When a private jet crashes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens on the Fourth of July, the search begins for faded rock and roller, Turnpike Bobby Chin. The singer suspiciously survives and turns up wandering in the haunted woods. Soon after, a celebrity sculptor vanishes after unveiling his unflattering statue of the star. The cops say it's homicide, and make plans to bust Turnpike Bobby.
When the media circus begins, gangland-bred pollster Jonah Eastman is hired to devise a "P.A.S." (Plausible Alternative Scenario) for the sculptor's death. A beautiful au pair vanishes from Atlantic City, and it's all the media want to talk about - not Bobby. Which angers Bobby because he hasn't gotten this much attention since the Reagan Administration. As he works to vindicate the rocker, Jonah enters the inner-sanctum of the celebrity icon, a world so seductive and lethal that Jonah waxes nostalgic for his days working for the Mafia.
TURNPIKE FLAMEOUT is a black comic ride through the underbelly of mega-stardom and the spins employed by handlers to ensure that crime pays. Quite well, actually.
Eric Dezenhall is an author and damage control expert based in Washington, D.C. He is the CEO of Dezenhall Resources, a nationally recognized high-stakes communications firm. He frequently lectures in academic and business circles, and regularly appears as a damage control expert in the international media. He has appeared on network television and radio outlets including NPR, CNN, FOX, CNBC, and MSNBC; and has been quoted in publications including Fortune, USA Today, Forbes, and the Washington Post. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today and is a regular contributor to the Daily Beast and Huffington Post.
Eric is the author of eight books, including two non-fiction texts on crisis communications and corporate witch hunts, entitled Damage Control: How to Get the Upper Hand When Your Business is Under Attack (Portfolio, 2007) and Nail 'Em! Confronting High Profile Attacks on Celebrities and Businesses (Prometheus Books, 1999), both of which have been widely cited in business, media and academic circles. He is also the author of six novels: Money Wanders (St. Martin's, 2002), Jackie Disaster (Minotaur, 2003), Shakedown Beach (St. Martin's, 2004), Turnpike Flameout (St. Martin's, 2006) and Spinning Dixie (St. Martin's, 2007). His sixth novel, The Devil Himself (Thomas Dunne, St. Martin's), which deals with the collaboration between the U.S. Navy and organized crime during World War II to secure American ports from Nazi attack, will be published in July 2011.
As an investigative writer, Eric wrote articles about the newly discovered diaries of the late mobster Meyer Lansky, which appeared in the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, the Baltimore Sun, The New Republic, and Ethical Corporation. A documentary he co-produced on organized crime aired on the Discovery Channel.
Eric is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he studied political science and the news media. He serves as a Trustee of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, an organization devoted to fostering educational and career opportunities for outstanding young African-American men. Eric was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. He lives near Washington, D.C., with his family.
This review is from: Turnpike Flameout (Hardcover)
Jonah Eastman is a special kind of pollster. He does not just collect data and report ad nauseam as to what average American believes. Instead his job is to impact the polls in favor of his client whether it means obtaining support to place a hazardous waste dump inside a child care facility or insuring the election of an idiot to the senate (obviously will fit in nicely with the standards of that club) by painting an even more moronic portrait of the opposition. Truth or ethics are not factors; only wins are important regardless of the means count; if you need a reference just ask the Reagan White House.
Public relations "Practitioner" Cindi Handler hires Jonah to help her client; former TV child star turned into New Jersey's number two rock star after the Boss, Turnpike Bobby Chin. Recently his private plane crashed nearby, but he walked away. Now, he is the prime suspect in what is considered a kidnapping and probably a murder of a vanished sculptor Christian Josi, who was creating an unflattering statue of the former star. Trying to help an egotistical jerk surrounded by has-beens and never-beens and chased by music journalistic vultures makes working the Reagan White House seem simple.
The fourth Jonah pollster tale is an exciting thriller starring an intriguing individual whose expertise is an interesting spin. The story line is owned by Jonah as he reflects on life while trying to turn opinion in favor of pathetic Turnpike Bobby who instead thinks he needs an upholsterer and a lawyer more than an impact pollster. Though the support cast including the Turnpike behaves like aging garage band members seeking the Fountain of Youth (except for Jonah's intelligent wife and Cindi), Jonah's endeavors make for an intriguing look at how images and icons are created.
Harriet Klausner
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This review is from: Turnpike Flameout (Hardcover)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. My kids kept asking me what was so funny because normally I don't laugh out loud when reading mysteries. The plot moved along at a good pace and the characters were amusing but also interesting in the context of our celebrity-obsessed culture. On my next flip through the pages of People magazine I'll have a much better idea of what motivates a lot of these folks AND what motivates me to keep reading about them!
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This review is from: Turnpike Flameout (Hardcover)
TURNPIKE FLAMEOUT deserves better than the PUBLISHERS WEEKLY review. I hoped for a moment that the critic meant to type "wildly diverting" and that "mildly diverting" was a typo, but the whole review is pretty snotty. But again, I've been to a rodeo in (the very real) Cowtown, N.J. and have simple tastes. So it's March 2009 and I've lost my pension: at least I got to laugh out loud while reading this book. Don't let PUBLISHERS WEEKLY keep you from trying this book.
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First Sentence:
I'm the pollster you hire when you can't win on the merits. Read the first pageKey Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Chief Willie, Cohn of Silence, Lonesome Jake, Atlantic City, Turnpike Bobby Chin, Golden Prospect, Derek Plush, Mega Boy, Kaylee Hopewell, South Jersey, Major Player, Hopkins Pond, Mustang Sally, Apple Sauce, Pine Barrens, Ong's Hat, Freddy Zane, Tic Turner, Christian Josi, Kurt Rossiter, South Street, Big Theory, Sitting Bull, Bonita Chin, Game Boy
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