Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call

A stunning photograph discovered by the son of Dr. Sam and Marilyn Sheppard in a family album propels the case against Major James Call even further since Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call was published in hardcover. Now on the cover of the latest edition of Tailspin, the photograph shows Marilyn Sheppard at a sports car rally just days before her murder with a man who has been identified by associates as Call. A new section about the photograph and the process of identifying Call is included in the softcover edition.

Robert Sylvester, Call's closest friend since childhood, who was with Call a short time before the Sheppard homicide, stated in a letter to author Bernard F. Conners that the man in the picture was unquestionably Jim Call:

"I would never believe it was anyone else for a hundred indefinable reasons - his posture, hair, conformation of his head, etc. The other reason was the watch he was wearing. I had lost the Curvex my folks gave me when I went into the service, and was into the market for a watch when Jim passed through Chicago on his way East. I saw the face of his with the black dial and I wanted one like it..."

Call was never charged with many of the crimes he committed, including the murder of Marilyn Sheppard. Former FBI Agent Conners chronicles with a captivating narrative a story of a hero gone horribly astray and his role in one of the most notorious murders of the 20th Century that inspired "The Fugitive."

Bernard F. Conners, former publisher of The Paris Review, has had a distinguished career in government, business, publishing, and film. He is the best-selling author of Dancehall, Tailspin, The Hampton Sisters, Don't Embarrass the Bureau, and, most recently, Cruising with Kate. Mr. Conners lives in Loudonville, New York.