The John Lennon Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels) [Hardcover]

Robert S. Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels | Publication Date: August 18, 2001

Imagine This-Manhattan. December 8, 1980. 10:50 P.M.

A crazed fan steps out of the shadows of the Dakota apartment building and shoots dead his idol, John Lennon. Young Niel Gulliver, an aggressive reporter, races to New York. He falls in with two of John Lennon's dearest mates and begins relationships that will tie him to the secret world inside rock and roll for life.

Imagine This-Los Angeles. The present.

When Neil Gulliver, now a newspaper columnist in L.A., and his ex-wife, actress Stevie Marriner, agree to appear at the Imagine That! Music festival honoring John Lennon, they suddenly find themselves dodging one murder attempt after another. Why? And why are so many other people once associated with Lennon dying violent deaths?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Levinson's long experience in music public relations, the handling of rock stars, and writing and producing has provided him with material and styles enough for three novels, but not enough of substance for any one novel. Following hot on the heels of The James Dean Affair and The Elvis and Marilyn Affair, his latest eulogizes the murdered Beatle, the story split between Lennon's own time and a huge, mob-inspired John Lennon Imagine That! Memorial Rock Festival in 2001. Making their third appearance are Levinson's series protagonists, newspaperman Neil Gulliver and TV actress Stevie Marriner, known as the "Sex Queen of the Soaps." Gulliver covered Lennon's death, and now he and Stevie find themselves appearing in the massive festival in his honor. Someone doesn't want them around, though, and will kill to keep them away. Ironically, among the parade of stock supporting characters crooks, assassins, drunken Indians, politicians, actors, sinister Treasury agents and "Feebies" (FBI agents) Lennon himself is only peripheral. He is given occasional lines, once at an earlier festival: "They have a bloody foogin' concert in me honor to raise money to wipe out weapons, and it brings on one gun going off after the bleeding next." It may be news that Mark David Chapman, who shot him, had been hired to shoot President-elect "Dutch" Reagan instead. Enough names are dropped to fill an agent's Rolodex (including those in a lengthy author's note), and gags abound, but more attention to plot would have been helpful for the bewildered reader. Readers who pick this up hoping for all Beatles all the time will be disappointed what they'll get is a mediocre mystery with the musician as hook and the rock scene as background d‚cor.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Series protagonist Neil Gulliver lost his first job because of John Lennon's murder. Now, Gulliver is a famous L.A. journalist who lives with (but is divorced from) soap star Stevie Marriner. Because of their involvement in a previous case (The James Dean Affair), they try to lie low but instead become murder targets when a Treasury agent insists they appear at a recently revived Lennon tribute. Apparently a mobster is using the event to launder his ill-gotten gains, but further complicationsironic and otherwisequickly ensue. Wonderful dialog, great plotting, plentiful Hollywood tidbits, and literate prose; strongly recommended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (August 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312879024
• ISBN-13: 978-0312879020
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,339,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant Surprise, September 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The John Lennon Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels) (Hardcover)

Being a Beatles fan, I bought this book simply because of the title. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself being caught up in the twists and turns of the plot line and it no longer became a book about John Lennon to me. It became a book with great intrigue and mystery, as well as the historical nostalgia and reminiscences. I love this author's unique approach and obvious knowledge of life in the circle surrounding the world that was Lennon. Not only did I love the mystery of the events in the book, I also found myself drawn to the story behind Neil and Stevie's unorthodox relationship. Now, I am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, and I am ordering the previous titles and cannot wait to read them. What a fun book!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read, September 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The John Lennon Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels) (Hardcover)

The mixture of Yesterday and today was marvelous and I really felt as if I was Here, There and Everywhere. In My Life I have read many books (no, I don't want to be a Paperback Writer) and have enjoyed many sets of characters. Neil and Stevie are amongst the most fun and prove that one is able to get by With a Little Help from [Their] Friends.

I look forward to the next one, and hope that when it comes the world is a better place where Peace *can* be Given a Chance.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert S. Levinson Does It Again!, August 2, 2001

By 

Ruel Fischmann (San Fernando, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The John Lennon Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novels) (Hardcover)

I just lost a night's sleep because I couldn't put down "The John Lennon Affair" by Robert S. Levinson. Levinson evokes the world of "the biz" when Rock and Roll wasn't canned and stars were more than hype. For those of us who were there, it's a vivid flashback to scary times. For those who weren't, it's an exciting ride. But the real flip comes when the past impinges on the present. Levinison's characters Neil and Stevie are drawn into a thrill ride of murder and intrigue at a Lennon memorial festival in the desert. Good plotting, colorful characters and some thoughts to chew on. Five stars.