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Jack's Boy
This novel follows Jack Ruby, Lee Oswald, J.D. Tippit and other characters during the weeks before the JFK assassination.
316 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2013
2 people want to read
About the author
Tim Mahoney
26 books5 followersThe Gangster Era pulled me in almost from the moment I began researching it. The first book to come out of that research was "Secret Partners." It's a documented history of the Barker Gang and the police chief who was their protector.
But there were many stories to tell, and not all of them could be throughly documented. So I turned to fiction and am now writing the last in a five-book series that tells the stories of the most infamous public enemies, Alvin Karpis, Fred Barker and John Dillinger. All these stories are based on the true crimes of this fascinating era.
But there were many stories to tell, and not all of them could be throughly documented. So I turned to fiction and am now writing the last in a five-book series that tells the stories of the most infamous public enemies, Alvin Karpis, Fred Barker and John Dillinger. All these stories are based on the true crimes of this fascinating era.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 31, 2023
Looking for a captivating take on the 1963 JFK assassination? Pick up Tim Mahoney’s Jack’s Boy.
While I disagree with the author’s conclusion about the assassination, he has crafted an important story, based on extensive research, that breathes life into the three central figures of this drama. And this is the heart of the story’s appeal.
First, is the almost tragic figure of Marina Oswald, the woman who hooked her future to Lee Harvey Oswald and travelled halfway around the world to live with him only to have it all fall apart. Who would have thought that the beautiful, young, reticent Marina behaved like a bitch? Of course, being married to Lee Harvey would have been enough to bring out the bitchiness in just about anybody this side of Mother Teresa.
Lee Harvey Oswald was a man of fervent dreams who had a very high opinion of his own worth combined with a low opinion of the worth of just about everyone around him. He lacked the self discipline and persistence to carry out his dreams. At moments, he expresses great tenderness about his wife, Marina, yet he tries to keep her from learning English for fear that he will lose control over her if she can easily converse with other people. Lacking a steady job, he does not provide well for his family, and she is forced to depend on the kindness of outsiders. They squabble over whether she can have a washing machine. He dotes on his daughters when he is home, but he is all too often not home. He fails to protect them, and in the last analysis, he scars them for life when either he squeezes the trigger of that rifle (if you believe the Warren Commission) or lets himself be a patsy for someone else (if you believe the author).
The third figure in this drama is, of course Jack Ruby, owner and manager of the Carousel Strip Club that, in the novel, smells “of perfume, pizza, beer, cigarettes, stale champagne and body odor.” Ruby’s behavior is so chaotic that it’s hard to believe he could run anything, much less a complicated night club. But somehow he does. Embarrassed by his limited education, he keeps trying to improve his vocabulary, but, he makes the reader smile when he mixes up the new words he has acquired. When he drove through a red light, for example, he explained to his passenger it was because he was “premeditated” when he meant “preoccupied.”
Jack admires people in uniform, so he lets soldiers and police officers into his club without paying the cover charge. He likes to hang around cops and is well known among the Dallas police. Because of all this, no one is surprised when he shows up on that Saturday morning after the assassination with bags of donuts to give as refreshments to the cops who have been working non-stop for the previous twenty four hours. They let him in, and as we know, he puts as bullet into the belly of Lee Harvey Oswald.
When I started reading the novel, I thought that Jack’s boy referred to Lee Harvey Oswald, but now I think it refers to a fictional character, Rick, who narrates much of the story. Rick is a young Army veteran recruited by a shadowy agent from an unidentified intelligence outfit to get a job at Jack Ruby’s Carousel Club and report back on Jack’s activities. Rick becomes useful to Jack Ruby, and the two men bond, which creates ambivalence in Rick. How can he spy on this man who has become a friend? This ambivalence in Rick is the glue that holds the novel together and enables the author to pull off the incredibly difficult task of integrating real life and fictional characters together in the same story.
If you want a captivating story woven around one of the most important events of our lifetime, take a look at Tim Mahoney’s Jack’s Boy. Just don’t make the mistake that I made. Don’t start reading it at midnight. You’ll be so busying turning pages that you’ll ruin your night’s sleep.
While I disagree with the author’s conclusion about the assassination, he has crafted an important story, based on extensive research, that breathes life into the three central figures of this drama. And this is the heart of the story’s appeal.
First, is the almost tragic figure of Marina Oswald, the woman who hooked her future to Lee Harvey Oswald and travelled halfway around the world to live with him only to have it all fall apart. Who would have thought that the beautiful, young, reticent Marina behaved like a bitch? Of course, being married to Lee Harvey would have been enough to bring out the bitchiness in just about anybody this side of Mother Teresa.
Lee Harvey Oswald was a man of fervent dreams who had a very high opinion of his own worth combined with a low opinion of the worth of just about everyone around him. He lacked the self discipline and persistence to carry out his dreams. At moments, he expresses great tenderness about his wife, Marina, yet he tries to keep her from learning English for fear that he will lose control over her if she can easily converse with other people. Lacking a steady job, he does not provide well for his family, and she is forced to depend on the kindness of outsiders. They squabble over whether she can have a washing machine. He dotes on his daughters when he is home, but he is all too often not home. He fails to protect them, and in the last analysis, he scars them for life when either he squeezes the trigger of that rifle (if you believe the Warren Commission) or lets himself be a patsy for someone else (if you believe the author).
The third figure in this drama is, of course Jack Ruby, owner and manager of the Carousel Strip Club that, in the novel, smells “of perfume, pizza, beer, cigarettes, stale champagne and body odor.” Ruby’s behavior is so chaotic that it’s hard to believe he could run anything, much less a complicated night club. But somehow he does. Embarrassed by his limited education, he keeps trying to improve his vocabulary, but, he makes the reader smile when he mixes up the new words he has acquired. When he drove through a red light, for example, he explained to his passenger it was because he was “premeditated” when he meant “preoccupied.”
Jack admires people in uniform, so he lets soldiers and police officers into his club without paying the cover charge. He likes to hang around cops and is well known among the Dallas police. Because of all this, no one is surprised when he shows up on that Saturday morning after the assassination with bags of donuts to give as refreshments to the cops who have been working non-stop for the previous twenty four hours. They let him in, and as we know, he puts as bullet into the belly of Lee Harvey Oswald.
When I started reading the novel, I thought that Jack’s boy referred to Lee Harvey Oswald, but now I think it refers to a fictional character, Rick, who narrates much of the story. Rick is a young Army veteran recruited by a shadowy agent from an unidentified intelligence outfit to get a job at Jack Ruby’s Carousel Club and report back on Jack’s activities. Rick becomes useful to Jack Ruby, and the two men bond, which creates ambivalence in Rick. How can he spy on this man who has become a friend? This ambivalence in Rick is the glue that holds the novel together and enables the author to pull off the incredibly difficult task of integrating real life and fictional characters together in the same story.
If you want a captivating story woven around one of the most important events of our lifetime, take a look at Tim Mahoney’s Jack’s Boy. Just don’t make the mistake that I made. Don’t start reading it at midnight. You’ll be so busying turning pages that you’ll ruin your night’s sleep.
November 24, 2020
Seems Real to Me
A touch of realism for those familiar with the tale. Quite plausible and the voice of Ruby
is sheer brilliance.
Probably as close as I've read and makes sense for a lot a reasons including the existing
historical record .
A touch of realism for those familiar with the tale. Quite plausible and the voice of Ruby
is sheer brilliance.
Probably as close as I've read and makes sense for a lot a reasons including the existing
historical record .
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews