Frank Sinatra has had a hold on the American imagination since he burst on the scene in the middle of the twentieth century. Dead over twenty years, he still does. These are some of the books that include him as a character, particularly in the days of cool.
Robert J. Randisi expertly captures the feel of 50s and 60s Vegas in his Rat Pack mysteries. Eddie Gianelli may seem to be just a pit boss at the Sands, but he's who the Rat Pack, especially Sinatra, go to when something delicate needs to be done. Aided by cheerful gunsel Jerry, Eddie always gets his man or woman this breezy, witty series.
Joe Buonomo hates mobsters. That's unfortunate in a way, because he's up to his neck in them in John Sandrolini's My Kind of Town. Frank Sinatra hires Joe to fly him to Chicago, Joe's home town, and hang around. In between reconnecting with his family and romancing seductive chanteuse Claudia, Joe has to look for Al Capone's lost treasure and the true deed to the Merchandise Mart. Great noir atmospherics and a lot of Chicago history make this book a real winner.
Sinatra is really a magnet for mysteries, and he shows up in Make Believe by Ed Ifkovic, one of his Edna Ferber mysteries. Edna Ferber, the famous twentieth century writer, is in McCarthy-era Hollywood to help out a blacklisted friend. Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner get involved, and Edna's friend is murdered, sending her on a chase for the killer. Ifkovic has a great time evoking 1950s Tinsel Town and those who inhabited it.
Fredeick Turner's The Go-between tells a fictional tale of the real Judith Campbell Exner, who was the lover of both Sinatra and JFK, and was known to liase with Sam Giancana for both men. in Turner's account, Exner wasn't so much a fallen woman as one who believed in the promise of the era a bit too much.
Hassie Calhoun by Pamela Cory follows a small-town Texas teenager as she heads for the bright lights of Las Vegas. Talented and beautiful, Hassie attracts the attentions of both Frank Sinatra and the abusive boss of the Copa Room, Jake Contrata. When the road to stardom forces Hassie to make an impossible choice, she has to decide what's really important. Full of incident, this book is another to evoke nostalgia for a bygone era.
Got more novels featuring Old Blue Eyes? Tell us about them in the comments.
