The Devil May Dance
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- Create Date：2021-10-08 00:16:17
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Jake Tapper
- ISBN：0316530239
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Summary
In this thriller， the husband-and-wife heroes of The Hellfire Club head to Hollywood to investigate Frank Sinatra — and become mired in a world of blackmail， the mob， and Hollywood scandal。
Charlie and Margaret Marder， political stars in 1960s Washington DC， know all too well how the tangled web of power in the nation's capital can operate。 But while they long to settle into the comforts of home， Attorney General Robert Kennedy has other plans。 He needs them to look into a potential threat not only to the presidency， but to the security of the United States itself。
Charlie and Margaret quickly find themselves on a flight to sunny Los Angeles， where they’ll face off against a dazzling world of stars and studios。 At the center of their investigation is Frank Sinatra， a close friend of President John F。 Kennedy and a rumored mob crony， whom Charlie and Margaret must befriend to get the inside scoop。 But in a town built on illusions， where friends and foes all look alike， nothing is easy， and drinks by the pool at the Sands and late-night adventures with the Rat Pack soon lead to a body in the trunk of their car。 Before they know it， Charlie and Margaret are being pursued by sinister forces from Hollywood’s stages to the newly founded Church of Scientology， facing off against the darkest and most secret side of Hollywood’s power。
As the Academy Awards loom， and someone near and dear to Margaret goes missing， Charlie and Margaret find the clock is not only ticking but running out。 Someone out there knows what they’ve uncovered and can’t let them leave alive。 Corruption and ambition form a deadly mix in this fast-paced sequel to The Hellfire Club。
Charlie and Margaret Marder， political stars in 1960s Washington DC， know all too well how the tangled web of power in the nation's capital can operate。 But while they long to settle into the comforts of home， Attorney General Robert Kennedy has other plans。 He needs them to look into a potential threat not only to the presidency， but to the security of the United States itself。
Charlie and Margaret quickly find themselves on a flight to sunny Los Angeles， where they’ll face off against a dazzling world of stars and studios。 At the center of their investigation is Frank Sinatra， a close friend of President John F。 Kennedy and a rumored mob crony， whom Charlie and Margaret must befriend to get the inside scoop。 But in a town built on illusions， where friends and foes all look alike， nothing is easy， and drinks by the pool at the Sands and late-night adventures with the Rat Pack soon lead to a body in the trunk of their car。 Before they know it， Charlie and Margaret are being pursued by sinister forces from Hollywood’s stages to the newly founded Church of Scientology， facing off against the darkest and most secret side of Hollywood’s power。
As the Academy Awards loom， and someone near and dear to Margaret goes missing， Charlie and Margaret find the clock is not only ticking but running out。 Someone out there knows what they’ve uncovered and can’t let them leave alive。 Corruption and ambition form a deadly mix in this fast-paced sequel to The Hellfire Club。
Reviews
Ralph
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3。0 stars - Thought I'd like this book a lot more than I did， but entertaining nonetheless。I am of an age， although on the youthful end， where I know of Frank Sinatra， the Rat Pack， and the movies and stars that were woven into the book。 Mixing fact and fiction is generally a guarantee of a 4 or 5 star rating。 Loved being behind the scenes of the Manchurian Candidate filming。The problem for me much of the story was told in a series of vignettes， mostly involving parties and carousing， with a mys 3。0 stars - Thought I'd like this book a lot more than I did， but entertaining nonetheless。I am of an age， although on the youthful end， where I know of Frank Sinatra， the Rat Pack， and the movies and stars that were woven into the book。 Mixing fact and fiction is generally a guarantee of a 4 or 5 star rating。 Loved being behind the scenes of the Manchurian Candidate filming。The problem for me much of the story was told in a series of vignettes， mostly involving parties and carousing， with a mystery woven in。 It is not a bad book， far from it， and probably provides a picture of what Hollywood was like in those days。 But I am having trouble explaining why I wasn't over the moon。There were a number of memorable chapters including Margaret's adventures at the Church of Scientology and the Hollywood sign。 Spunky to be sure and totally devoted to her husband Charlie。 And of course， the hard to forget visit to Disneyland。 。。。more
Erin
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A fun speculative historical fiction mystery set in the early 1960s。
