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THE WASHINGTON POST, August 2006
"Narrated by the ghost of a 15-year-old girl who drowned when the steamship General Slocum burned and sank in the East River on June 15, 1904, this historical novel with a supernatural twist offers a far darker take on New York. (Sandom) writes with a precision and delicacy unusual for YA fiction. Here's the drowned girl's underwater view after the catastrophe: 'Through the waving arms and legs . . . if you looked carefully, you could still see tiny hairs on the dead skin, rippling like rabbit fur in a breeze.' But an equally unflinching exploration of issues from anti-Semitism and corruption to adolescent sexuality makes this one strictly for older readers."
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THE UNRESOLVED is J.G. Sandom's first Young Adult (YA) novel, written under the pen name T.K. Welsh, published by Dutton (Penguin) in August, 2006.
The Washington Post said, "(Sandom) writes with a precision and delicacy unusual for YA fiction." School Library Journal said, "THE UNRESOLVED tells a remarkable story in a remarkable way." Horn Book Magazine called THE UNRESOLVED, "A decidedly unconventional ghost story ... (and) a tightly wound novel." Kirkus Reviews termed it, "A remarkable account." And Romantic Times magazine said, "THE UNRESOLVED is a book you shouldn't pass up."
Inspired by the tragic events of 9/11, THE UNRESOLVED reaches back into history to explore what was, until recently, the greatest disaster in New York City history. At once a ghost story, a courtroom drama, an examination of immigrant life, and a tale of love, redemption and revenge, THE UNRESOLVED dramatizes how a single life â and death â can have a powerful influence on history.
Ranked one of the Top Ten Children's Books of 2006 by the Washington Post, THE UNRESOLVED has also been named a 2007 Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book for Teens by the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, which recognized only six works in Jewish teen literature this year. The novel was nominated for the 2006 Cybils literary awards, and for the 2007 Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) by the American Library Association. It's currently featured as one of the Best Teen Books of the year 2006 at BarnesAndNoble.com.
To read (or print) a sample chapter of THE UNRESOLVED, click here.
To order your copy, click here.
Romantic Times, August, 2006
"You've heard of the General Slocum, right? You don't need author (J.G. Sandom) to tell you that 'it was the worst disaster in New York City before the World Trade (Center). So many perished; for weeks bodies were floating up the river. An entire neighborhood was destroyed.'
"But if you're a little behind on your New York City history, then (Sandom's) first young-adult novel, THE UNRESOLVED, is a book you shouldn't pass up. With this love story/ghost story/historical tale, (Sandom) takes readers into the mind of Mallory Meer, a bright, happy 15-year-old girl who perishes with over a thousand other German-Americans, most of them women and children, when the General Slocum catches fire during an East River boating trip on June 15th, 1904.
"But that's just the beginning of the story for Mallory, whose spirit floats through the minds and hearts of her friends, family and enemies, observing their attempts to recover from the tragedy that has torn apart their lives.
"'As a former New Yorker, I thought this was something people could identify with,' says (Sandom), who now lives in New Jersey. 'It's hard for adults to deal with (tragic events). For younger kids, it's especially hard because they internalize a lot. Seeing how others overcome their problems can give them a sense of hope...Love, loss and hope are universal themes. All of us have been outsiders...Mallory's the ultimate outsider.'"
"(Sandom), who has written several thrillers for adults, plans to tackle more tough issues in future teen novels. 'I want to keep going...There are things I can do with YAs that I can't do with my adult work.'"
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Years before the latest scandal at the Vatican Bank (IOR), another cover-up took place . . . when the head of one of the largest financial institutions in Italy was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
At the time, it was ruled a suicide. But was it?
When City of London Police Inspector Nigel Lyman is assigned to investigate the death of a notorious Italian Banker found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London, the inquiry leads him to the Amiens and Chartres cathedrals in France in pursuit of a shadowy arch criminal â leader of a corrupt Masonic lodge, the I Four â intent on acquiring an ancient Gnostic Gospel whose discovery would undermine the very foundations of Christianity.
