- Winter Kills
infobox Book |
name = Winter Kills
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption =
author =Richard Condon
cover_artist =
country =United States
language = English
series =
genre =Black Comedy novel
publisher = Doubleday
release_date = May 1974
media_type = Print (Hardback,Paperback )
AudioBook (Cassette)
pages = 304 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-803-78822-3 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =Arigato (1972)
followed_by =The Star-Spangled Crunch (1974)"Winter Kills", is a black comic novel exploring the assassination of a U.S. President. The novel parallels the real life assassination of
John F. Kennedy and the various conspiracy theories that surround the event.Plot summary
Before the main story of the novel begins, U.S. President Timothy Kegan is shot in
Philadelphia at Hunt Plaza. The ensuing presidential commission condemns a lone gunman as the killer. The book starts years later, when Kegan's half-brother, Nick, witnesses the death-bed confession of a man claiming to have been part of the 'hit squad'. As the protagonist attempts to find the plotter(s), he encounters numerous groups and persons that could have led or been part of the conspiracy. One person is Lola Camonte, a hostess, lobbyist and fixer. She recounts the story of President Kegan asking her about appointing a member of organized crime to the Court of St. James. The character "Joe Diamond" is the fictional representation ofJack Ruby .Condon's book describes the numerous intertwined threads of the conspiracy, from the
Mafia ,Cuba , even possible domestic police connections. Only in the final act, in which Nick meets with his vicious and perverseJoseph P. Kennedy -like 'father-figure', is the truth revealed with atwist ending .Film adaptation
"Main article:
Winter Kills (film) "In 1979 a film adaptation of the novel was released, which starred
Jeff Bridges andJohn Huston .ee also
*
Assassinations in fiction
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