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About The Book

An exquistely written novel of love and betrayal, of money and power, set at the apex of that time of glitz and innocence known as the Jazz Age.

CINCINNATI, 1927...

Lawyer George Remus became the country's biggest bootlegger, grossing over $80 million until his arrest. Upon his release from prison, he learns that his beautiful wife, Imogene, has left him and that his bank accounts are empty. On the morning of their divorce, he runs her car off the road in the middle of rush hour in Eden Park and shoots her to death.

Shocked and fascinated by this horrible crime, the country gears up for a sensational trial pitting the man known as “the king of the bootleggers” against Chief Prosecutor Charlie Taft, the youngest son of the former president. The trial is a national spectacle, a lens focused on the fabulous rise and fall of the Remus empire and the tragic love story within it, and an attempt to answer some tantalizing questions: What actually happened to the fortune? What are the motives of the federal agent who brought Remus down? What complex emotions and desires, leading ultimately to the ruin of three men, really lie within the heart of the woman known as the Jazz Bird?

Based on a true story, The Jazz Bird is at once a love story, a crime novel, and the tale of the courtroom battle between two powerful men whose respective futures hang in the balance.

About The Author

John Foley

Craig Holden is the author of four previous novels: The Jazz Bird, The River Sorrow, The Last Sanctuary, and Four Corners of Night. He lives in Michigan.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 19, 2002)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780743217576

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Raves and Reviews

"A striking, meticulously evoked Jazz Age saga that holds its own with the prose of F. Scott Fitzgerald and John O'Hara.... The novel is quite a departure from Holden's previous gritty contemporary thrillers...save for one key aspect: the care with which he crafts his characters." -- Los Angeles Times

"Haunting and beautiful." -- People

"Part historical thriller, part courtroom drama, part love story, it's a book that begs a single-sitting read." -- Time Out

"The Jazz Bird sings an intriguing melody to which you can't help but succumb." -- Detroit Free Press

"Assiduous research combines with racy dialogue, intriguing characters and, best of all, a story that is reluctant to impart the facts until it absolutely has to -- in other words, a stylish, sizzling page-turner." -- The New Zealand Herald

"Outstanding." -- Publishers Weekly

"A tour de force from a writer who gets better with every novel." -- Amazon.com

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