STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT: A Novel of Frank Sinatra

The love affair of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner shocked and fascinated the American public, hungry for excitement in the years following WWII. In this fast-paced novel the author tells the story from alternating viewpoints, starting with their first meeting when Frank sees her with his friend Mickey Rooney and realises with disappointment that the perfect goddess with the high cheekbones and almond eyes is already married. Ava turned her back on the flirtatious Sinatra on this occasion, but they meet again a couple of years later when Ava's friend Lana Turner takes her to a softball game. Frank is seeing Lana on and off, although he feels that his marriage to Nancy is secure, not full of passion but she is a reassuring presence and the mother of his children. In spite of this, he turns up under Ava's window to serenade her later that night and boasts to his friends, "She's a tough nut to crack. But if anyone can, I can." A chance meeting when out jogging gives him the opportunity to kiss her, and although she pulls away, the spark is there. After a party at producer Daryl Zanuck's house they go out joyriding and when Frank pulls out a gun and starts firing into the air the police pull them in and start asking questions. Now they both know they are in love, and we follow the couple through the glare of publicity, the threat to their careers, their divorces, a brief marriage, more infidelity, the final break-up and the continuing fascination with each other. A rollercoaster of a read. 412pp, paperback, reading group guide.