It’s here. Hold the presses. Ready
the fireworks. Make ready the launch … Dying
for the Past hits the shelves tomorrow!
Detective Oliver “Tuck” Tucker is
back in Book II of his Gumshoe Ghost
series, and he’s ready to solve another case. This one, as explained in Part I
of this two-part blog “Dying for the Past—The Roots of this Sequel” centers
around the murder of a wealthy and mysterious philanthropist with connections
to a 1930s mobster’s journal containing the secrets of Washington D.C.’s
powerbrokers, gangsters, and spies. Everyone wants the book. And they’ll do anything—especially kill—to get it.
In Part I of this blog, I explained that Tuck is up against
Vincent Calaprese, the spirit of a 1930’s gangster, the Russian Mob, and
several conniving suspects. Someone killed Stephanos Grecco—a wealthy
philanthropist—in front of a hundred charity gala guests dancing the night
away. The story surrounds the search for Vincent’s journal—the book—in which he kept tabs on spy rings, mob bosses, and
corrupt Washington D.C. elite. Vincent used his journal to persuade the FBI
from shutting down his operations and keep his mob competition at arm’s length.
Over the years, the book became a shield against the growing Russian mob and
corrupt government officials. To mess with Vincent’s family meant risking the
book telling its stories.
This subplot is based on true events.
During the run-up to WWII, some mob leaders helped our
government thwart, and in some cases, directly combat our enemies. Known mob
kingpins are believed to have kept track of Axis spies operating in the country
and reporting activities to the authorities, in particular, with ports and rail
yards where sabotage was a threat. During those years (and perhaps still
today), the mob had special access to
ports, rail, and coastal cities —they had their own networks controlling the
docks and cargo throughout the country; they also had enormous power over the
labor unions working those areas. I suppose that while they were mobsters and
racketeers, they were still Americans and, in a world war where nationalism was
the battle cry, even the bad guys waved the flag.
One story has it that Meyer Lansky, along with a key mob
boss and pal, Salvatore C. Luciano, a.k.a. Lucky Luciano, played key roles in keeping
union dockworkers from striking during the war and aiding in the successful
invasion of Sicily by American forces. Further, Lansky helped our government
recruit fellow mobsters, Bugsey Siegel and Lepke Buchalter. The three gangsters
were reportedly merciless at intimidating potential German-American Nazi
sympathizers to keep them from gaining any foothold in the country. These men
also played other roles while working for the government. Lucky Luciano also
reportedly played a vital role in aiding the U.S. invasion of Sicily. Luciano
was a notorious Italian boss with power in both the U.S. and in Sicily.
According to historical accounts, Luciano traded his freedom from prison for
his assistance in helping secure intelligence and cooperation from Sicilian mob
assets.
There’s a long list of other mob aficionados who aided our
government in fighting the Axis powers here and abroad. Few of them our
government owned up to after the war. One story even suggests Luciano
parachuted into Sicily behind enemy lines to make contact with mobsters—a
significant power in Sicily—and organize them to aid the Allied invasion.
With history like this, how could I resist? So, while
creating Vincent Calaprese and his delectable girlfriend, Sassy, I penned
Vincent as a hot-cold, good-mobster, bad-mobster kinda guy. His connection to
pre-WWII espionage and corruption is the backstory of Dying for the Past—and what better vehicle to connect the past with
the present than a dangerous journal that named names and could blaze a trail
to modern day espionage and corruption in 2015? And of course, the book and its
stories were worth killing for.
The next ingredient in my story is Tuck’s family background
and what secrets his unknown past might reveal. For those of you who have read Dying to Know, you know that Tuck was an
orphan raised in foster care. He never knew anyone or anything about his
family. In Dying to Know, we learn
that Doc, his cantankerous spirit guide, is family. In Dying for the Past, we’ll begin to learn that being a ghost is
hereditary and Tuck’s roots may well include mobsters, spies, cops and robbers,
and a host of wayward spirits—pun
intended. Ultimately, as Tuck’s stories continue, all the books will be
connected through Tuck’s family past. There is a method to my madness and an
intricate web of spirited lineage that will tie the cases—and the
characters—all together. It suffices to say that Tuck’s murder was not an
accident—and neither was Doc’s or the rest of Tuck’s family. In fact, they were
all dying to get together. Wow, is
that another book title?
Why am I so connected to the past myself? I have no
choice—my own family tree has some interesting stories, too.
As a young boy, my grandfather, Oscar, told a few tales of
his life in the 30s and 40s. As a very young man, he took to life as a hobo and
rode the rails around the east coast looking for adventure—and work—during the
Great Depression. In WWII, he was one of the oldest draftees and his exploits included
working for a Military Intelligence Officer in the Pacific Theatre. My great
uncle, John, was a drummer for the likes of the Dorsey Brothers, Gene Kruppa,
and Glenn Miller. While I don’t think anyone ever heard of him, my grandparents
were his biggest fans and instilled a love of Big Band and Swing music in me.
In Dying for the Past, that music plays
a unique role in Vincent Calaprese’s chapters and help me keep his era alive
throughout the story. And last, but perhaps most significant is my mentor for
the past 24 years, Wally, who is one of the last remaining OSS operatives
(Office of Strategic Service—the forerunner to the CIA) still alive today. After
the war, Wally joined the CIA and became one of its senior executives through
the cold war and into the 80s. He fought the Germans in Northern Africa and
Europe, fought the communists in Greece, the Russians throughout the world, and
all enemies in between (and I dare say a bunch of Washington bureaucrats, too)
until his retirement. His exploits and his life story are a constant source of
material for my books. It is no secret that Wally is thinly disguised as
Doc—Tuck’s omnipotent, brassy spirit mentor—in all of Tuck’s stories.
As you can see, history is a big part of my life and is a
constant theme throughout my books. In my upcoming Dying to Tell, Book III in Tuck’s series, the OSS and a WWII
operation in the Middle East play a significant role in a series of murders. Dying to Tell releases in January 2016.
For you history and mystery aficionados, I hope you’ll give Dying for the Past and Dying to Know a read. When you do, drop
me a line at tj@tjoconnor.com and let me
know what you think.
For the New Year, stay safe and well!
TJ O’CONNOR IS THE
AUTHOR OF DYING FOR THE PAST and DYING TO KNOW, available in books stores
and e-books from Midnight Ink. His third paranormal mystery, DYING TO TELL, will be released January
2016. Tj is an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism,
investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With
his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived
and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the
United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. He was raised in New
York's Hudson Valley and lives with his wife and lab companions in Virginia
where they raised five children. Dying
for the Past and Dying To Know are
the first of eight novels to be published. Learn more about Tj’s world at www.tjoconnor.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TjOConnor.Author
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