Novels by Jerry Jamison
Suspense that makes you scream
Fiction by Jerry Jamison
Novels that make you think
Novels by Jerry Jamison
Humor that makes you howl
Non-Fiction by Jerry Jamison
Biographies that make you wonder
Novels by Jerry Jamison
Romance that makes you sigh
Suspense by Jerry Jamison
Mysteries that make you gasp
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Complete Works
Mourning Doves
$12.99In a fascinating piece of historical writing, Mourning Doves follows the trail of a young Irish lass from her early days in County Cork to the harrowing streets of New York’s immigrant ghettos at the turn of the century. The story covers multiple generations, cross country travels, and a series of unforeseen twists that will keep the reader guessing. It is the story of a conquering spirit of one woman’s life and, in part, is the story of America with all its heartbreaks and triumphs.
Nowhere Man
$12.99Martin Milton Madellbaum was a feebish, mouse of a man who, throughout his life had been trampled by everyone in his life from his overbearing mother to his condescending and haughty boss who is unafraid to use—steal—his hard work and good ideas. But in his own way, and behind the scenes, Martin is planning his revenge and it will come in a way that now one could have predicted. A novel of heart-pounding suspense, peppered with touching and tender, moving moments that make the overlooked loser a beloved character.
Stars Over Encanta
$12.99A tender but haunting tale of star-crossed lovers who—after a brief, chance meeting—are destined to discover their own magic, comes to life along the rugged Monterrey coast of California. Set in the 1940s, the war provides a colorful background for the couple and their innkeeper as they live in one of the most celebrated, most obscure estate homes in America—carved out of solid rock in the cliffs that line the shore. It is a mystery, a love story, and a suspense thriller rolled into one.
The Rabbit Hole
$12.99When a successful but aging Chicago advertising executive discovers some memorabilia from his high school years, he begins to relive the Summer of Love in a sleepy, seaside village in Southern California. His two worlds, however, begin to merge and soon become indistinguishable—creating unparalleled ecstasy and unimagined terror as he slips between the two, not always at will. A wild ride through two eras that proceeds from the opening chapter through a breathless pace.
The Little Cottage in the Pines
$12.99In a pleasing and intriguing Christmas story, the unlikely path of a little family heirloom—a snow globe—unites families and generations through the glories and turbulence of American history in a way that draws the reader ever deeper into the lives of people who stumble into moments of significance. A heartwarming and tender tale, The Little Cottage in the Pines overflows with surprises and unexpected twists that offers a trip through time.
Beach Blanket Bonanza
$12.99Revisit the wild and carefree era of surfing and beach parties in Southern California as reflected in the unrealistic but wildly popular movies of the early sixties. In a humorous novel, the cast reunites at Comic-Con 35 years later and all is not sunshine and love as times and personalities have changed over time. It’s a wild romp that covers two eras, a dozen actors, and produces laughter with every turn of the page in a fast and hilarious flashback.
The Golden Boy
$12.99Set in a high school reunion where everyone is nervously hoping to reestablish themselves while reliving the past, a guest at the hotel mistakenly meanders into the crowd and is mistaken for the former star athlete and big man on campus—The Golden Boy. A meek and lonely man in his real life, Arthur Dingle decides to assume the new persona thrust on him and lives his dream for an exhilarating but short time.
Monday Mornin’ at the Catfish Grill
$12.99When the undisputed star of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s suddenly decides that he can’t take another minute of the fame and adoration that is now suffocating him, he slips away under a disguise and disappears into a small southern town where he is anonymous and takes a job in a diner as “just one the guys.” There he finds a simple freedom to ask the big questions and develop real relationships that will ultimately redirect the course of his life.
Tomorrow Never Knows
$12.99Tomorrow Never Knows is a musical play featuring 25 original songs that follows the lives of six best friends in Junior High during two momentous days of their lives: the night the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and then on the same date decades later for a small group reunion. They are now older, wiser and somewhat damaged after life has taken them along different paths. The play creates an upbeat, fast-paced atmosphere where audience members will recognize moments in their own lives.