Nick Mueller
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Bad Attempt At Noir？。this novel reads like a trashy paperback by a third - rate hack who reads a lot of old issues of tabloids and sees characters as characatures。 I hoped his work would get better after The Hellfire Club， but this is a great disappointment I couldn't even finish。 Bad Attempt At Noir？。this novel reads like a trashy paperback by a third - rate hack who reads a lot of old issues of tabloids and sees characters as characatures。 I hoped his work would get better after The Hellfire Club， but this is a great disappointment I couldn't even finish。 。。。more
CJ
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The author follows much the same outline as the first book in this series， just trading DC for Hollywood， and congressmen for celebrities。 The Congressman & his wife make for intrepid heroes and supply moral fiber in an otherwise seedy portrayal of Tinseltown。
Tharen
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A far-fetched （or is it？） whodunit that is the sequel to Tapper's Hellfire Club。 This book is set in the early 1960s and focuses on the Rat Pack， Frank Sinatra and questions surrounding his association with the Mafia。 Tapper's fictional Congressman， Charlie Marder， is recruited by Bobby Kennedy to get in with Sinatra by serving as an advisor on his film， The Manchurian Candidate。 What does Sinatra know and is it safe to let the President stay with him during an upcoming California Trip？ Soon peo A far-fetched （or is it？） whodunit that is the sequel to Tapper's Hellfire Club。 This book is set in the early 1960s and focuses on the Rat Pack， Frank Sinatra and questions surrounding his association with the Mafia。 Tapper's fictional Congressman， Charlie Marder， is recruited by Bobby Kennedy to get in with Sinatra by serving as an advisor on his film， The Manchurian Candidate。 What does Sinatra know and is it safe to let the President stay with him during an upcoming California Trip？ Soon people are showing up dead， the FBI is involved， and things are going from bad to worse。 A fun， quick read for the pop-culture references。 。。。more
Kathy D
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Okay， but very formula driven。
Marilee
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This political thriller takes place in the 1960's， mostly in Vegas。 It is spot on with the scene with the Rat Pack， gangsters， and appearances by many famous celebrities。 It's very on-the-edge-of-your-seat reading， but while the husband/wife duo in the story were fun， as I parent I struggled to get past that they basically abandoned their kids for long stretches of time while they did their investigation。 They had their reasons but it was distracting me to be worried for their kids。 Otherwise a This political thriller takes place in the 1960's， mostly in Vegas。 It is spot on with the scene with the Rat Pack， gangsters， and appearances by many famous celebrities。 It's very on-the-edge-of-your-seat reading， but while the husband/wife duo in the story were fun， as I parent I struggled to get past that they basically abandoned their kids for long stretches of time while they did their investigation。 They had their reasons but it was distracting me to be worried for their kids。 Otherwise a pretty fun story。 。。。more
Maureen Clark
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Totally unbelievable。。。。。
Kathy Stevenson
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I like watching Jake Tapper on CNN and I do think that he is a good writer。 I just got bored with all the name-dropping and blatant misogynistic attitudes towards women that happens between the "character" in this novel。 New York Congressman Charles Marder and his refreshingly outspoken wife Margaret end up in Los Angeles on the premise of consulting on a movie but become tangled up in a plot of human trafficking and murder that also involves JKF， his brother Robert， Frank Sinatra， Dean Martin， I like watching Jake Tapper on CNN and I do think that he is a good writer。 I just got bored with all the name-dropping and blatant misogynistic attitudes towards women that happens between the "character" in this novel。 New York Congressman Charles Marder and his refreshingly outspoken wife Margaret end up in Los Angeles on the premise of consulting on a movie but become tangled up in a plot of human trafficking and murder that also involves JKF， his brother Robert， Frank Sinatra， Dean Martin， Sammy Davis Jr。， Shirley MacLaine， Peter Lawford， various Mob members and Church of Scientology founder L。 Ron Hubbard to name a few。 There is a constant theme of drinking and objectifying young women， which we have to understand was not unusual for the early 1960's， but is cringe-worthy from a perspective almost 60 years later。 I found the story picked up and was more interesting to me in the last half of the novel， when Margaret Marder takes some serious risks to try to uncover the illicit schemes going on in Hollywood and expose the murderers。 。。。more
Bruce Thomas
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This is a very entertaining and readable fictional account of the mob， the Rat Pack， the movie industry and the Kennedy's。 Tapper， current CNN journalist， is either much older that I thought， or he did some thorough research on late '50s/early 60's history。 He captures the disgusting male chauvinist culture well while creating parallels to current day politics and culture。 I didn't even know that this is the second of series for the Marder characters， but it is not necessary to read the first on This is a very entertaining and readable fictional account of the mob， the Rat Pack， the movie industry and the Kennedy's。 Tapper， current CNN journalist， is either much older that I thought， or he did some thorough research on late '50s/early 60's history。 He captures the disgusting male chauvinist culture well while creating parallels to current day politics and culture。 I didn't even know that this is the second of series for the Marder characters， but it is not necessary to read the first one， "The Hellfire Club，" the author presents enough background information to make this an independent book。 Interesting that I just finished "Killing the Mob" which addressed as non-fiction almost all of the historical events that Tapper uses in his plot - was the publication release of these two books just a coincidence？ 。。。more
Gloria
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I really like Jake Tapper on CNN so I was eagerly anticipating reading a book written by him。 Sadly I did not enjoy this book。 At all。 Struggled to get through it and when I finally did finish I wondered why I didn’t just stop when I realized how little I was enjoying it。 So many books， too little time。 I broke my rule about never feeling compelled to finish a book just because I started it。 I’ll continue to enjoy watching and listening to Jake Tapper but it’s doubtful I’ll pick up another of hi I really like Jake Tapper on CNN so I was eagerly anticipating reading a book written by him。 Sadly I did not enjoy this book。 At all。 Struggled to get through it and when I finally did finish I wondered why I didn’t just stop when I realized how little I was enjoying it。 So many books， too little time。 I broke my rule about never feeling compelled to finish a book just because I started it。 I’ll continue to enjoy watching and listening to Jake Tapper but it’s doubtful I’ll pick up another of his novels。 。。。more
Rhoda K Mathias
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Too much name-droppingThe novel opened with way too much uninspired dialogue among Hollywood stars and personalities of the time。 Once the author got past that， the story became much more intriguing。 And those personalities became a part of the action of the plot
Judy
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A nice novel of Hollywood and politics in the early 1960'sJake Tapper's The Devil May Dance is a delightful stroll down memory lane when the Rat Pack was swinging and so were the Kennedy's。 As a novel Tapper weaves a well researched fictional tale that brings Frank Sinatra， the mob， the CIA， a Congressman and his wife （Republicans， no less！）， Hollywood sleaze including the Hollywood standard of misogyny and underage sexual exploitation。 A crafty who dunnit and there are many， this 300+ page nove A nice novel of Hollywood and politics in the early 1960'sJake Tapper's The Devil May Dance is a delightful stroll down memory lane when the Rat Pack was swinging and so were the Kennedy's。 As a novel Tapper weaves a well researched fictional tale that brings Frank Sinatra， the mob， the CIA， a Congressman and his wife （Republicans， no less！）， Hollywood sleaze including the Hollywood standard of misogyny and underage sexual exploitation。 A crafty who dunnit and there are many， this 300+ page novel is a page turner。 If you want a taste of days gone by or you want to know what Hollywood was like in those days， you could do a lot worse than giving this gem a try。 。。。more
Nancy Simon
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3。5。 The Rat Pack， the Kennedy， the mob， and a congressman
Ramona
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Did not finish。
Danielle
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This is my first time reading this author and I must say I enjoyed it immensely。 The allusion to the rat pack and historical events really held my interest。
Mary Conway
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Excellent writing and plot development - it grabs you right from the start - but this one had more implausibility than its predecessor， so as it twists and turns， it becomes less realistic
John Parker
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Mildly entertaining but not riveting enough to want to pick it up after a long work day
Laura Sprinz Orenstein
，
