Parallel Truths
- Book Review,
by Robert Eringer
Clair George, Former Deputy Director for Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
No one writes a funnier novel about modern day spying than Robert Eringer. It is clear that he understands espionage...
Walt Perry, former Undercover Sting Specialist, I.R.S.
“Insightful, fast-moving-and hilarious from beginning to end.”
Book Description
Meet Jay Sandak, a maverick private spy with a penchant for the good life. In this debut novel, Sandak accepts an assignment from his former employer, the CIA. Operating out of Monaco, Sandak becomes embroiled in an “extraordinary rendition,” intelligence jargon for kidnap 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 believes his genius will 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 the 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 operation, certain he wasn’t paid nearly enough for his audacity.
From the Publisher
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. Q: What one other book would you recommend to those who like your work? "I Knew Three Thousand Lunatics" by Victor Small.
From the Author
Q: Why 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.
About the Author
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. 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 (just released) and two others in the pipeline.
Excerpted from Parallel Truths by Robert Eringer. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Monaco. The perfect storefront for a spy-for-hire like Jay Sandak. "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. Copyright © 2000 by Robert Eringer. All rights reserved.
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