11 Hours
$12.99A stunning true story based on real events that dominated headlines nationwide in 1938 and yet, in so many ways, deals with contemporary issues and challenging dilemmas of today. As a young man—wealthy and privileged beyond measure—stands for 11 hours on a ledge of a Manhattan hotel seventeen floors above famed 5th Avenue, the media, onlookers, and tour buses gawk at the lonely soul and are either screaming for him to jump or praying he won’t.
Swimming In Jello
$12.99If Junior High School was, as it was for most, a nightmare of epic proportions, this book filled with tall tales and laugh out loud situations, will have readers recalling their own lives—and painful experiences—with a smile. As seen through the eyes of an undersized, red-haired, freckled boy of the era, the foibles of early teen life in the 1960s is given a fresh look with a full dose of humor.
Free Fall
$4.99Story 1 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
Della Adderly was a twenty-something aspiring art director who was anxious to make her mark in the advertising world of the late 1960s. Tired of laboring behind men who took the credit for her work, she took a risk and strode into the office of Miss Veronica Landon—a sharp, no-nonsense Creative Director for one of the fastest-rising agencies in Manhattan—and demanded an interview.
After their meeting, Della strolled down Fifth Avenue—primarily to show off her new outfit—and then settled into a seat at a little sidewalk French Bistro. As she was noshing on a cheese sandwich, there was a scream from bystanders and seconds later a body fell at her feet from twenty stories above. It was Veronica Landon.
Accident? Suicide? Murder? The mystery weaves its way through a colorful cast of characters to a shocking, head-turning conclusion high above the Manhattan skyline.
Caged Canary
$4.99Story 2 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
A terrific train accident momentarily confuses the identities of some of the victims as they are scattered throughout local hospitals. Piecing together bits of information that survived, the nurses determine Birdie Barrington to have lost her newlywed husband in the crash. But is the surviving Bride really his wife or is it an opportunistic woman assuming her identity to inherit the riches and the lifestyle belonging to him.
When the dead man’s family gets involved and shady characters in Birdie’s past begin to surface, decisions have to be made that make her life even more complex and mysterious—as well as everyone’s around her.
Dead Ringer
$4.99Story 3 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
Lana LeFleur was the epitome of the movie star queens of the Golden Age of Cinema. Fawned over, catered to, adored and pampered she was the center of her own universe and demanded that that was also true of everyone in her orbit—especially her stand-in who lived continually in the shadow of her stardom. And also her beleaguered newlywed husband, who had sacrificed his writing career to give her the spotlight.
But for Lana, there would be a reckoning. When Cameron, the shy husband, and Audrey, the unassuming body double, begin to develop a relationship…only the cinema diva is in their way and then, perhaps, their lives in the shadows will come to an end.
Reptiles Of The Mind
$4.99Story 4 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
When sweet and innocent Evie found herself mired in a wicked storm on a muddy road in the dead of night, her heart was in her throat with every turn. Perhaps that was why she didn’t notice the man walking in the rain along the road—and nearly hit him. Afraid to stop, he later confronts her at a roadside diner. Apologetic, she offers him a ride.
It might have been the mistake of her life for Vince was a penitentiary escapee on the run. The next several hours together are ones of terror until they discover they have something in common and begin to plot a solution to both of their problems.
Shadow Of A Doubt
$4.99Story 5 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
When a woman sees a dead body across the way through the window in her Manhattan apartment, she is desperate for others to believe her. Unfortunately no one else can see what she does and it begins to drive her to desperation. In the spirit of old radio dramas of the 1940s, the heart-pounding mystery unravels delightfully until the surprising conclusion is reached.
Carole Carson—a fading movie star—slowly loses her mind while surrounded by a colorful cast of unique characters who either are helping to calm her nerves or are consciously driving her insane. What you think is real…just might not be. Or is it? Illusion, or perhaps madness, is at the heart of a mystery for the ages.
Hide & Seek
$4.99Story 6 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
Vacationing in a five-star resort in the Rocky Mountains, film mogul Kenneth Edward Westland and his new, young wife, Delilah, find themselves trapped in the hotel after he becomes ill during a raging snowstorm. The resort, now abandoned for the winter, proves to be the last piece of the puzzle in a plot for Delilah to murder her husband to gain his fortune.
