world.

By the 1920s, Denver had outgrown its frontier-town beginnings. But for some, life was still as perilous as the surrounding terrain. The insidious influence of the Ku Klux Klan was reaching its peak, and those who stood in its path feared for their safety. Denver is the saga of a family caught in this tempestuous time. To newspaperman Tom Hastings, his writing matters more than anything. As the book opens, President Harding has just died, and Hastings finds himself drawn toward the biggest story of his career. But his wife resents his allegiance to the newspaper and his Jewish stepfather is a target for the supremacist Kleaglestwo good reasons not to persist in his pursuit of the story: that and the KKK has penetrated the highest levels of government in the state. Some eighty characters surround Tom Hastings: theres his half-sister, the quiet, passionate Jewess Anna Kohl; David Waldo, a socialist and friend to Jack London; Willie Brown, a rising political star torn between his desire for elective office and the love of his life; and Marvel Millette, a Nellie Blylike reporter in whom Tom Hastings finally meets his match. John Dunning creates flesh-and-blood figures, not only of these fictional characters but of historical personages as well. There is John Galen Locke, the Grand Dragon of the KKK, and Fred Bonfils, a founder of a newspaper dynasty built on tabloid sensationalism; President Calvin Coolidge, too, makes a gruff appearance. Denver is a panoramic novel as vibrant as the city for which it is named, as tumultuous as the era in which it is set. John Dunning never lets the reader lose sight of the men and women who live their lives on the pages of this saga. While crosses burst into angry flames and menacing droves of white-robed Klansmen gather against the torch-lit skies, passions, fears, joys, and hates are played out in Denver in the 1920s.

From New York Times bestselling author John Dunning comes a riveting Cliff Janeway Bookman novel, combining captivating book lore with page-turning suspense.Occasionally, Denver bookman Cliff Janeway has one of those perfect dayshe sells a couple of good books and he buys something even betterperhaps a tough-to-find Steinbeck in mint condition. Even the jacket is fine. Working from his store on seedy Colfax Avenue, Janeway doesnt have enough of those days, but hes not complaining. Things are looking up because of his new partner and friend, lawyer Erin dAngelo. So when Erin asks Janeway for a favor, its hard to say no. She wants him to go over the mountain to the small town of Paradise where a former good friend, Laura Marshall, is in jail, accused of killing her husband. What happened at the Marshalls remote mountain home? Did Laura kill Bobby, or is she trying to protect her oldest son? And where were the three children when the shooting occurred? What did they see? Rich with the intricacies of book collecting that only an expert like John Dunning can offer, The Sign of the Book is a beautifully crafted, enthralling novel of suspense from the consummate bookman himself.

Cliff Janeway is back! The Bookmans Promise marks the eagerly awaited return of Denver bookman-author John Dunning and the award-winning crime novel series that helped to turn the nation on to first-edition book collecting. First, it was Booked to Die, then The Bookmans Wake. Now John Dunning fans, old and new, will rejoice in The Bookmans Promise, a richly nuanced new Janeway novel that juxtaposes past and present as Denver ex-cop and bookman Cliff Janeway searches for a book and a killer. The quest begins when an old woman, Josephine Gallant, learns that Janeway has recently bought at auction a signed first edition by the legendary nineteenth-century explorer Richard Francis Burton. The book is a true classic, telling of Burtons journey (disguised as a Muslim) to the forbidden holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The Boston auction house was a distinguished and trustworthy firm, but provenance is sometimes murky and Josephine says the book is rightfully hers. She believes that her grandfather, who was living in Baltimore more than eighty years ago, had a fabulous collection of Burton material, including a handwritten journal allegedly detailing Burtons undercover trip deep into the troubled American South in 1860. Josephine remembers the books from her childhood, but everything mysteriously disappeared shortly after her grandfathers death. With little time left in her own life, Josephine begs for Janeways promise: he must find her grandfathers collection. Its a virtually impossible task, Janeway suspects, as the books will no doubt have been sold and separated over the years, but how can he say no to a dying woman? It seems that her grandfather, Charlie Warren, traveled south with Burton in the spring of 1860, just before the Civil War began. Was Burton a spy for Britain? What happened during the three months in Burtons travels for which there are no records? How did Charlie acquire his unique collection of Burton books? What will the journal, if it exists, reveal? When a friend is murdered, possibly because of a Burton book, Janeway knows he must find the answers. Someone today is willing to kill to keep the secrets of the past, and Janeways search will lead him east: To Baltimore, to a Pulitzer Prize-winning author with a very stuffed shirt, and to a pair of unorthodox booksellers. It reaches a fiery conclusion at Fort Sumter off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. Whats more, a young lawyer, Erin dAngelo, and ex-librarian Koko Bujak, have their own reasons for wanting to find the journal. But can Janeway trust them? Rich with the insiders information on rare and collectible books that has made John Dunning famous, and with meticulously researched detail about a mesmerizing figure who may have played an unrecognized role in our Civil War, The Bookmans Promise is riveting entertainment from an extraordinarily gifted author who is as unique and special as the books he so clearly loves.

