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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
After three taut, well-crafted contemporary mysteries, Craig Holden turns in The Jazz Bird to the 1920s, evoking a period rich in glamour and drama in a powerful and elegiac story told with consummate skill.
Young Charlie Taft, a prosecutor who's the son of a former president and chief justice, doesn't need to solve the murder of Imogene Remus, the quixotic and exotic wife of Cincinnati bootlegger George Remus; George has already confessed to the crime, and his conviction is all but assured. But as Charlie delves deeper into the tangled history of the stunning socialite who defied her wealthy family to marry Remus and went to extraordinary lengths to free him from prison, he begins to doubt whether the bootlegger is insane, as he claims, or the real victim of his wife's betrayal.
Holden brings a fascinating era in American history to life through the creation of complex, multidimensional characters who haunt the reader long after the last page is turned. This is a tour de force from a writer who gets better with every novel. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
In 1927 society beauty Imogen Remus was murdered by her husband, a notorious bootlegger. Why did he kill his wife and what happened to his $80 million fortune ? And how did a federal agent become involved with Imogen ? An elegantly penned novel of love, betrayal and courtroom intrigue.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first work by Craig Holden that I have read; it most certainly will not be the last. I am not familiar enough with the historical basis for this book, so I comment purely as a reader. "The Jazz Bird", is a wicked book, from a large cast of characters whose loyalty cannot be placed until the book's end, an immense fortune built by prohibition, and the co-star of the book Imogene.
Imogene is one of the better female players that I have read in quite some time. If the character in the book bears any resemblance to who this woman truly was, there must be additional books written already, or more will certainly follow.
The author reconstructs the 1920's with great detail, right down to noting the Rag Time Piano Music of Scott Joplin. If you recall the music, you may also remember the movie that brought it back when Paul Newman and Robert Redford gave classic performances in, "The Sting". This work is much darker than the movie I reference, but if the time period appeals to you, the book will as well. Prohibition parties where 100-dollar bills were under the plate of each guest, or perhaps dozens of new cars awaited the guests who stayed the night as gifts. Add to all of this Imogene, daughter of the privileged class who marries the largest rumrunner, systematically destroys all she was brought up to be a part of, and does it with either the greatest calculation, or the most grievous unintended consequence.
The book is a classic roaring 20's tragedy that you know is going to happen but Craig Holden brings you there through a series of brilliant characters, and the most circuitous of routes.
Imogene is one of the better female players that I have read in quite some time. If the character in the book bears any resemblance to who this woman truly was, there must be additional books written already, or more will certainly follow.
The author reconstructs the 1920's with great detail, right down to noting the Rag Time Piano Music of Scott Joplin. If you recall the music, you may also remember the movie that brought it back when Paul Newman and Robert Redford gave classic performances in, "The Sting". This work is much darker than the movie I reference, but if the time period appeals to you, the book will as well. Prohibition parties where 100-dollar bills were under the plate of each guest, or perhaps dozens of new cars awaited the guests who stayed the night as gifts. Add to all of this Imogene, daughter of the privileged class who marries the largest rumrunner, systematically destroys all she was brought up to be a part of, and does it with either the greatest calculation, or the most grievous unintended consequence.
The book is a classic roaring 20's tragedy that you know is going to happen but Craig Holden brings you there through a series of brilliant characters, and the most circuitous of routes.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Sweet Singing Imogene
1 April 2002
Format:Hardcover
This is the first work by Craig Holden that I have read; it most certainly will not be the last. I am not familiar enough with the historical basis for this book, so I comment purely as a reader. "The Jazz Bird", is a wicked book, from a large cast of characters whose loyalty cannot be placed until the book's end, an immense fortune built by prohibition, and the co-star of the book Imogene.
Imogene is one of the better female players that I have read in quite some time. If the character in the book bears any resemblance to who this woman truly was, there must be additional books written already, or more will certainly follow.
The author reconstructs the 1920's with great detail, right down to noting the Rag Time Piano Music of Scott Joplin. If you recall the music, you may also remember the movie that brought it back when Paul Newman and Robert Redford gave classic performances in, "The Sting". This work is much darker than the movie I reference, but if the time period appeals to you, the book will as well. Prohibition parties where 100-dollar bills were under the plate of each guest, or perhaps dozens of new cars awaited the guests who stayed the night as gifts. Add to all of this Imogene, daughter of the privileged class who marries the largest rumrunner, systematically destroys all she was brought up to be a part of, and does it with either the greatest calculation, or the most grievous unintended consequence.
The book is a classic roaring 20's tragedy that you know is going to happen but Craig Holden brings you there through a series of brilliant characters, and the most circuitous of routes.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Passion and obsession.
19 Jan 2002
Format:Hardcover
With his sheer assurance as a storyteller, Mr. Holden has taken on the daunting task of recreating the provocative era of the 1920s. He not only recreates the era, but the real life story of one of the most dramatic and complex love affairs in American history. The author has conveyed an aura of authenticity with his rich character development. I was deeply drawn to the love affair between a gangster, George Remus, and a woman of high society, Imogene Ring. Charlie Taft's obsessive interest in a dead woman adds a wry, atypical twist to the standard love triangle theme. The story illustrates the delicacy, the violence, and the destruction of love. There is a fascinating duality of permissiveness counterpoised with conventionality interwoven into a rich tale filled with obsessive love, organized crime, politics, motives, insanity, and betrayal. This story of passion and obsession is lit by the bright light of humanity and history. I could not put this book down. Highly recommended for those who love writing that far exceeds the ordinary.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
AN UNGILDED CAGE
27 May 2004
Format:Hardcover
THE JAZZ BIRD, based on a true story, but admittedly fictionalized to add dramatic voice, is a stunning example of good characterization if nothing else. Holden brings us realistic, tragic, and multi-layered characters in the story of a murder trial in which we know the defendant is guilty. But the background is complex and nothing is quite as it seems. At times Holden's plotting does get a little muddled, but by the end of the novel, you get a better understanding of George Remus and why he killed his enigmatic wife, Imogene. While the jumping around at times defuses the courtroom suspense, I was surprised by its ending, and the novel itself ends on a note that is not easily accepted.
Good, crisp writing, should enhance Holden's growing reputation.
Good, crisp writing, should enhance Holden's growing reputation.
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