On May 11, 2021, Charlie and Margaret Marder are set to return in The Devil May Dance, a new thriller from New York Times bestselling author and award-winning CNN anchor, Jake Tapper.
Charlie and Margaret first appeared in the 2019 novel, The Hellfire Club, which is currently being turned into a TV series by HBO Max. Set in the 1950s, that book followed the Marder’s as they were thrust into Washington D.C.’s powerful political underworld following the mysterious death of Charlie’s predecessor. This time around, the couple are coming back to investigate Frank Sinatra . . . and, unbeknownst to the young politician and his wife, a new world of darkness awaits them.
Check out the cover art and plot details below.
The husband-and-wife heroes of bestselling thriller The Hellfire Club head to Hollywood to investigate Frank Sinatra — and become mired in a world of blackmail, the mob, and Hollywood scandal
Charlie and Margaret Marder, political stars in 1960s Washington DC, know all too well how the tangled web of power in the nation’s capital can operate. But while they long to settle into the comforts of home, Attorney General Robert Kennedy has other plans. He needs them to look into a potential threat not only to the presidency, but to the security of the United States itself.
Charlie and Margaret quickly find themselves on a flight to sunny Los Angeles, where they’ll face off against a dazzling world of stars and studios. At the center of their investigation is Frank Sinatra, a close friend of President John F. Kennedy and a rumored mob crony, whom Charlie and Margaret must befriend to get the inside scoop. But in a town built on illusions, where friends and foes all look alike, nothing is easy, and drinks by the pool at the Sands and late-night adventures with the Rat Pack soon lead to a body in the trunk of their car. Before they know it, Charlie and Margaret are being pursued by sinister forces from Hollywood’s stages to the newly founded Church of Scientology, facing off against the darkest and most secret side of Hollywood’s power.
As the Academy Awards loom, and someone near and dear to Margaret goes missing, Charlie and Margaret find the clock is not only ticking but running out. Someone out there knows what they’ve uncovered and can’t let them leave alive. Corruption and ambition form a deadly mix in this fast-paced sequel to The Hellfire Club.
Jake Tapper is the author of The Hellfire Club, which is being turned into a TV series by HBO Max, and The Outpost, which became a celebrated film released in 2020. An award-winning anchor for CNN, he joined the network in January 2013. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, daughter, and son.
Readers excited to get their hands on The Devil May Dance can pre-order Tapper’s forthcoming thriller here, or anywhere else books are sold.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.