Booklist called Gospel Truths, "a splendid, tautly woven thriller ... (and) an intelligent mystery of tremendous spiritual and literary depth." Library Journal said," By turns contemplative, descriptive, and emotive, this mixture of mystery and intrigue reveals intense preparation and fine writing." And Mostly Murder characterized it, "A fascinating mystery ... captivating and engrossing."
Originally published in hardcover by Bantam (Random House) a decade before The Da Vinci Code, read the religious mystery that started it all.
The character of the Archibishop in Gospel Truths is modeled on my cousin, Paul Marcinkus, Archbishop, former head of the Vatican Bank (IOR), and once Mayor of the Vatican City.
For an excerpt from Gospel Truths, click here.
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[Originally released in hardcover in 1992 by Bantam (Random House). Contemporized with new content and re-released by Cornucopia Press in 2013.]
Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent and Ordinary Heroes, called The Wall Street Murder Club, "A gripping story, well-told ... not only a tale of murder and betrayal, but an intelligent exploration of issues of male identity." Kirkus Reviews termed the book, "A Big Apple Deliverance, endowing New York culture with all the corrosively dehumanizing power of Dickey's wild nature ... Slickly entertaining right down to the last, inevitable twist. (Film rights to Warner Brothers â and there's no mystery why.)" And Booklist said, "(Sandom) writes with stunning elegance and nearly poetic beauty ... A sure hit with any suspense reader."
Five successful New Yorkers out for a bachelor party leave their trendy restaurant in SoHo and go slumming at a seedy local strip club called the Party Girl Lounge. The last bachelor in âThe Hunting Clubâ â as they call themselves after a college hunting excursion â is getting married and there will be debauchery. John Payne would rather stay home with his pregnant wife but Glenn Morrow, Club leader, wonât hear of it. Itâs hard to say no to a guy whoâs a Prince of Wall Street, who introduced you to your wife, and who helped get you your job as a helicopter traffic radio announcer. Glenn Morrow does not take no for an answer.
One after the other, in a bacchanalian night of drugs and liquor, the five privileged young white men have their way with a willing young Puerto Rican stripper whom they follow home when the Lounge closes. But after John Payne comes to with the girl dead in his arms, Glen Morrow insists that instead of facing the music, they mop up their mess, dump the body into New York harbor, and count on the unlikelihood of anybody caring about some cheap missing hooker. They count wrong.
Blackmail and murder, loyalty, honor and betrayal â all come into play. Slowly but surely, the ties that once held these lifelong friends together begin to unravel, the bonds of friendship are broken, and the members of âThe Hunting Clubâ start to hunt . . . one another.
Read the Amazon TOP TEN Crime Thriller:
To see a host of pictures and videos associated with this title (i.e. turn the novel into a picture book!), click the Follow Me On Pinterest button below.
[Originally released in hardcover in 1993 by Bantam (Random House) as The Hunting Club. Contemporized with new content and re-released by Cornucopia Press in 2013.]
Horn Book Magazine, August 2006
"Using the convention of a spirit unable to rest until its death is avenged, (Sandom) spins a decidedly unconventional ghost story about New Yorkâs General Slocum steamboat disaster of 1904. Fifteen-year-old Mallory Meer is one of some 1,300 pleasure-goers, mostly German Lutherans on a church outing, on the Slocum; another passenger is Dustin Brauer, the sixteen-year-old Jewish boy she fancies. A quick kiss down below deck is followed by a fire sparked by a carelessly dropped cigarette, which leads to the burning or drowning of over one thousand passengers and the foundering of the ship. Mallory herself speaks to the reader from death, her spirit flitting from the official inquest into the disaster to the informal, parallel inquest held in Kleindeustchland, or Little Germany, which seeks to hold Dustin responsible. Itâs a highly effective device, to have Mallory looking over the shoulders -- and in some cases, inhabiting the bodies -- of the personalities involved. (Sandom) presents the details of the disaster without flinching and explores both the pain and the self-serving motivations of all concerned. Set against a backdrop that includes the rise of labor and pervasive anti-Semitism, itâs a tightly wound novel of conflicting interests and emotions that keep Mallory haunting long after the inquests are concluded."
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