Jake Tapper speaks before the first of two Democratic presidential primary debates hosted by CNN Tuesday, July 30, 2019, in the Fox Theatre in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The Devil May Dance

Author: Jake Tapper

Publisher: Little, Brown

336 pages

Hardcover: $28.00

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In “The Devil May Dance,” a sequel to his 2018 best seller, “The Hellfire Club,” CNN anchorman, Jake Tapper, has penned a compelling thriller that brings back Congressman Charlie Marder and his zoologist wife Margaret as his two prime characters. Set in the 1960’s, the story takes readers on an improbable journey back to 1962 and the heady days of Camelot, the Kennedy brothers, Frank Sinatra and the storied Rat Pack.

The novel opens in an eerie late night setting that finds New York congressman Marda and his wife Margaret hiding in a California cemetery observing Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and other members of the Rat Pack coming together to mourn the passing of the notorious mobster, Lucky Luciano. At the conclusion of the spooky late-night celebrity gathering, Marder and his wife sneak back to their rental car to discover a grisly scene; the dead body of a woman in the trunk with her eyes shot out. While the author does not disclose the woman’s identity to the reader, it’s clear that the Marder’s both knew her, and that she will play a role in the story. This sets the stage for this cliffhanger to flash back a month to New York City. In the Empire State, the congressman receives a rather disturbing call from Winston, his father and political fixer, who has been arrested for consorting with shady characters from the criminal world.

In a hushed jailhouse conversation, the father implores his son to find out exactly what it is that Attorney General Robert Kennedy wants, and to give it to him. It is revealed that what Bobby Kennedy wants is information on the personal relationships between key Mafia figures and high-profile stars such as Frank Sinatra. He tasks Charlie directly with this assignment, sending the Marder’s traveling to the glitzy world of Hollywood and Las Vegas of the early 60’s where the congressman’s cover will be that of an on-set consultant during the filming of the classic movie, The Manchurian Candidate. This cover story is the key that unlocks the door for the Republican congressman and his wife to be admitted to Sinatra’s inner circle. As a result of befriending Sinatra and his Rat Pack buddies that include actor Peter Lawford, the brother-in-law of President Kennedy, the veil is lifted and Charlie enters a surreal world. As the plot thickens, the husband and wife team unearth shocking scandals that involve studio heads as well as the fabled “Judy Campbell,” who was better known to the world as Judith Exner, the mistress of both JFK and Mafia don Sam Giancana.

Tapper has crafted a fast-paced edge-of- your-seat thriller that is populated with a host of well-developed characters who exist side by side with real life luminaries from a time that has now slipped behind the curtain of history. With astonishing clarity and realism he has brought back crystal images of the 1962 Academy Awards, Sinatra and Dean Martin performing at the Sands Hotel, and the timeless public scene of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy birthday, Mr. President” to herald JFK’s 45th birthday.

From the first page, this is a novel that is filled with twists and turns that grab the reader by the throat, and don’t let go until the last page. For me, the most chilling aspect of this fiction is that it runs shockingly close to actual history. What is also interesting is that Tapper does not spare Sinatra, or glorify him in any way. He paints a picture of what appears to be who the man truly was. I’ve read both of the books in this series, and this latest offering again underscores to me the fact that Jake Tapper is indeed a writer of substance. He is so very much more than a network anchorman, who we watch on television delivering the news to us.

Asked what made him want to become a novelist after carving out a successful career in TV news, Tapper says, “I’ve always been interested in fiction; I’m an avid film and TV buff, bookworm, and I wrote an unpublished novel in my 20’s. This was less a matter of me deciding I wanted to try, and more me finally sitting down and trying it again.” On his inspiration for the book, he says, “I was motivated to write ‘The Devil May Dance’ by the true story that Frank Sinatra expected President John F. Kennedy would stay with him as president.” He expands on this by explaining, “It was not a far-fetched notion. Sinatra and the Rat Pack worked their hearts out for the Kennedy campaign in 1960. Kennedy as a candidate even stayed with Sinatra during a California swing. So Sinatra had his Rancho Mirage compound built up in expectation of such a trip: rooms built, phone lines installed, and a helipad constructed. But then Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who was pursuing organized crime, got wind of it and was concerned since Sinatra was rumored to have friends in the mob. So I had RFK enlist Charlie and Margaret, my heroes from ‘Hellfire Club,’ to see if there was any truth to the rumors.”

On what he thinks people look for in a political thriller, he says, “A plausible series of thrilling cliffhangers in a universe they understand that closely resembles reality, with an underlying moral code.” As far as his own preferences in reading he says, “I like thrillers, of course. Gillian Floyd and Michael Connelly and many others. I’m reading an unnamed colleague’s unpublished memoir right now and it’s a delight.”

Responding to his thoughts on what he hopes readers will like about this book, Tapper says, “I hope they fall in love with Charlie and Margaret, wonder with urgency what is going to happen next, and enjoy hanging out in Ring-a-ding-ding Rat Pack Hollywood.”

In the final analysis, The Devil May Dance is, from start to finish, a novel that is both captivating and compelling. You will not be disappointed.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.

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