But before he dies—anticipating his wife’s evil plans—Westland tells his wife that someone is coming to expose her evil deeds. When she is forced to take in several guests seeking refuge from the storm, she must figure out who the detective is.
Is it the sleazy salesman, the jealous writer, the plain-jane mistress, the small-town sheriff, or one of the others who might have crossed his path on that fateful day?
Based on a 1949 radio play, it was broadcast on Valentine’s Day as a gift—and a warning—to all lovers.
Twin Trillium
$4.99Story 7 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
Set in the wild and unpredictable world of the 1960’s college campus life, a young and quite hip professor falls for a carefree student and they take off for a summer road trip to enjoy nature and explore untouched worlds by following the “The Appalachian Trail” as it winds through several states. Their attempt to “discover themselves,” however, takes some wicked turns as they encounter odd and indecipherable strangers along the way—some of which introduce new terrors to their relatively tranquil lives.
Interspersed with the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, the couple descend into a rabbit hole of terror as they try to sort out the world around them with the help—or the horror—of unexpected guests. The ending, as they say, is a shocker.
Head Case
$4.99Story 8 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
Junie and Ethyl had been best friends since they could remember and after once last lingering Kansas blizzard and their graduation from high school, they left the midwest behind to enjoy the sunshine-drenched shores of Southern California.
Settling into the burgeoning youth scene of the early 1950s, they discover a new and exciting life despite Junie’s annoying “blackouts” that seem to surface at all the wrong times. Then, after reading about a gruesome murder of a man in town—someone she had previously dated—Junie begins to wonder if she might be the killer.
Doing her own detective work, she sees the clues and the evidence are pointing to her. Is her mind playing tricks on her? Or is she a slasher dressed in petticoats and saddle shoes?
Final Draft
$4.99Story 9 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
When a fledgling and failing novelist comes up with the idea of a lifetime—a murder mystery—he brings in a stenographer to type it up as he feverishly dictates the story. Up against an unyielding deadline, the writer tells his tale while struggling with his disinterested typist in a battle of wills.
The author’s novel—embedded into Final Draft—is the story of a hardboiled crime reporter who figures out a plot to seduce and marry a dying heiress in order to gain her fortune. His plan however, is beset with challenges and he finds himself in an ever darker, ever deeping maze of intrigue…something the author suddenly seems unable to escape himself as the writer’s fiction merges with his own life.
The Light At Isla Chillido
$4.99Story 10 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
In the spirit of Stephen King, the natural becomes supernatural in Isla Chillido—a true tale of terror. Isla Chillido is a luxury Caribbean island resort that is largely populated during the summer season by the grown children of uber-rich parents who feel entitled, empowered, and carefree to a fault.
Their only parameters in life seem to be an abject worry of being ridiculed by their peers or appearing “uncool” at any moment in time.
These pretentious young adults fear nothing and no one until…until they are faced with a horror beyond imagination. Watching over them is a team of middle-class, hardworking lighthouse keepers who equally find themselves in a dilemma of epic proportions.
As their two worlds collide, the best and the worst in everyone is revealed, and the characters in Isla Chillido are faced with impossible decisions which carry terrifying consequences.
Summer Storm
$4.99Story 11 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
When the rich and handsome Gregg and his fiance—the peppy, mysterious Emmie—decide to take a drive to “meet the parents,” they had expected a five-hour journey of sunshine and top-40 tunes on the radio in their convertible. But then came a summer storm.
It was indeed the storm of the century, but—far from simply a meteorological event—it also creates an inner turmoil of epic proportions as they try to solve and survive an impossible situation that was beyond their grasp.
Unprepared for what they would face and how they would react to each other, with each passing mile along a muddy country road—lightning crackling in the distance and thunder rocking their car—the fear grows and the terror is amplified.
A Novel Idea
$4.99Story 12 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
The world’s most famous murder mystery writer has come up with an idea for his latest masterpiece and it has his heart pounding. Creating a plot outline, he decides to live the story out himself to experience the pure emotions and unfiltered reactions he is craving…and to strike revenge on an old classmate for a perceived past hurt.
