Customer Reviews

The Marilyn Tapes

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Selected the book as the best of the worst. Was I ever wrong. Marilyn has died. What would happen and who would control the government if tapes of Marilyn with the Kennedy's brothers were made public. Everyone wants the tapes. Hoover, the Mob, and mostly the Kennedy brothers. The race is on and the bodies are piling up. Page one has you hooked, and by the time you get through all the players and who plays for who (including Marilyn's thoughts) you wonder where the time went and are amazed the books half finished. All the characters are well thought out and vital to the story some are known to the world and others I never knew. Fiction? One of the best books I've read this year

This was an interesting read, especially since I picked it up only three weeks after finishing James Ellroy's American Tabloid. The books feature many of the same characters and themes, but veer off in wildly different directions. Ellroy treats allegations of a Kennedy-Monroe affair as a trumped up urban legend, but Gorman uses it as a springboard for his entire novel.

This a "race against time" story, with several parties vying for a set of highly sensitive tape recordings which, if made public, could destroy the Kennedy administration. The players are drawn from all walks of life, from a rogue FBI agent to a hard-working single mother working for a scandal sheet. Gorman delivers a solid and entertaining tale, packed with action , intrigue and genuine humanity. The book is written in a short, punchy style, which becomes more clipped as the story builds to its shattering climax. Fast paced, and energetic, this book should please Gorman devotees, both old and new.

Even before I saw the bibliography at the end of The Marilyn Tapes, I knew this novel had been meticulously researched. As intense as the action gets and as extreme as some of the characters' behaviors are, it has the ring of truth to it--especially during Marilyn Monroe's reminiscences that are presented in her own "voice." You won't find J. Edgar Hoover wearing women's clothes, but you will encounter a deeply flawed man who is desperate to regain the power he believes has slipped away from him during the Kennedy administration. To this end, he is trying to get his hands on tapes that contain secret recordings of Kennedy trysts with Marilyn Monroe, which he will use to blackmail the Kennedys. Using a lack of judgment that, once discovered, is deeply troubling to his friend and colleague, Clyde Tolson, Hoover has enlisted the aid of Melanie Baines, to secure the tapes. Melanie is a "rogue FBI agent" who is both off the books and a sociopath.

Not surprisingly Hoover is not the only person who is driven to gain possession of the tapes for monetary gain or social leverage. Louella Parsons plans on using them to regain her glory days of the 1930s and `40s. The private eye who created the tapes wants to double-cross his employer, studio head, Mayhew, who, in turn, is trying to procure the tapes for his mobster business partner, Rosetti. Needless to say, the Kennedys are the most motivated of all to gain possession of them.

Other characters, both based in fact and fictional, are caught up in this multi-layered plot, including a mother, separated from her unfaithful husband, who loves Old Hollywood and writes for, "Insight," a once respectable magazine that has been taken over by a man with tabloid sensibilities and secrets of his own.

The Marilyn Tapes is an engrossing and compelling book - both as a thriller and an insightful glimpse into a time of history that has long been mythologized.

I only stumbled upon Gorman about a month ago. Since then I have read about 4 of his books. I am amazed that he is not better known. This book is so real that it is chilling. He obviously did alot of research to back his work. Outstanding.

Ever imagine what would have happened if someone had taped Marilyn Monroe talking to the Kennedy brothers? The author did, and his take on the scandal is a great ride.

Veteran author Ed Gorman delivers a smoking hot slice of pop culture in this fast-paced political thriller. One great read, and a steal at this price.

Veteran Ed Gorman dives in to scandal, politics and American history and emerges with a rip-roaring fun read. At this price? Grab it!