Fast Copy: A Novel

Coming home to Depression-era Texas to run the family newspaper, Betsy Throckmorton discovers a town crazy about football, filled with colorful characters, and harboring a cold-blooded murderer

The central character in this energetic tale set in the Depression era is a brainy, resourceful beauty who "has it all," including, at the start of the story, a brand-new husband and her father's small-town Texas newspaper to run. But Betsy Throckmorton also has courage, which proves a dangerous commodity as she uses her paper to expose a "Texas Murder Machine," a scheme masterminded by a Texas Ranger that lures unsuspecting hobos into masquerading as bank robbers so they will be shot for the bounty money, and that is also responsible for the murder of Betsy's husband. The writing is fast and punchy, and the story, which is full of spicy characters, has much to say about the day-to-day routine of a small newspaper, the Texas passion for football and the Depression's rough times. Jenkins probably has another bestseller to join Semi-Tough and Life Its Ownself. Major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Beautiful, brainy, brassy Betsy Throckmorton, journalist and daughter of Ben, media magnate of Claybelle, Texas, has it all, until her "perfect" mate is mysteriously killed. His death spurs Betsy to a first Pulitzer, but not before she's experienced lots of football, lots of drinking, lots of living. Setting his novel in Depression America, Jenkins attempts a raucous, at times poignant, picture of the period. But what he delivers is a jumble of enticing themes that don't come together. Part of the problem is the interjection of news reports, game stats (great for football sillies), and letters, which interrupt the flow. The book does have its moments: the scathing, yet funny, look at Time magazine; the sympathetic view of hobos, the era's homeless; and the rambunctious portrait of post-Prohibition New York. Overall, though, this is not fast copy. Michelle Lodge, New York
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.