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Vintage TV tie-in paperback
140 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1976
4 people want to read
About the author
Michael Jahn
66 books13 followersI'm a reporter, photographer, and professional novelist. A newspaperman's son, I began my daily newspaper career at The New York Times, where I was hired in 1968 to cover the music beat (folk, blues, and rock), making me the first full-time rock journalist for major media.
That made me well-enough known (or notorious, maybe) so that a few years on I switched to writing fiction, mostly detective novels, and have published 50 books, one of which won the prestigious Edgar Award.
In reviewing "Night Rituals" (1982), the New Yorker wrote that "Jahn writes with a flourish that is entirely his own." And they didn't say "and he can keep it too" so I've been using that quote ever since.
Right now (2012) I'm publishing Kindle editions of my critically acclaimed Bill Donovan Mysteries, which I published from 1982 to 2008. Up so far: "Murder in Coney Island," "Murder in Central Park," "Murder on Theatre Row," "Murder on the Waterfront," and "Murder at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine" (originally published as "City of God"). My Edgar winner, "The Quark Maneuver," also is up in Kindle.
I've begun writing a memoir, not so much of me but of my very unusual ancestors, who had this Forest Gumpian ability to find themselves standing next to fame or infamy. An ancestor on the Spanish side, a sailor, went to Japan with Perry, fought in the Civil War under Farragut (and, I like to think, was the man the Admiral was thinking about when he hollered "Damn the torpedoes ... full speed ahead!"), and later helped rescue a man-eating meteorologist who was frozen in the Arctic ice. My newspaperman dad survived a car chase with Dutch Schultz and drank bourbon on a transcontinental train with Harry Truman.
I'll write about all this stuff. Wouldn't you? The working title is "Told to Me by a Sailor who Died (I'll Never Know if the Bastard Lied)."
I live in New York City.
That made me well-enough known (or notorious, maybe) so that a few years on I switched to writing fiction, mostly detective novels, and have published 50 books, one of which won the prestigious Edgar Award.
In reviewing "Night Rituals" (1982), the New Yorker wrote that "Jahn writes with a flourish that is entirely his own." And they didn't say "and he can keep it too" so I've been using that quote ever since.
Right now (2012) I'm publishing Kindle editions of my critically acclaimed Bill Donovan Mysteries, which I published from 1982 to 2008. Up so far: "Murder in Coney Island," "Murder in Central Park," "Murder on Theatre Row," "Murder on the Waterfront," and "Murder at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine" (originally published as "City of God"). My Edgar winner, "The Quark Maneuver," also is up in Kindle.
I've begun writing a memoir, not so much of me but of my very unusual ancestors, who had this Forest Gumpian ability to find themselves standing next to fame or infamy. An ancestor on the Spanish side, a sailor, went to Japan with Perry, fought in the Civil War under Farragut (and, I like to think, was the man the Admiral was thinking about when he hollered "Damn the torpedoes ... full speed ahead!"), and later helped rescue a man-eating meteorologist who was frozen in the Arctic ice. My newspaperman dad survived a car chase with Dutch Schultz and drank bourbon on a transcontinental train with Harry Truman.
I'll write about all this stuff. Wouldn't you? The working title is "Told to Me by a Sailor who Died (I'll Never Know if the Bastard Lied)."
I live in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 23, 2021
An entertaining adaptation of an equally entertaining P.I. show from the 1970s. The premise for the show was great: A former cop who worked the bunco squad and the former con man the cop once sent to prison form a private detective agency. They catch bad guys by running scams on them, tricking them into confessing or otherwise giving themselves away.
In this novel, an ex-con is framed for a jewel robbery by a dirty cop. The good guys run a scam that convinces the dirty cop he's been recruited to help with a federal investigation, which in turn allows them to trick the villain into thinking he's lost 25 grand in a poker game, forcing him to commit yet another robbery to pay for this imaginary debt and setting him up to be caught red-handed. It's all great fun.
In this novel, an ex-con is framed for a jewel robbery by a dirty cop. The good guys run a scam that convinces the dirty cop he's been recruited to help with a federal investigation, which in turn allows them to trick the villain into thinking he's lost 25 grand in a poker game, forcing him to commit yet another robbery to pay for this imaginary debt and setting him up to be caught red-handed. It's all great fun.
May 1, 2025
Loved it! Just ordered the second book :)
December 3, 2016
This book is an adaption of the Glen Larson story for the pilot of the television series, 'Switch'. Author Jahn is extremely faithfully to the pilot script to the point that I would guess that was part of the contract.
Jahn additions of narrative are excellent in establishing settings and characters. There is a feeling that Jahn took the script and then plugged in the narrative parts as needed. I'd have liked to have read Jahn's version of the this story. His writing in book format is better than the Larsen work set in from the script.
This also lends itself to another problem, which is the dialogue of the characters, though nearly exactly the same as in the televised version, here in written form makes them all seem the same. Another reason why Jahn's rich narrative is at odds with more hollow dialogue.
Still this is a good story and it's easy to hear Eddie Albert, Robert Wagner, Durning, Gless and Callas all speak the parts.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 9 out of 10 for Jahn's narrative. Collectively 6 out of ten.
Jahn additions of narrative are excellent in establishing settings and characters. There is a feeling that Jahn took the script and then plugged in the narrative parts as needed. I'd have liked to have read Jahn's version of the this story. His writing in book format is better than the Larsen work set in from the script.
This also lends itself to another problem, which is the dialogue of the characters, though nearly exactly the same as in the televised version, here in written form makes them all seem the same. Another reason why Jahn's rich narrative is at odds with more hollow dialogue.
Still this is a good story and it's easy to hear Eddie Albert, Robert Wagner, Durning, Gless and Callas all speak the parts.
Bottom line: i recommend this book: 9 out of 10 for Jahn's narrative. Collectively 6 out of ten.
Want to read
December 8, 2019Synopsis: based on the TV show with Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert. An outrageous pair of bunko artists try to con the con-men!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews