I must confess that the title brought this book to my attention. I love fast cars, so Thunderbird jumped off the page.
Publisher: Quiet Owl Books (June 29, 2012)
Category/Genre: Historical Fiction
ISBN: 978-0615658353
Tour Date: October 21/November, 2013
Available in: Print & ebook, 338 Pages
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death!
The Thunderbird Conspiracy is the remarkable tale of Robert Kaye, a Hungarian freedom fighter who claimed he knew and collaborated with JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. R. K. Price’s second novel is also a tale of a Nebraska farm boy who was a great admirer of President Kennedy and a true patriot who desperately wanted to believe his government’s hurried conclusion that Oswald had no accomplice. Yet his own harrowing experience at the hands of his government created profound doubt in his mind, and it haunted him to his death.
These two men, one willfully acting, the other a true victim, became entangled in the most notorious crime of the 20th century. This saga of intrigue and murder was revealed to the author on a wintry Colorado day about three weeks before the farm boy’s ravaged heart gave out.
That man was R. K. Price’s uncle. His name was Bud Carlson. Price stashed away Bud’s account of Robert Kaye, letting it lay dormant for nearly forty years until he could corroborate his uncle’s story with the release of previously secret FBI files from the National Archives.
Now nearing the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination Price has brought Robert Kaye and Bud Carlson back to life. Their incredible story will leave you questioning just how and why JFK was taken from America far too early.
BUY LINKS
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository
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I would like to take this time to welcome R K Price.
I am curious as to what he has to say and I hope you will be too.
GUEST POST
A Good Story
The fiftieth anniversary of the tragic death of John F. Kennedy quickly approaches. The nation will once more honor one of its finest of fallen heroes. There will be no celebration. It will be a somber affair, and a new generation of Americans will join their parents and grandparents in reliving those horrifying days and tearful nights of November, 1963 to mourn the youthful President. His image is frozen in time. Besides the sorrowful reminiscing the most notorious crime of the twentieth century will again be examined as the greatest mystery of that millennium. Perhaps the greatest mystery ever. The airwaves, internet and print media will overflow with the full spectrum of opinion on topic. Accomplished scholars will weigh in; crime writers will have a field day; bloggers will pontificate, and broadcasters will bloviate. The story will never go away. It is engrained in the American psyche.
And inevitably during this examination many will ponder the “what if’s.” What if JFK had lived? What if Lee Harvey Oswald had changed his mind? What if during that morning in Dallas someone had spotted him with his rifle and called police? What if his shots were just slightly off target? Or what if one of his accomplices had turned against him? Besides Jack Ruby. Before it was too late.
Accomplices, you say. Why? What makes you think so?
Thunderbird does not attempt to solve Kennedy’s murder. Far from it. It is neither a scholarly recitation nor another chronicle leading up to and moving beyond the sights and sounds of those fatal gunshots. Thunderbird does, however, present intriguing elements to this endless Shakespearean-like drama too big to ignore. It introduces two new, honest-to-God, bigger than life characters . Men never heard of or written about before. They were men of such divergent backgrounds that even their chance meeting shattered all odds. They were fascinating men, each in their own right, and the people around them, some who actually were there, others who are found in my imagination, bring color and perspective to those times and to the events that shaped the nation.
Thunderbird is a book of fiction, but it contains more truth than many would like to admit.
Until the Kennedy Assassination section of the National Archives finally released secret FBI and Secret Service files on Robert Kaye his story laid dormant. It was then, in 2008, and the unexpected revelation of the Robert Kaye dossier that I began to write. To tell it all beginning on the day my mother’s beloved brother, Bud Carlson, sat, near death from chronic heart disease, spinning a yarn too hard for many to believe.
I truly believed my uncle’s telling on that dreary winter day in Colorado, but I was a journalist and a pretty darn good one at that. I needed collaboration so I waited and searched for it for thirty-seven years. I waited to describe the Hungarian freedom fighter, wounded in the bloody 1956 uprising against the Soviets, who came to New Orleans seeking solace and asylum only to find wickedness among those who conspired to kill a President. A gullible, selfish, confused man easily manipulated by the allure of sex, money, power and standing among the group hell-bent on their murderous mission. He made his way to Denver where he met Bud Carlson and later a man named Lee Harvey Oswald.
I waited to tell how this man shattered the innocent, yet sorrowful life of my uncle who longed for peace and tranquility after years of heartbreak and personal loss. Their paths crossed when Bud Carlson hired Robert Kaye and a bond was forged between them. I write that Bud, too, was duped by the conniving Kaye, one of many aliases as the Kennedy investigators soon found out. Bud trusted the talented tradesman but soon grew tired and wary of his radical views and expressed hatred for America’s leaders at the time. Bud became suspicious but never thought for a moment his employee ever harbored such ominous motives.
Then Kaye vanished mere weeks before the Assassination leaving a wife and child behind. Like the good man he was Bud stepped in to help, giving the abandoned pair hope and financial support to await his return. Kaye has never been seen since.
I tell how days after the President’s death Bud was arrested for questioning and spent days under intense interrogation. What linked the two and forced Bud to his knees in handcuffs was a piece of evidence somehow lost or possibly ignored in America’s rush to judgment. That evidence, I reveal, was a pair of binoculars given to Kaye by Bud Carlson as a birthday gift. This same pair was found in Oswald’s apartment on the day of the Assassination. To his knowledge I write not once in all the millions of documents collected on Kennedy’s killing have binoculars in Oswald’s possession ever been disclosed. But my uncle said they were his gift to Kaye, and years later, a friendly G-man confirmed to him the shocking truth. For Bud that inadvertent connection led to terrifying days that turned into years of unwarranted suspicion and harassment at the hands of a government he respected and loved. Bud was betrayed by Robert Kaye but more hurtful was the betrayal by his nation which, through its protectors, victimized Bud Carlson as an unwitting participant in the whole sordid affair.
Bud Carlson is dead. Robert Kaye may not be. If he is alive let him come forward to confess and finally free Bud Carlson to rest in peace. The captivating tale of Robert Kaye and Bud Carlson and the parts they played in the Kennedy saga will assume a prominent position on the bookshelves and in the virtual libraries of America’s readers for many years to come.
A good story is right. I think I ended up with even more questions that I had before. I would say that qualifies this guest post as a huge success.
Thanks again R K Price for stopping in. I hope you enjoyed your stay.
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Praise for The Thunderbird Conspiracy
“I have always been a JFK assassination conspiracy theorist and R.K. Price’s fictionalized account was a very believable account of what could have happened. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it. I was glad that the author provided such a thorough epilogue to explain what was actual and what was fictional. Great job!”– Judy, Amazon Reviewer
“Price does a wonderful job unraveling the behind the scene plan to assassinate President Kennedy, while entertaining the reader with fictional characters that make the story intriguing. Robert Kaye has a dark upbringing that haunts him in his dreams and eventually takes hold of his personality. The kindness that he bestows upon his boss and the love for his girlfriend gets upended by a woman that he meets in the boardinghouse. His goodness quickly fades and an accomplice to the one of the most tragic events of the 20th century is revealed. This plausible account convinced this reader that Oswald did not act alone.”– Trish, Amazon Reviewer
“This is a thought provoking novel that I just couldn’t put down. Historical fiction based on facts. How many other things in our past have been hidden from us? Cant wait for Volume 2 Mr. Price!! Bud would be proud of the excellent presentation…. job well done!”– Deb, Amazon Reviewer
“If you like historical fiction, Price will knock you out. This clever mix of detailed factual elements mixed with a wildly creative fictional storyline will keep you reading – even if you’re really supposed to be cooking a holiday dinner. The Characters are real enough to draw you into their world and era – you will have stepped back into history in a way that is immediate and sensitive to modern sensibilities.”– Luanne R. Haggerty: Theater Professional, Amazon Reviewer
“What a page turner! It was such an interesting story interspersed with so much real history and intimate details. I think the author really paid a fine tribute to his Uncle Bud and the story he carried to his grave. The characters were very real and so were the locations. It was a fast-paced read that I was disheartened to see finished. Can’t wait for the real history to reveal itself in documents released or uncovered in our lifetime. Thanks to the author for sharing family lore and crafting an engaging narrative.”– Michael D. Bluestein, Amazon Reviewer
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About R.K. Price:
R.K. Price is a Colorado native. He lived in Pueblo for a number of years, earning his way through college as a radio/television and newspaper reporter. He moved north to Denver in the mid 70s, joining a major advertising/public relations firm as a writer, producer and press agent. Later, he formed his own media relations and political consulting firm. He spent the early 1980s in Washington D.C. actively involved in national politics, and returned to Denver in the mid 80s to become an investment and mortgage banker — a profession he remains in today. He now lives in the Washington D.C. area with his wife Janet and daughter Sara in Alexandria, Va.
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GIVEAWAY
R K Price is offering for the Giveaway
ONE copy of Thunderbird
US – can be a print or ebook copy of Thunderbird
International will be an ebook copy of Thunderbird
Easy entry as always, just leave your email address and answer the question:
Do you remember where you were when JFK died?
Giveaway ends November 13, 2013.
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4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others