The Chicago Tribune raves about Cathie John's storytelling abilities: "Cathie John (writes) with an amazing amount of energy, angst and a cinematic flair ... (Claudette) and Nick—as well as the dysfunctional family that owns the Oasis and many of the supporting gangsters—manage the difficult feat of being familiar figures from noir films while also carrying a surprising amount of real heft and depth."
Original Sin City Sampler is an eye-opening 20,000 word visit to the premier American gambling hot spot before Las Vegas…Newport, Kentucky of the 1940s and 1950s. Also known as Little Mexico, this is the Original Sin City where the long battle between the independent casino operators of Newport and the major crime families of Cleveland, New York, and Chicago created the prototype for the mobster-run Las Vegas gambling industry of the Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin Rat Pack Era. But before that glamorous Las Vegas could exist, the rules were hammered out and written in blood on the streets of Newport. This is the virgin crime fiction territory Cathie John has discovered and has begun exploring with her Barry Award short-listed hardboiled novel "Little Mexico" and its sequel "In the Name of the Father."
Cincinnati Post says: "This series explores Newport's reign as 'Sin City, U.S.A.' ... historical grounding is excellent and provides a fascinating look at how a little city found notoriety as a haven for gambling, prostitution and other crime."
Cathie John dramatizes this saga of crime through the eyes of a fictional family of gangsters (along with historical characters) using many years of research through Northern Kentucky University’s extensive collection of newspaper articles dealing with the gambling activities in Northern Kentucky, as well as interviews with former pit bosses and showgirls who worked at various casino/supper clubs in Northern Kentucky during the 1940s and 1950s. The fictional stories follow the historical chain of events until both the independent and mob family casino operators lose to the crusading church groups, US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and the Department of Justice, and thus make the decision to consolidate their operations, moving lock, stock and barrel to Las Vegas.
This sampler is DRM free.
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