F. SCOTT FITZGERALD AMERICAN SPY

by Murray Sinclair

Narrated by: Terrence McGovern

Production by: Eclectic Books

Review by Rox Burkey

Garage Sale Discovery with Mystery!

Mr. Sinclair sets up the story as a look at history from a collection of correspondence exchanged during the 1940s discovered at a garage sale in a trunk. Mr. Ratchman discovers the letters he suspected might be of historical value. Upon inspection, the letters were in a foreign language and in code.

He broke the code and translated a remarkable twist on a previously unknown detour of F. Scott Fitzgerald's life during the 1940s when France fell victim to the Germans. Reluctantly recruited by Duval, a double agent of Vichy France, Fitzgerald is trained and coached to help French loyalists restore their country.

The paths of these two men cross by design in Hollywood, where Fitzgerald is writing to survive while Hemingway’s popularity is soaring. The correspondence by Duval relates the glitz of the Hollywood in-crowd and the outrageous lifestyle of Fitzgerald, who parties with the Marx brothers, sleeps with Sheilah Graham, and insults William Randolf Hearst, to name a few of the characters encountered from the sunny beaches of California to the high rises of New York, and finally France. Murray Sinclair frames colorful, well-known locations to take his reader to American pre-WWII with vivid dialogue, an unfolding hair-raising spy adventure, and unapologetic debauchery of the characters. The journey of Duval and Fitzgerald contains all the elements from hate to love, to fear, to manipulation, before the unexpected ending of this side note in history.

Terence McGovern delivers the story with various character voices, delightful accents, and well-timed intonations throughout the narration. The delightful audio rendition brings the listener into the well-written historical thriller. Fans of historical fiction and lifestyles of the once rich and famous in Hollywood will enjoy this tale.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.