Dean Jobb's Blog

>>>Canada's Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers have selected Empire of Deception as one of the Top 100 books of the year.
>>> And the strange-but-true tale of 1920s swindler Leo Koretz has won the Chicago Writers Association award for best non-fiction book of 2015. Details at: http://www.chicagowrites.org/4-books-...

The Weston Prize jury citation:
“Readers waiting for a rollicking tale of white-collar crime couldn’t do better than Dean Jobb’s Empire of Deception … a lively story that starts in Chicago, moves on to Panama, and ends up in Nova Scotia. Jobb has lifted a great crime yarn into a beautifully researched piece of financial history … a delicious read.”
Details at http://writerstrust.com/Awards/Hilary...

“Intoxicating and impressively researched, Jobb’s immorality tale provides a sobering post-Madoff reminder that those who think everything is theirs for the taking are destined to be taken .... The unscrupulous but charismatic Leo Koretz, a Bohemian immigrant turned king of affinity fraud, was a wolf in horn-rimmed glasses and bow tie who built an empire of deception one swindle at a time.” — The New York Times Book Review, July 5 edition

The Toronto Star, Metro Canada, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Raleigh News & Observer and NPR Utah all recommend Empire of Deception as a great summer read!

“comprehensively researched and enthralling … an audacious story ... high-stakes drama of the first order … unmasking [a] master swindler and revealing the author as an equally masterful storyteller.” – The Washington Post

"Reading Empire of Deception was like getting on the storied Cyclone roller coaster at Coney Island … holding your breath throughout its peaks and valleys, then getting out of the car, flushed and shaken, only wanting to ride it all over again … [a] thrilling, too-wild-for-fiction tale.” – The Globe and Mail.

... an Indie Next pick for June and an Amazon.com Best Book for May
New review: “Empire of Deception adds Leo Koretz to Chicago’s rogues’ gallery of the 1920s … great research … a masterpiece of narrative set-up and vivid language.” – Chicago Tribune

Review: “Not since Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City has an author so eloquently captured the shadowy character of the city … masterful …. At once informative and entertaining, the fast-moving narrative tells an age-old story about our capacity to be conned.” – BookPage

Amazon.com reviewer Chris Schluep calls it a “fascinating tale …. What makes this book so interesting is the excellent pacing and fine detail laced throughout, … the joy of reading about a man who could have taught Bernie Madoff a thing or two, and the sheer chutzpah (and, yes, skill) of Leo Koretz, who for a time lived like Gatsby and who managed to separate millions of dollars from people who probably should have known better.”
Read the full review.

“Jobb’s hearty, detailed retelling of this con man extraordinaire is a laugh-out-loud page-turner, full of gullibility and twists and turns … Empire of Deception is a jaw-dropping, rollicking good read.” – Booklist