As a young man, New York Times bestselling author John Dunning earned his living for several years working behind the scenes on the racetrack circuit. Now he brings his memories of the horse world and his expertise in collectible books to this mesmerizing new Bookman novel rich with the lore of both books and horses. . . . Denver bookman Cliff Janeway would have liked Candice Geiger. She loved books with a true bookwomans passion. Her collection of first-edition childrens books is the best that Janeway ever hopes to see. Sadly, Janeway and Candice Geiger will never meet. She died much too young. Now, twenty years later, her books remain a testament to an extraordinary womans remarkable vision. Janeway first learns about the juvenilia collection when Candices elderly husband, H. R. Geiger, passes away and Janeway travels to their Idaho home to assess the collection. The estate cant be distributed until the books are valued, so theres pressure on Janeway to do the job quickly. But one look at the books tells Janeway somethings wrong. Valuable titles are missing, replaced by cheap reprints. Other hugely valuable pieces remain. Why would a thief take one priceless book and leave an equally valuable volume on the shelf? The answer may lie in Candices story. The daughter of a wealthy industrialist, she married horse owner and trainer H. R. Geiger at a young age. They traveled the racetrack circuit with some success, as evidenced by winners-circle photographs -- in which Candice is always a mysterious background figure dressed in white. Two decades after Candices strange death, Janeway finds himself deep in a book mystery that may turn out to be much more than a cataloging exercise. It may even involve murder. Candices daughter, Sharon, may be one of the few people who can help Janeway discover the truth. Sharon has her own Idaho ranch where she takes in sick and injured horses. Janeway worries that her house contains something that could make her very vulnerable: half of her mothers fabulous book collection. The trail of Candices shadowy past leads Janeway to Californias Golden Gate and Santa Anita racetracks, where he signs on as a racehorse hot walker. A novice at racetrack life, he tries to remain inconspicuous while listening to the chatter among the hands. He doesnt like what he hears. And when he goes to the house where Candice died to look for answers, he finds more than he bargained for. With its rich mix of books and horses, The Bookwomans Last Fling is a classic entry in John Dunnings acclaimed Bookman series of suspense novels, sure to bring this superbly talented author even more accolades.

Denver cop-turned-bookdealer Cliff Janeway is lured by an enterprising fellow ex-policeman into going to Seattle to bring back a fugitive wanted for assault, burglary, and the possible theft of a priceless edition of Edgar Allan Poes "The Raven." The bail jumper turns out to be a vulnerable young woman calling herself Eleanor Rigby, who is also a gifted book finder.Janeway is intrigued by the woman -- and by the deadly history surrounding the rare volume. Hunted by people willing to kill for the antique tome, a terrified Eleanor escapes and disappears. To find her -- and save her -- Janeway must unravel the secrets of the books past and its mysterious maker, for only then can he stop the hand of death from turning another page....

A joy to read for its wealth of inside knowledge about the antiquarian book business and its eccentric traders. The New York Times Book ReviewIn the bestselling first novel of the Cliff Janeway bibliomystery series, former Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway trades his badge for a bookstoreand quickly finds that rare books and murder make a volatile mix.Cliff Janeway, a tough, book-loving cop with a penchant for collecting rare first editions, becomes obsessed with the death of local book scout Bobby Westfalla gentle loner with a sharp eye for valuable volumes. When the lead suspect slips through the cracks of the legal system, Janeways quest for justice costs him his job. But his passion for books leads him to open a rare bookshop, where literary treasuresand dangerous secretsresurface.As coveted editions from a legendary collection begin to circulate, Janeway dives deep into the cutthroat world of book dealers, collectors, and killers, unraveling a trail of lies, betrayal, and more dead bodies. Equal parts noir detective thriller and literary crime fiction, Booked to Die is a gripping introduction to a sleuth who understands that some books are worth killing for.One of the most enjoyable books Ive read (The Denver Post), Booked to Die is the first in the Cliff Janeway series. It is a standout piece of crime fictionCompelling page-turning stuff (The Philadelphia Inquirer).