 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
EDGAR AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL!
"'You've got to find what you love and let it kill you.' Jesus ... I'd kill for those lines. This book just took me breath away. . . I'm beyond impressed." 320 pages | $14.95 (paper) | add to cart
|
|
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . | ||
Head Games summary Head Games, is a wistful ballad of lost America rooted in borderland myth and history.
In March 1916, Mexican General Pancho Villa raided and destroyed the town of Columbus, New Mexico, killing several civilians — the first and only successful stab at mainland America by foreign forces until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. President Woodrow Wilson dispatched Black Jack Pershing and an army of 10,000 into Mexico to find and bring back Gen. Villa — dead or alive.
The chase descended into a national debacle. Villa escaped, living in comfort and peace until his assassination in 1923. A short time later, someone dug up Pancho’s body and stole his head. Villa’s “officially” missing head is now linked in Tex-Mex folklore and myth with a vast and still-missing treasure of gold and silver.
An American soldier-of-fortune was arrested for stealing Pancho Villa’s skull. Many believe he was hired by the grandfather of U.S. President George W. Bush. Prescott Bush was a member of the secretive Yale Skull and Bones Society. Other members include President William Howard Taft, Henry Luce, Senator John F. Kerry, George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush. In 1918, Prescott Bush, purportedly, personally participated in stealing the skull of Geronimo to be placed in the Skull and Bones’ infamous trophy cabinet.
Head Games narrator is Hector Lassiter, a larger-than-life crime writer who knew Hammett and Chandler … a boozing, brawling, much-married charmer who fished with Hemingway and bedded Hollywood starlets. Now widowed and feeling his age, Lassiter recovers Villa’s head. Within hours of taking possession of the skull, Lassiter and a young poet sent to profile him for True Magazine are targets of competing fraternities, Mexican bandits and U.S. intelligence services. The breakneck chase extends across 1957-1970 America — from the cantinas of old Mexico to the Venice, California set of Orson Welles’ noir classic Touch of Evil, to the sanctum sanctorum of Yale’s infamous Skull and Bones Society. The cast of characters includes Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Webb and a young and gone-missing National Guardsman named “George W.”
The legends linking the missing heads of Geronimo and Pancho Villa became a touchy issue during George H.W. Bush’s presidential race against Michael Dukakis. Currently, there is a growing movement in Mexico to push for George W. Bush to press Yale and his old fraternity to return Pancho Villa’s skull to the Mexican government.
|
||
| .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . | ||
Praise for Head Games "A turbulent tale of murder, conspiracy and political intrigue. McDonald’s Spillane-like fictional debut has its roots in a real historical question: Did the Bush family really help hide Pancho Villa’s head in the inner sanctum of Skull and Bones?" "In McDonald's fun, deft debut, set mostly in 1957, Sen. Prescott Bush has sent out the call: bring me the head of Pancho Villa, the late Mexican revolutionary...this slick caper novel touches chords of myth, history, loss and redemption just enough so you can hear echoes faintly under the gunfire." "This one is simply great fun!" "Offering the same array of nostalgic delights as Paul Malmont's The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, this is recommended for most public libraries." "Every now and then you run into a book that has it all: humor, a delightfully dark tone, a world-weary
and larger-than-life protagonist and a widly inventive storyline. Craig McDonald's Head Gamesis such a novel . . .worthy of James Ellroy or James Crumley. "Head Games is terrific, a real discovery, informed by -- but never weighed down by -- Craig McDonald's intimate knowledge of pulp fiction, politics, history, literature, film noir and all manner of frontiers. A truly original debut that leaves one eager to see what this writer will do next." "Head Games is fast, funny, furious, heart wrenching, real smart and totally unapologetic … a five-star page turning sizzler in a four-star world. Talk about nailing your debut … Head Games seals the deal and establishes McDonald as the new badass on the writing block. Kick back with a shot of Cuervo and a cold Tecate chaser. Enjoy the search for Pancho’s missing head in this fast-paced thriller of lost and sorely missed “Reading Craig McDonald’s Head Games was like reliving those wonderful and exciting, tequila-fired weekend border-town tours of my youth in the ’50’s. A different character, vivid and lively, waiting around every new corner of the artfully twisted plot. The time and place are captured perfectly, and story never falters as it dashes to the surprising ending. It made me homesick for El Paso the way it was.” “Head Games is smart, it’s funny, and it moves like a roach when the lights go on — what’s not to love?” |
||
| .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . | ||
 |
Craig McDonald is an award-winning journalist and editor. His book Art In the Blood features interviews with 20 top crime and mystery writers including James Ellroy, Dennis Lehane, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly and Walter Mosley. |
|
