DENVER

by John Dunning ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1979

A newspaper novel set in 1920s Denver, where the legends of Gene Fowler and Damon Runyon loom large (though the fabled duo have gone off to loot Manhattan)--it's a prickly panorama centering on Tom Hastings of the Post, the hottest hotshot left, a worn-out fire-eater over the hill at 35. (Is he ""a mindless dolt who took the pablum, stirred it around, and fed it to your readers with a baby spoon?"") Poor Tom. His wife Nell, over-manipulated by her millionaire father and fed up with Tom's work- and alcoholism, has just packed up on their eighth wedding anniversary and gone home to dad, taking the two kids with her. He's become frustrated while digging into the Ku Klux Klan takeover of the courts, the local police force (50% of the cops are members), City Hall, and even the governor's office. He's being overshadowed by a new rival in town, Marvel Milette, a young beauty who reveres him (she's on the News) but has rapidly stolen his thunder. And Tom's Jewish relatives (by his mother's second marriage) are being subjected to Klan harassment, very brutal, with no police protection. Worse yet, when Tom gears himself for his big comeback, picks the safe of the Grand Dragon, and photographs the complete roster of Colorado members (including many bigwigs), his pictures are stolen by Marvel before he can get them to the Post. (They both write big expos‚s--and both papers kill their stories.) So Tom goes downhill into Skid Row, his wife goes mad, Marvel rules the town, and then Tom's brilliant half-sister Anna is raped by a high Klansman and commits suicide, followed by other deaths and burnings. But Tom isn't beaten yet! Marvel pulls him out of his eight-month bender and joins him in a giant expose and race against time to save his brother-in-law from hanging. Gritty, colorful, unromantic--a harsh picture of when the Klan rode high and horrible, a shrewd piece of historically flavored entertainment.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1979

ISBN: 1451626134

Page Count: -

Publisher: Times Books

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION