Spinning Dixie

Publishers Weekly

Dezenhall's recurring narrator, Jonah Eastman (last seen in 2005's Turnpike Flameout), has risen from his Jersey mob upbringing through the pollster ranks and is now President James Lee Truitt's press secretary during a time of upheaval: it's 2005, and the war on terror rages (a suicide bomber attacks a Phillies game), though the war in Iraq is noticeably absent. After a string of irreverent comments about terrorism, Jonah is given the boot, and as he's packing up his office, his high school love, Claudine Polk, asks for his help in saving her family's Tennessee plantation. Jonah, propelled by a looming midlife crisis, launches a massive spin campaign involving the president, political focus groups, thousands of Civil War re-enactors, the National Guard and the Air Force in order to help Claudine, though her motives for seeking him out become suspect. The characters tend toward stereotype-there's a Southern belle, a Southern eccentric, a good ol' boy and a good-humored-and-wise black servant-and the writing is littered with pop culture references that aren't always accurate. Jonah's absurd campaign will keep readers piqued, but the backstory-the mob, Freemasons and Khe Sanh figure in-is unnecessarily convoluted. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Who spins the spinmeister?When President Truitt misspeaks, his press flack Jonah Eastman takes the hit, leaving him jobless but available to come to the aid of the girl of his youthful dreams, a flower of the Confederacy who got away 25 years ago when she disdained this grandson of a Jewish casino czar for the scion of a good Tennessee family. Now Claudine Polk is about to lose her heritage, Rattle & Snap, the plantation her family has lived on for more than 200 years, to J.T., her soon-to-be ex. Itching for one last chance to best J.T., Jonah is tempted to tell him that the daughter he thinks he fathered is probably Jonah's. Thanks to a certain Panamanian super-sleuth and Claudine's kid brother and his band of Civil War re-enactors, the plantation J.T. needs to hide his toxic-sludge-dumping is about to become a media circus. Once Jonah floats the highly imaginative idea that Confederate gold is hidden there, the whole nation is abuzz with who it belongs to now-the Polks or the Feds. Will Jonah win back his southern princess? Will Truitt give him his job back? How many people will dupe him before this coming-of-middle-age saga comes to an end?Dezenhall (Turnpike Flameout, 2006, etc.) wryly suggests that even if beauty engulfs a man, a Jewish granny with showgirl legs and a yenta mentality knows best.

From the Publisher

Advance Praise for SPINNING DIXIE:"Highly imaginative." —Kirkus Reviews "The Eastman series continues to combine a superb premise (evoking the political thrillers of the late, great Ross Thomas) with a nice comic touch and a fine sense of the absurd (suggesting both Westlake and Hiaasen). Keep your eye on this series, and if you haven't read the earlier installments, now's the time to catch up." —Booklist "As energetic and entertaining as the three previous novels, but with more ambition, depth and, ultimately, reader satisfaction." —South Jersey Courier-Post "Dezenhall's characters seem to breathe right off the pages." —The Tennessean "Eric Dezenhall proves once again that Washington is sixty square miles of concrete surrounded by reality. SPINNING DIXIE sparkles with wit and insight." —Kinky Friedman, author of Cowboy Logic "From the Mafia kingpins of South Jersey, to the belles of the Deep South, SPINNIGN DIXIE is rich in greedy, creepy, sexy characters, and a wisecracking narrator who tosses around one-liners faster than a roulette wheel. Eric Dezenhall is an accomplished raconteur who can spin a satirical, dizzying tale of intrigue. Take a chance on Spinning Dixie. Odds are, you'll love it." —Mindy Friddle, author of Garden Angel Praise for TURNPIKE FLAMEOUT:"[A] funny and fast-moving novel." —Dallas Morning News"An entertaining ride." —Philadelphia Inquirer"First-rate." —Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Eric Dezenhall and SHAKEDOWN BEACH:"A cheeky political satire...Here's proof that politics is funny when it isn't even trying." —Marilyn Stasio, NYTBR"Reads like a Carl Hiaasen novel hijacked from South Florida and plopped down in South Jersey...a well-observed thriller." —-The Philadelphia Inquirer