Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

In "The John Lennon Affair," Robert S. Levinson whisks us back in time to John Lennon's murder, when his recurring characters, Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner are 20 years younger. This device is a perfect set-up for the present day adventure and we join Neil and Stevie as they attend a rock festival honoring Lennon's memory on an Indian reservation in the California desert.

The story races along. I couldn't put the book down. The characters are superb. There are federal agents, a crime boss, scheming gamblers, and an Indian mystic. If that isn't enough, Stevie's ex-boyfriend and Neil's ex-girlfriend show up to keep them on an uneven keel.

Read this book. You'll love it. And if you somehow missed the author's earlier books, don't forget to order "The Elvis and Marilyn Affair," and "The James Dean Affair." They're also superb and they'll keep you on the edge of your chair.

What's next Mr. Levinson? I can hardly wait!

"The John Lennon Affair" by Robert S. Levinson, whisks us back in time to John Lennon's murder, when his recurring characters Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner are 20 years younger. This trip down memory lane is a perfect set-up for Neil and Stevie's present day adventure and we join them as they attend a rock festival honoring Lennon at an Indian reservation in the California desert.

The story practically zooms along -- I couldn't put the book down. The character are remarkably diverse and tremendously appealing. There are federal agents, a crime boss, scheming gamblers, and an Indian mystic. And if that isn't enough for you, Stevie's ex-boyfriend and Neil ex-girlfriend show up to cause havoc.

Read this book. You'll love it! And if you somehow missed the author's earlier books, remedy that by getting your copies of "The Elvis and Marilyn Affair" and "The James Dean Affair." All three books are so superb, they'll keep you on the edge of your chair.

What's next Mr. Levinson? I can hardly wait!

Being a Southern California-based mystery writer who counts Robert S. Levinson among my friends, I freely admit that I might be biased here. Regardless, I believe THE JOHN LENNON AFFAIR is Mr. Levinson's strongest work. As I read the previous statement, I realize it is quite strong. After all, Mr. Levinson's previous mystery, THE JAMES DEAN AFFAIR, camped at the top of the LA TIMES Bestseller List so long that everyone stopped counting the weeks. In THE JOHN LENNON AFFAIR, Mr. Levinson draws upon his vast experience in the recording industry to give this work's backdrop a realistic feel. Being of the generation that can tell you what I was doing when I heard John was shot--listening to a Wings LP--I enjoyed the novel's opening sequence involving the events immediately following John's murder. Mr. Levinson then brings us to the present day and involves his series characters Neil, the journalist, and Stevie, the soap opera star, in a complicated scheme involving a music festival. The festival is being held in John's memory in a small desert town near Palm Springs, yet not all with the festival is on the up and up. The plot twists and turns. The characters are loads of fun. The Gulliver-Marriner divorce continues to stumble along; their divorce seems not to be finalized. The dialog is crisp. The setting is so realistically rendered that I instantly identified the actual locations in the fictionalized locales. THE JOHN LENNON AFFAIR is a top-notch mystery, Robert S. Levinson's best.

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. Levinson'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.

Neil Guliver, star columnist of the Daily and Soap Opera Star Steve Marriner have been divorced for seven years, but everyone knows they still have strong feelings for one another. With the James Dean serial killer look a like still on the loose (SEE THE JAMES DEAN AFFAIR), Neil has moved in to Stevie's mini-mansion. He knows her home has a state of the art security system and a full time bodyguard.

Their safety is once again threatened by outside forces when Neil becomes involved in the John Lennon Imagine That Revival. A treasury agent wants Stevie and Neil to obtain the inside information on money laundering by local mobster Aaron Lodger, a powerful person with mighty high connections. Mr. Lodger tells Stevie and Neil that the treasury Agent was responsible for the two mismanaged hits on President Ford and one on President Reagan. The daring duo does not know whom to believe, but they know their lives are in jeopardy because it seems as if everyone is out to finish them off.

THE JOHN LENNON AFFAIR is a fascinating and reliable trip down memory lane for the baby boomer generation, bringing back a special place in the heart's of the over forty crowd. The shoot them up action scenes add a sense of adventure to the well articulated and subtly executed novel. The romance between the two lead characters adds a lot of spice to a very enthralling thriller. Robert S. Levinson enchants the reader with his magical writing ability.

Harriet Klausner

Stupidly, I judged a book by its cover. During a recent jaunt to [a local bookstore], I saw this book and the words "John Lennon" shining like a beacon in the sea of paperbacks. "Why, this must be good. No one would dare write a bad book with the words 'John Lennon' in the title," I thought to myself.

I was wrong. After several failed attempts to finish this monstrosity, I finally tossed it into the fireplace, where I will relish the opportunity to burn it when winter commences.

The writing is stilted, the descriptions cliche at best, and the author needs a thorough lesson in writing a complete sentence. That being said, I read almost halfway through the book without noting even an iota of plot or action. I winced during every mention of John Lennon and the tacky attempts to mimic his accent and humor. Yuck.

If you read the Elvis and Marilyn affair, you know that Robert S. Levinson is capable of taking his readers through fascinating elements of celebrity lives. Naturally, if you liked John Lennon, you are looking forward to that happening again. Well, don't buy the book for that reason . . . unless you are a ghoul and want to more about John Lennon's murder.

The story opens like an afterword for the author's previous book, The James Dean Affair (which I have not yet read). Former spouses Neil Gulliver (and L.A. newspaper columnist) and Stephanie (Stevie) Marriner are taking a break from being huddled in Stevie's mansion being guarded by a lethal type when a T-man, Martin Halliwell, intrudes on their luncheon. Halliwell says that a mobster named Aaron Lodger has taken over the 2001 running of the Imagine That! Festival in the desert to launder his dirty money. Halliwell wants to use their past connections with the festival and former-star-turned-politician, Richie Savage, to penetrate the plot.

The book meanders on from there with extended flashbacks into Lennon's murder, how Neil became a reporter, Neil's almost marriage before meeting Stevie, Stevie and Neil's marriage, and Neil's friendship with Harry Nilsson. It was all way more than I wanted to know.

The plot finally kicked into a higher and more interesting gear on page 214. I would have stopped long before then, but I had read the next book in the series, Hot Paint, and wanted to know more about the Lodger and Savage characters in order to complete my understanding of that book.

It turns out that there are a lot of people flying under false colors in this book, and the substance of the plot is a far-fetched conspiracy story about every suspicious political death in recent years. After a quick jolt on page 214, the story once again slows down and starts meandering almost as much.

I recommend that you skip this book and read Hot Paint instead.

Mr. Levinson seems to have wanted to create a book about what it was like to hang out with Harry Nilsson. He would have done better to have written that book than this one.