Holding the classmate’s family hostage while manipulating the father and husband for his own evil purposes, the writer—Arnold Whitacre—toys with his victims like a cat with a ball of yarn while he thrills to the sight of an innocent man taking the fall for his actions. But with the clock ticking toward an execution date, has the trap he’s set entrap himself instead?
The Sand Man
$4.99Story 13 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
When a couple of young, listless losers pull off a Vegas’ slots casino heist and go on a wild run through the Mojave Desert, they find refuge in the cabin of an old man who has weathered many a decade. He tells them of an even greater score—the legend of a Spanish Galleon marooned in the desert sands that is filled with gold and jewelry.
Enticed by the lure of untold wealth, Joey Matrone goes in search of the treasure but must battle both the severe elements and—what seems to be—supernatural forces that want to defeat him. Based on a shocking true story—or is it a legend—that has been researched and written about by nearly every generation since the Civil War era.
The “Tales of Suspense” Series is a collection of e-Books inspired by the radio plays of the 1940s and 1950s that produced heart-pounding, hair-raising dramas designed to both thrill and terrify listeners for generations. Each tale is unique and not connected to any other, so readers can jump in at any point. Short in length but powerful in impact, they all feature twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Busy Signal
$4.99Story 14 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series
Victoria Halloran was the heir of the great Whitcomb legacy which came with an estate beyond value situated on a private island called Belle Isle outside of Detroit. With her kind and attentive husband Herbert at her side, from there she reigned as queen on her throne. Unfortunately her throne was her bed—she was a hypochondriac invalid that had not escaped her world of pillows and linens for more than a dozen years.
Imperious, entitled, and bitter, she only found happiness when the world revolved around her. Other than through her overworked telephone, she had no contact with the outside world. But when she eavesdrops on another party’s call and discovers a murder plot, she is desperate to convince others that something must be done to prevent it.
The entire story takes place over a few hours largely with her alone in her bed, but the action and tension are larger than life and, as the clock ticks down to the appointed time of the killing, the scene is almost unbearable.
Dead Red Roses
$12.99When Martha Beck met Raymond Fernandez it was a marriage made in Hell. Serial scammers who defrauded unsuspecting women of their life’s savings in the 1940s, they eventually graduated to murder and were reportedly responsible for 20 deaths during their carefree Bonnie & Clyde crime spree. Once arrested, their trial was one of the most sensational of the era, filling newspaper columns with lurid tales of sexual perversity and unnatural obsessions.
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CHAPTER 01
The man stood in front of his bathroom mirror staring in horror at his appearance. He was trying to convince himself that this wasn’t really him—perhaps it was all a cruel, unending dream—but he was losing his own internal argument. This was definitely him.
His skin was such a pasty gray that it defied description. Taking a second to pull his eyes away from the mirror, he rotated his right arm in front of himself to confirm that it was indeed this ghastly tone.
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With little contrast to his pallid skin, his rapidly thinning hair was straw-like and sticking out in all directions—a straight, stringy, and disgusting blend of blond, gray, and puke. He could taste blood oozing from his damaged gums.
After vomiting intermittently for most of the past three hours it was no surprise though. There was nothing normal—certainly nothing healthy—about Aaron, but the visage in the mirror still literally had him staggering backwards a step. He had been avoiding mirrors for some time now, even covering them up at points, so the shock was magnified when he finally mustered up the courage to face himself.
Unexpectedly, as he took that step back, it revealed more of his upper torso and made him grimace once again. His neck, shoulders and chest seemed to be clinging to the fragile bones that supported them—each one perfectly outlined.
He pinched his left collarbone—the one he had broken landing in a sawdust high jump pit in eighth grade—and could nearly make his fingers touch. Not good he thought. Not good at all. His muscles that only months ago were full and well-defined, were now nearly non-existent.
With arms that hung lifelessly by his side like long tree branches on a winter’s day, he was relieved that the mirror cut him off at mid-section. He couldn’t have beared to imagine what the package looked like below his waist.
