BERNARD F. CONNERS
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CRUISING WITH KATE
​(SECOND EDITION)
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"A deftly crafted and inherently fascinating read from beginning to end."
–Midwest Book Review
"A life of cinematic brio . . . his autobiography is remarkable."

–New World Review
From the Times Union:
Literary figures William Kennedy and Bernard Conners on work, growing old
Pulitzer-prize winner William Kennedy pens a new foreword in this edition, reflecting on his relationship with Conners throughout the forty years the two writers have known each other. With self-deprecating wit, Conners takes readers on the journey of his incredible life from modest middle-class beginnings to making his own Xanadu: a grand estate in upstate New York that the Bernard who was affectionately known as “Boy-Boy” would hardly have dreamed of. Aside from being an FBI agent under Hoover, a publisher, producer, and enterprising businessman, he also served as a G.I. during World War II, won admission into his alma-mater’s hall of fame as an all-star quarterback, and received an invitation to play for the Chicago Bears.
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Shaping his autobiography Bernard discloses his relationship with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, novelist Norman Mailer, former president of the United States Donald Trump, literary giant George Plimpton, former Governor George Pataki, actor Alec Baldwin, and many others.



SUNDOWN DUDE

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"Readers of crime thrillers who look for irony, a dash of humor, and a complex character ... will find Sundown Dude an involving read that's unique, hard to predict, and surprising in its definitive conclusion."
–Midwest Book Review 
"
Well informed by Bernard's lived experiences, Sundown Dude promises a thrilling read, full of scandal and adventure."

–Loudonville Neighbors 
​

For Charlotte, there was no thrill like riding her Harley. From its starting roar to its smooth satisfying growl, the machine between her legs thrummed with barely restrained vitality. Speed, freedom, adventure - nothing compared. Nothing, that is, until she robbed a bank. After the first burst of adrenaline, she was hooked. For a low-paid librarian and single mom, money was definitely a bonus, but most of all there was the addictive kick of risk and power that triggered a string of brash stickups. 

Sundown Dude is a fast-paced ride that flirts with danger, sexual manipulation, tabloid journalism, and the lengths one woman will go to take what she wants before the sun sets on her world.

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UPPER EAST SIDE GIRL
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​Upper East Side Girl features protagonist Parker Livingstone who appears to have it all—talent, good looks, a grandiose apartment overlooking Central Park, and a job as a Manhattan literary agent.  An aspiring writer, he channels his frustrations with an unrelenting boss and intimidating socialites within his building, into a satirical roman à clef where his imagination flourishes. As his publishing and social pressures mount, Parker’s life spirals out of control, and he takes refuge in an abandoned elevator where time stands still. It is here that he becomes infatuated with a beautiful, yet mysterious, young woman who consumes his attention. In addition to a riveting story, Upper East Side Girl brings intriguing metaphysical issues into question: Where is the line between past and present?  Between "real" life and the life of the mind?  Between unconventional and unhinged?

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CRUISING WITH KATE: A PARVENU IN XANADU
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​"A deftly crafted and inherently fascinating read from beginning to end."
–Midwest Book Review
"A life of cinematic brio . . . his autobiography is remarkable."

–New World Review

Buckle up and enjoy a rollicking ride with Bernard and "Cool Kate," his unflappable wife, on a memorable trip behind the scenes at diverse places such as corporate boardrooms, The Paris Review, and the FBI, with jaunts to Hollywood and the Hamptons and points in between. Watch for the bold-faced names as you rove through Manhattan, from the staid and proper 21 Club to dining with the stars at Elaine's. Follow the insecure Bernard's nouveau riche climb up New York's social ladder on this rags-to-riches literary joyride.

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DANCEHALL
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"Strong stuff... Well-written."
–The New York Times
"Strong and authoritative writing teamed with unrelenting suspense . . . A thriller in elegant attire"

–The Denver Post
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When the well-preserved body of a young woman surfaces from the icy depths of Lake Placid twenty years after her death, the professional and personal life of successful businessman David Powell begins to crumble. Authorities don't know her identity, only that her death had been violent. For Powell, the discovery fuels deep-seated fears and threatens to uncover secrets he has hidden from his beautiful wife and daughter. Struggling to hold on to his family and business, Powell faces a cunning opponent who threatens everything he's worked for, even his very life. A perennial best-seller, Dancehall engages the reader in a tale of intrigue, passion and suspense that captivates to the final page.

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TAILSPIN: THE STRANGE CASE OF MAJOR CALL 

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​"Conners fits together evidence from the two crimes like pieces of the same puzzle."
–The Associated Press

In Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call, best-selling author Bernard F. Conners presents the story of Major James Arlon Call, a heroic airman whose passion for excitement propelled him into a horrifying life of crime. As a young man, Major James Call had it all 
– a brilliant mind, devoted wife, dashing good looks, and an illustrious career as a decorated flyer. But Major Call also had a dark side – a penchant for speed, danger, life on the edge and survival at any cost. Haunted by the death of his young wife, Call volunteered for wartime combat "suicide missions," then for further diversions, turned to gambling and crime. What follows is the captivating story of brazen burglaries, a shootout with the police, and a 106-day manhunt. An unlikely criminal, Call was never charged with many of the crimes he committed including one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the 20th Century – the Sam Sheppard murder case.

Conners, a former FBI agent, employs a dramatized, yet factual, narrative to present a gripping account of his charming but deadly protagonist. Tailspin is based on extraordinary research conducted over a period of decades, and contains over 80 pages of stunning evidence, photographs and exhibits to support the narrative.

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TAILSPIN: THE STRANGE CASE OF MAJOR CALL – SHEPPARD MURDER SOLVED

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​"Former FBI agent Conners has fleshed out a gripping tale of one of the most famous murders in American history."
–American Booksellers Association, Booksense 76 Selection

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."

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THE HAMPTON SISTERS
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In his first novel since Dancehall, Bernard Conners joins company with the sequestered, eccentric, amiably self-indulged WASP establishment of Old Hampton, Long Island, in a riveting story of death and romance.  The sisters of the title are rich, beautiful, single, desirable, but the great shabby-genteel shorefront estate they inhabit reeks of murder and madness.

Lydia, the elder sister, an amateur ornithologist and gentle recluse, wears monogrammed sweaters and sensible shoes.  Emily, the younger, a star amateur tennis player and budding novelist, lives rakishly and divides her seductive attentions between her would-be publisher, and a handsome South Hampton lover, who doubles as a pediatrician in New York.

The action centers on Emily, whose amorous manipulations, take her and her lovers back and forth between the fast-paced publishing world of Manhattan and their leisurely, slightly atrophied country club in Old Hampton.

In a construction as finely detailed as a diamond-encrusted Swiss watch
— or a self-destructing Tinguely sculpture — the author keeps the reader in delightful suspense right to the bottom of the last page.

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DON'T EMBARASS THE BUREAU

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Bernard F. Conners was a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for more than eight years, holding important positions during that time, including supervision of the night operations of the New York and Chicago divisions.  He was involved extensively with espionage and criminal matters and received several personal citations from J. Edgar Hoover commending him for his performance.  In Don’t Embarrass the Bureau he gives an astonishing description of the depth and influence of this agency and its Director and a detailed account, never before told, of the Bureau’s activities at all levels. 

All of this he tells in the form of a compelling suspense novel in which he utilizes his broad knowledge of espionage matters to relate one of the most sophisticated intelligence schemes ever attempted – the infiltration and control of the FBI.

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