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By Robert Eringer
PUBLISHER REVIEW: Meet Jay Sandak, a maverick private spy with a penchant for the good life. In his debut novel, Sandak reluctantly accepts an assignment from his former employer, the Central Intelligence Agency. Operating out of his home-base on the French Riviera, Sandak becomes embroiled in an "extraordinary rendition," intelligence jargon for kidnapping and repatriation. The target is Markham Fitch, a secretive billionaire who fled the United States for sanctuary in Switzerland years earlier. Fitch leads Sandak to a strange German baron, a peddler of nuclear metals stolen from Russia who also believes his genius can bring about a new age renaissance. Sandak enters a gray zone of rival U.S. government agencies, supervised by risk-hating bureaucrats like Pikestaff, the spluttering operations chief at CIA. He struggles to complete his ever-evolving mission, always one cocktail ahead of latigue ("a combination of jet-lag and fatigue") as he yo-yos the Atlantic. Back in his favorite Monaco bar, Sandak plans the final phase of this intricate and iffy operation, certain he wasn't paid nearly enough for his audacity. Parallel Truths reveals many of contemporary society's faults through humor. Terrorism, government policy, and conspiracy theories are just a few of the targets of Eringer's bizarre humor. The physical and abstract phallic representations that the Washington Monument holds for Sandak are an example of the sacred cows that Eringer hunts. Vulgar one-liners, over-the-top eccentrics, and bizarre events allow for social commentary without a bit of seriousness. In addition to intellect and humor, action and suspense make Parallel Truths a highly entertaining read. READERS' REVIEWS:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Eventually, he discovered that making everything up is more fun than reporting facts. Now Eringer writes highly creative novels. He does this for his own amusement, and he hopes such mirth extends to his reader. As a novelist, Robert Eringer lives in a fantasy world of billionaires, spies, and assorted book people. In reality, he keeps the same company. Eringer's fiction was described on NBC's Today as a combination of "the intrigue and lunacy of life." His first novels included Monaco Cool (1993, under the moniker, "Robert Westgate") and Zubrick's Rock (1995). He currently writes novels based on two loopy characters. Jeff Dalkin is a private eye with Tourette's Syndrome who is often mistaken for Bruce Willis. The Dalkin series currently includes Crinkum, Crankum (1998), Lo Mein (1999), and Spookaroonie (Fall 2001). The other series features Jay Sandak, a Monaco-based spy-for-hire who
may be the James Bond of the Millennium. The Sandak series includes Parallel
Truths (January 2001) and two others in the pipeline. THE AUTHOR TALKS ABOUT HIS BOOK.... What is the significance of the title, Parallel Truths? Protagonist Jay Sandak must work with "parallel truths": one is the real truth; the other is his legend -- or cover story -- which he must believe himself (as the truth) or nobody else will believe it. What inspired the main character, Jay Sandak? Hanging out with spooky people and reading books by novelists Charles Bukowski (his book, Ham on Rye, is the most-stolen book in New York each Christmas) and John Fante. Do any of the characters share your personal beliefs or characteristics? Of course. To what degree is the access to nuclear metals in the novel reflecting the possibility of the scenario occurring in reality? A very high degree. In Parallel Truths, Jay Sandak uncovers a plot for Alaska to secede from the United States. Do you believe a modern-day secession of any state from the nation is actually a possibility? Secession has quietly become a fact of life in the United States. A small island off the coast of Maine seceded from the City of Portland; a collective of counties in western Kansas was on the verge of convening a constitutional conference to secede from that state when their demand for lower property tax was suddenly met; San Fernando Valley is currently trying to secede from Los Angeles. While these are not secessions from the United States, Balkanization has definitely become a worldwide trend. A movement is afoot in Puerto Rico, a U.S. Territory, to secede from U.S. control. My scenario in Alaska is based upon a genuine desire among many Alaskans to secede from the United States. What would you like the reader to take away from Parallel Truths? I'll settle for the odd belly laugh. Will Jeff Dalkin and Jay Sandak ever cross paths? I hope so. Such a concept stews in contemplative mode, not least because Sandak is first person and Dalkin is third. But yes, I'd like my characters -- from all my novels -- to plot and sub-plot together one day. Or at least have a party. When can we expect a new Jay Sandak adventure? Sandak has already undertaken two new adventures (or misadventures). Whether or not these tales can be disseminated remains under ongoing scrutiny.
HERE'S A SAMPLE TO ENJOY:
"How'd you get here, wealth or a con?" Yardley was getting personal. And cheeky. "Doesn't the FBI have a file on me, Yardley?" "Maybe it does, but I haven't seen it." "The Cote d'Azur is a good backdrop for what I do. The food, the women, the wine -- life's greatest pleasures -- they beg to be consumed. The airport is uncomplicated and close. You can get anywhere in Europe in under two hours. But the main thing, Yardley, this is where you find wealthy clients." "Do you have many?" "I don't want many. Just two. Three, tops. It's quality that counts, not quantity." Henri delivered a bottle of Chateau de Roqueville, rouge. He poured a taster. I sniffed, tasted. "How do you find clients?" Yardley was fishing. "I don't. They find me." "What do you do for them?" "Mostly, I hold their hands. Sometimes I solve their problems. Money draws problems. The more money, the bigger the problems. I'm their buffer. With me, they don't get their name bandied about by secretaries and file clerks. Their secrets are safe in my head." Yardley was attentive. Maybe he wanted a job as good as mine. More likely, he was updating my feeb file.
PUBLISHING FACTS:
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Born in 1954, Robert Eringer began his writing career as a London-based
foreign correspondent for the Toledo Blade and the Toronto Star. As
a journalist, he raked the gutter, exposing sleazeballs and scumbags.
He once infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan and still has the robe they tailored
for him. His non-fiction books include The Global Manipulators
(1980), The Conspiracy Peddlers (1981), and Strike For Freedom!
(1982), a biography of Lech Walesa and the Polish Solidarity movement.