Praise for The Rumor Game
“Attractive characters, plenty of action, and a solid grasp of history make this a superior thriller and also a snapshot of a particularly shameful moment in the history of the United States.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“The best historical fiction evaluates the past while offering a perspective on the present, and Mullen keeps the suspense high in presenting the political climate of the time, persuasively illustrating the antisemitism that, chillingly, echoes 2024 events.” – Shelf Awareness
“A remarkably good book, smartly conceived and beautifully executed.” —Booklist
“An unnervingly timely tale of prejudice, hatred, and violence.” —Kirkus Reviews
"Mullen’s novel, his eighth, draws heavily on research, as evident by the historical sources cited in an author’s note. The tale begins as a slow burn and then races at a breakneck pace to a dramatic conclusion." —Associated Press
“The Rumor Game, set in Boston, is brilliant.” –Toronto Globe and Mail
"With its sharp characters and turbo-driven plot, The Rumor Game is a mystery not easily unraveled.” –The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“The Rumor Game is a mystery and a thriller and a spy novel. It is also one heck of an engaging read.” –Dayton Daily News
“Mullen should be every bit as big as Lehane…Fans of Lehane and of spy novelist Joseph Kanon (The Good German) will enjoy how Mullen explores the complexities of the home front while focusing on two flawed characters who are trying to figure out how to do the right thing.”—Star Tribune
Praise for the Works of Thomas Mullen
“Time and again, Mullen’s suspenseful storytelling pulls us forward.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Mullen unfolds his multifaceted plot with a sure hand and lively characterizations.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A brilliant blend of crime, mystery, and American history . . . Terrific entertainment.” —Stephen King
“Mullen is a wonderful architect of intersecting plotlines and unexpected answers.” —The Washington Post
“A novel that will stay with you for a very long time.” —Booklist (starred review)
“It’s rare to find a thriller with such a fantastic and original concept. I was gripped.” —Anthony Horowitz
“An exciting page-turner that’s also full of sharp writing and thought-provoking ideas.” —Charles Yu
“Terrific . . . brimming with imagination.” —Jason Rekulak
★ 02/01/2024
In his acclaimed "Darktown" trilogy, Mullen mixed history and fiction to depict a racially divided Atlanta in 1948, where Black cops weren't permitted to carry guns or arrest white people. In his new book, it's Boston, 1943, another city riven with racial tension. Jewish people are being attacked in the streets as propaganda floods the city, blaming Jews for causing World War II. Members of the antisemitic New Patriots League print counterfeit ration stamps, dump them on Jewish store owners, then have police stooges raid the businesses and arrest the owners as profiteers. Then a dead man is found in an alley, a crumpled cocktail napkin with a swastika drawn on it pressed into his palm. A half-Jewish reporter for a Boston newspaper becomes the uneasy ally and even more uneasy lover of an Irish Catholic FBI agent as they work together to sort out who's behind the crimes and—just as difficult—try to convince authorities that something needs to be done about them. VERDICT Attractive characters, plenty of action, and a solid grasp of history make this a superior thriller and also a snapshot of a particularly shameful moment in the history of the United States.—David Keymer
2023-12-06
A wave of antisemitic cruelty in 1943 Boston entangles two well-meaning souls who can’t avoid the passions it generates and implants even within themselves.
Anne Lemire writes the Rumor Clinic, a column debunking vicious innuendos, for the Boston Star. Devon Mulvey is a philandering FBI agent with an eye for married women. Despite the war effort, which seems to have united most Americans except for Devon’s father, unregenerate isolationist John Mulvey, nothing would seem likely to bring the two together. That all changes when Anne’s teenage brother, Sammy, is beaten up by an Irish gang targeting the city’s Jews, and the national security concerns surrounding the fatal stabbing of Abraham Wolff, an employee of Northeast Munitions, bring Devon onto the case along with the Boston Police Department. To his surprise, Devon finds himself at odds with the whole BPD, including his cousin, Officer Brian Dennigan. At the same time, Anne’s investigations of antisemitism force her to confront traumatic ruptures within her own family. Once they meet each other, the pair make common cause by going after the Christian Legion, which, under the politically ambitious attorney Charles Nolan, has printed up Nazi leaflets and counterfeit ration stamps, selling the latter to local Jewish families they plan to expose as cheaters and traitors. Devon and Anne also end up in a predictable romance. But their relationship is brutally torpedoed by pressures on both their jobs, family members whose complicity on different sides they can’t overlook, and scathing accusations against each other that bring the conflicts the Christian Legion has stoked mercilessly to a boil. Looks like the country is a bit less united than it seemed.
An unnervingly timely tale of prejudice, hatred, and violence.