I'm a huge fan of Jake Tapper on CNN。 I was so looking forward to reading this， but it was a bitter disappointment。 The premise had potential。。。a politician gets involved with the Brat Pack， a murder mystery， intrigue。 That's how the description reads but there was no intrigue。 The story， the dialogue， everything about this book was a bore and a mish-mash mess。 One reviewer summed it up best when he said Jake better not give up his day job！ I'm a huge fan of Jake Tapper on CNN。 I was so looking forward to reading this， but it was a bitter disappointment。 The premise had potential。。。a politician gets involved with the Brat Pack， a murder mystery， intrigue。 That's how the description reads but there was no intrigue。 The story， the dialogue， everything about this book was a bore and a mish-mash mess。 One reviewer summed it up best when he said Jake better not give up his day job！ 。。。more
Mark Mercer
，
An improved second in Tapper's political murders seriesCNN journalist Jake Tapper turns in a rollicking page-turner for his second fiction outing， but still with some inherent flaws。 In his followup to "The Hellfire Club" in his "Charlie and Margaret Marder mysteries" series， now it's 1961 the first year of the Kennedy presidency， with all the Cold War tensions of that time， and the fabulousness （on the surface; underneath quite different） of Hollywood， and the heyday of postwar， but still pre-B An improved second in Tapper's political murders seriesCNN journalist Jake Tapper turns in a rollicking page-turner for his second fiction outing， but still with some inherent flaws。 In his followup to "The Hellfire Club" in his "Charlie and Margaret Marder mysteries" series， now it's 1961 the first year of the Kennedy presidency， with all the Cold War tensions of that time， and the fabulousness （on the surface; underneath quite different） of Hollywood， and the heyday of postwar， but still pre-British Invasion， pre-"The Sixties"， Rat Pack entertainers。As this is still Tapper's "Gary Stue & Mary Sue"-style self-insert storytelling style， this time instead of a somewhat clumsy homage being "Mr。 （And Dr。 Mrs） Smith Go to Washington - and solve murders" it's "Mr。 and Mrs。 Smith Go to Hollywood - and reveal darkness"。Despite my deliberate sarcasm about the series setup， I enjoyed this a lot。 It "took me out of the story" far less than the just blatantly wrong things in the first book - like Charlie being appointed Congressmen due to a vacancy， when that's not how the Constitution works， and he even admits it in his notes at the end。 Less "takes me out"， that is， if one assumes that Charlie and Margaret don't just meet， but become great buddies with Dean Martin， Sammy Davis Jr， Peter Lawford， and the "Chairman of the Board" himself， Frank Sinatra。 Not a spoiler - the book opens with all of them drunk in a graveyard！The specific incidents in both Hollywood and DC， other than those main-plot-driving ones made up， either actually happened or something very similar did， and Tapper-as-newsman has pages of annotated references at the end。 It's worth the read， especially if you get it out of your public library， either physically， or as I did electronically （for either Kindle or as EPUB for all other reading apps/devices supporting Adobe DRM。） Not sure if it's worth buying unless on sale。 。。。more
Daniel
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It's an entertaining thriller， and Tapper has done his homework in mixing fact and fiction， but he should give up any thoughts of ever being a lyricist。 His words for the wholly made up title song as awful。 I enjoyed it but there was really no need to subject the reader to the clunkiness of the made up lyrics。 It's an entertaining thriller， and Tapper has done his homework in mixing fact and fiction， but he should give up any thoughts of ever being a lyricist。 His words for the wholly made up title song as awful。 I enjoyed it but there was really no need to subject the reader to the clunkiness of the made up lyrics。 。。。more
Sanjay
，
I wanted to read this book as soon as I finished The Hellfire Club。 This did not disappoint！ Jake Tapper produces another great story for Charlie and Margaret Marder。 This story was definitely my speed。 I am glad that I finally have begun reading fiction stories again and naturally I am hoping for a third book in the series。 I felt immersed in the novel and appreciated the amount of detail the story has。 I also appreciated that I never knew what was going to happen next。 This book kept me on my I wanted to read this book as soon as I finished The Hellfire Club。 This did not disappoint！ Jake Tapper produces another great story for Charlie and Margaret Marder。 This story was definitely my speed。 I am glad that I finally have begun reading fiction stories again and naturally I am hoping for a third book in the series。 I felt immersed in the novel and appreciated the amount of detail the story has。 I also appreciated that I never knew what was going to happen next。 This book kept me on my toes and I enjoyed every moment。 。。。more
Margaret1358 Joyce
