The Marilyn Tapes

by Ed Gorman

A fictional account of the days that followed the death of Marilyn Monroe follows the struggles among J. Edgar Hoover, Louella Parsons, the mafia, and the Kennedy brothers for possession of provocative bedroom tape recordings

Genres: Fiction

349 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2010

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people believe the Kennedys had something to do with the death of Marilyn Monroe. In this compelling book Ed Gorman shines a light on Hollywood of the early 60s. Everyone is spying on everyone, blackmailing is daily business. You'll come across many historic characters, gangsters, politicians and actors here. Marilyn is voiced in her own diary tape. Beside all those facts you'll have an absolutely intriguing story about the chase for some sex tapes between the Kennedys and MM in caught in the act. Who wants to blackmail JFK and Robby? This is fiction, don't get me wrong but you don't have to be into conspiracy theory to recognize that quite a lot of the content might have been true (even that legendary sextape addressed here). Sex tapes even kickstarted internet pornography with regard to Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson. This is a quick, tabloid like read. Known characters, fast paced action in short chapters with many aspects known from documentaries. Couldn't put the book down and can highly recommend it!

[Cathy Lowery · Rating 1 out of 5]

I NEVER go out of my way to comment on a book. That being said, It was bad. Just really bad. Admittedly, it had some well written action sequences. It just falls flat somehow.

[Paperback Papa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1995 novel by Ed Gorman is about some secret recordings Marilyn Monroe supposedly made in her bedroom with both John and Bobby Kennedy. Both men are heard saying (and doing) things that would ruin them politically. So after Marilyn's death, a free-for-all ensues as the Kennedy's try to acquire and destroy the tapes and their enemies try to acquire them and use them for blackmail.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. First, the love...

Ed Gorman is a fine writer. His action scenes are terrific (not everyone can write a good action scene) and I loved the short chapters. The 349 pages flew by and held my interest. I also liked the early 1960s setting and the ending. The book was at its best in the last 50 or so pages.

Now the hate...

There's a list of characters in the front of the book, which tells you before you start that it's going to be hard to keep everybody straight. Sure enough, I was probably to page 200 before I no longer had to consult the character list. The short chapters, while a breeze to read, make it harder to keep everybody straight because you're constantly jumping from one character to another. I found it terribly frustrating early on.

Mr. Gorman included a 22-book bibliography to suggest that his book was based on fact, even though the disclaimer in the front of the book claims that it's all fiction. I suspect some basic elements of the story are pretty close to reality.

Finally, if Jack Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and J. Edgar Hoover were anything close in real life to how they are portrayed in this book, it's a miracle our country survived. You hear a lot about our politicians today being immoral, but holy cow, if this book is any indication, those guys turned immorality into an art form.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ed Gorman, and miss his writing.(RIP)
I found this one at my local library and since I'm a sucker for JFK and all his indiscretiona(as well as all the mystery surrounding him and his death)
This moves very fast. It has very short chapters. usually I love that. And while it did make this a quick read, sometimes the story was choppy. Each chapter features a different character. Ar the start of the book, a list of all the major characters is listed,and I had to keep going back to it.
Shortly after the death of Marilyn Monroe, it's found out that there were audio tapes made of her bedroom, and that JFK AND RFK are both on those tapes, in sexual encounters with her. So if course, everybody wants them, hot different reasons.
As I said, this moves fast. There are so many twists and turns it's almost comical at times-though this is a serious book,and not played for laughs.
One part of the ending bothered me. One character seems to find a peace that I'm not sure they deserve.....
But overall, a good, quick read.

[Ronn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are probably a hundred books involving conspiracy theories behind the death of Marilyn Monroe, both novels and 'histories'. This one is a little different in that it doesnt actually deal with her death per se, but with the attempts to either cover up or reveal what she might have had to say about the Kennedy Brothers. It's 95% fiction, but it's still compelling.