Blacklist
A Novel
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The last time the United States looked on its own citizens with suspicion, the results were ruined dreams, shattered lives…and murderin Jerry Ludwig's Blacklist
Today, people point fingers and shout, "terrorist!" Not long ago, the accusation was "Communist!" Many who testified before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee said they did so out of desperation and fear. Those who refused to speak were fired or blacklisted. Others fled rather than betray friends…or their belief in American liberty.
David Weber and Jana Vardian were Hollywood's golden children; their fathers, successful screenwriters, mingled with stars and studio moguls. Then HUAC shattered their idyll, sending David and his parents into exile in Europe; Jana's father testified and soon became a famous director.
Returning to Los Angeles as an adult to bury his father, David comes to the attention of FBI agent Brian McKenna, who is still eager for a big case. The somewhat jaded McKenna remains eager for a big case. Jana Vardian watched her father torture himself after testifying; David's return painfully reminds her that she once believed in love and loyalty.
When people with ties to HUAC and to David's father begin turning up dead, long-buried secrets are dragged into the open. McKenna quickly tags David as the prime suspect, but in a world where special effects can turn a man into a beast, Hollywood's sheen of glamour cannot long mask its dark past.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1959, this ponderous mystery from Ludwig (Getting Garbo) traces the fates of David Weaver and Jana Vardian, children of the screen-writing team of Theodore "Teddy" Weaver and Leo Vardian, Brooklyn boys who made it big in Hollywood. In the early '50s, Teddy refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee and went into exile abroad; Leo named names and continued to make films. David brings his father's body back to L.A. for burial after 48-year-old Teddy dies of a heart attack in Rome. David reunites with Jana at the funeral. When red-baiting columnist Joe Shannon is murdered shortly after a confrontation with David, the LAPD is ready to pin the killing on him. Jana and David must figure out who's framing him and why before it's too late. Despite routine crime solving, Ludwig does a good job depicting the various blatant, subtle, and horrific ways the blacklist affected not only the whole movie industry but our entire social fabric.