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This historical fiction takes us to Hollywood of the '60's and acts as an expose of the links between super celebrities， the 'mob'， and law enforcement。 Real historical figures are used as equally as made up characters from Tapper's imagination， to serve the plot and its theme of evil threads running through the glitz of superstardom。 A clever but unsavory story。 This historical fiction takes us to Hollywood of the '60's and acts as an expose of the links between super celebrities， the 'mob'， and law enforcement。 Real historical figures are used as equally as made up characters from Tapper's imagination， to serve the plot and its theme of evil threads running through the glitz of superstardom。 A clever but unsavory story。 。。。more
Connie
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3。5 stars！ I enjoyed this book by CNN’s lead anchor in Washington。 It’s not necessary to read his earlier book， The Hellfire Club， to understand this one。 Set in 1961 and 1962， primarily in CA， this book has the Rat Pack， the Kennedys， Marilyn Monroe and the Church of Scientology all thrown together in an entertaining story which is a fast read。Recommended！
John Poth
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A fun "Rat Pack" read with a surprise ending。 The quantity of characters can be a bit confusing at times。 A fun "Rat Pack" read with a surprise ending。 The quantity of characters can be a bit confusing at times。 。。。more
Eunice
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Should have been under FANTASY - ridiculous situations， middle grade writing， big names and over told stories don't make it。 Should have been under FANTASY - ridiculous situations， middle grade writing， big names and over told stories don't make it。 。。。more
Mickey Baker
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Believable Political Fiction Wrapped in Historical FactsI kept bouncing out of the book， playing “fact or fiction。” The writing is so well done that I wonder who Tapper’s sources were for the “back stories。”Were there actually orgies with underage women on Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland？ Sounds absurd， right？ Tapper spins the tale with shades of truth that make me wonder…Thanks， Jake， for bringing the time of my parents， with Cuba， cigarette and cocktails culture， to life。 I hope you have anoth Believable Political Fiction Wrapped in Historical FactsI kept bouncing out of the book， playing “fact or fiction。” The writing is so well done that I wonder who Tapper’s sources were for the “back stories。”Were there actually orgies with underage women on Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland？ Sounds absurd， right？ Tapper spins the tale with shades of truth that make me wonder…Thanks， Jake， for bringing the time of my parents， with Cuba， cigarette and cocktails culture， to life。 I hope you have another Charlie and Margaret Mauser tale coming… Mickey， West Palm Beach 。。。more
JeanneK Kennedy
，
The Devil May Dance is a well written political thriller by Jake Tapper。 Mr。 Tapper is to be commended for writing a fast-paced， easy to read book about Hollywood in the 1960’s。 At times it was funny and I enjoyed reading about the Rat Pack which consisted of Frank Sinatra， Dean Martin， Sammy Davis， Jr。 and Peter Lawford。 For me personally， I thought Mr。 Tapper did an excellent job in describing how Attorney General Robert Kennedy was anxious and determined to find out if Mr。 Sinatra had any tie The Devil May Dance is a well written political thriller by Jake Tapper。 Mr。 Tapper is to be commended for writing a fast-paced， easy to read book about Hollywood in the 1960’s。 At times it was funny and I enjoyed reading about the Rat Pack which consisted of Frank Sinatra， Dean Martin， Sammy Davis， Jr。 and Peter Lawford。 For me personally， I thought Mr。 Tapper did an excellent job in describing how Attorney General Robert Kennedy was anxious and determined to find out if Mr。 Sinatra had any ties to the mob。 His character development of Congressman Charlie Murder and his wife Margaret was very good。 I rated it a five。 。。。more
Zak
，
A brilliant thriller that reveals many dark truths about various forms of corruption in Hollywood and politics in the early 1960s; The Devil May Dance moves as gracefully as a dancer to indicate how recent political corruption and abuses in the entertainment industry have deeply entrenched roots with a long legacy。 The Marders are excellent characters and I hope we will see more investigations from them soon。
Deb
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I didn’t read the first Mystery but I don’t know if it mattered。 One of my favorite movies is LA Confidential， and it reminded me a little of that。 I enjoyed the mix of politics and Hollywood。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Devil May Dance
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Devil May Dance&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Devil May Dance&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0