Since fall, he had been dressing and undressing in total darkness to avoid this very moment but now it came crashing in on him like a truckload of cement. Perhaps he should have eased himself into this moment. Who knows? He hadn’t been thinking clearly lately, perhaps not making good decisions.
More shocking than the skin though, was his skull-like face. It was hideous. His eyes, once pale blue and bright, now appeared to have been swallowed up completely by dark, cavernous sockets that almost seemed to be receding as he viewed them. It added to the horror of the moment in a mighty way. There was no life in them. None whatsoever.
In a macabre attempt to see if he could reanimate them, he forced a garish smile on his face and opened his eyes freakishly wide. It only made him look like Heath Ledger’s Joker character so he quickly abandoned the test. And why try really? What was the point? He was dying and he knew it. There was no real value in putting lipstick on a pig.
Five floors down he could hear a raging party at the local watering hole which was located at the base of his building. The revelers were clearly building up toward an inevitable New Year’s Eve midnight crescendo. Noisemakers were creating a non-stop wall of sound that was equally deafening and yet somehow as non-distinct as white noise.
Weird. All of that happiness—or at least what the booze told you happiness felt like—and all of that hope and promise of a new year rolled into the countdown of a clock. The scene below stood in direct contradiction to the image in front of him.
The clink of glasses. The peals of laughter. The roars of young men bellowing to their mates, the dozen or more TVs all tuned to different stations creating a discordant but jubilant symphony. And yet here he was naked, dying, and trying to fight off a growing urge to puke in the sink.
How had it come to this? He was in his late sixties. When he was a teenager, that had seemed incredibly old—his grandfather was that age—but now it seemed young. Too young. Too young to die. Way, way too young.
About the Author
“I write by envisioning the scene in front of me,” explains Jamison of his approach to writing. “I can see it all. Every detail. The positions of the characters, what they are wearing, the layout of the room, and the feeling in the air. Then I simply describe it.”
For nearly 40 years, Jerry Jamison has been an award-winning advertising copywriter with more than 30 national writing commendations during his career. As the principal in an California-based advertising agency, he has helped create and guide successful and memorable campaigns for a wide range of clients throughout the country.
“Since storytelling is at the heart of all successful advertising campaigns, it was a natural transition to being a novelist,” Jamison explains. “In this time, I’ve enjoyed pursuing all genres and styles in part, I believe, because advertising writing requires such intense focus and tight parameters. I find a real sense of freedom through creative writing and telling unique stories.”
Following his years as a novelist, he focused on several stories based on true events in history that were fascinating and largely undiscovered. This included lengthy and in-depth biographies that required hundreds of hours of research and tens of thousands of contemporary articles.
“In working in the non-fiction genre, I definitely developed an affinity for digging down deep to find those nuggets or kernels of truth that may have been overlooked or not fully appreciated. I find myself fascinated with the depth of an individual’s life as it is revealed through the press and then later adjusted by insider’s insights—especially in the mid-century era when perception was paramount.”
This foray into true events next led Jamison to turn his attention to True Crime stories that required meticulous research and a detective-like nose for the truth—something often hidden by layers of opinion and false reporting.
Utilizing newspapers and magazines and other credible sources from the actual times of the events, he has constructed accurate telling of some of America’s most horrific crimes and most unique criminals not previously covered. He writes these in a novelistic style.
In the most recent years, he has focused on crafting mysteries—short stories based on concepts from 1940’s literature, films and radio broadcasts. The novelization of what were relatively short scripts, brings to life and updates some great tales of suspense for generations unfamiliar with the melodrama and tension of Golden Era entertainment.
“I write by envisioning the scene in front of me,” explains Jamison of his approach to writing. “I can see it all. Every detail. The positions of the characters, what they are wearing, the layout of the room, and the feeling in the air. Then I simply describe it. It is more like watching a movie and then transcribing it. I feel like I am more of a participant in the story than the creator of it. The process is quite enjoyable really.”
Jerry Jamison graduated from Westmont College with a degree in Sociology and currently lives with his wife in Chula Vista, California.
Jerry Jamison
/ Author
