Bombshell by Max Allan Collins and Barbara Collins

In September of 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev arrived in the United States for an extended visit and a summit meeting with President Eisenhower. As part of his trip, he visited Hollywood in Los Angeles on the 19th. Among the day’s activities, he was given a tour of the Twentieth Century Fox Studios and was taken on to the sound stage for the movie “Can-Can”. He met a slew of celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine and Juliet Prowse. However, when he was told he could not visit Disneyland due to concerns over his own safety and security, he exploded in anger.

This is all documented history. But what the public doesn’t know is that Khrushchev also met Marilyn Monroe, and together they uncovered a complex assassination attempt on his life. This novel covers that hitherto unknown thrilling aspect of his visit to the US, including a detour to Disneyland after all.

This novel grew out of a short story by Barbara Collins entitled, “Da Svidaniya, Khrushchev” which was published in 1997’s anthology, “Marilyn: Shades of Blonde”. The expanded version was written by Barbara and her husband, Max Allan Collins and originally published under their combined pseudonym, “Barbara Allan”. Now, it has been reprinted thanks to the good folks at Wolfpack Publishing.

This novel really took me by surprise. I confess my knowledge of both Khrushchev and Marilyn Monroe is minimal, mostly limited to the major headlines and public personas. I was also a little nervous about the seemingly absurd premise of the book. After all, how plausible is the idea of Marilyn Monroe overhearing an assassination plot and risking everything to lead Khrushchev to safety? At Disneyland of all places. But I must say, this story really gripped me. Absolutely delightful all the way through.

The story is told from the point of view of both of these icons as well as that of secret service agent, Jack Harrigan.  I found all of them to be fully engaging and realistic, especially the characterization of Marilyn Monroe. It really captures her accidental zany antics combined with a laser-focused purpose.  It’s hard to pull off a light-hearted but danger-filled pulpy thriller but these authors have done it superbly. And both authors’ knowledge of the era and celebrities of that time is on full display. Even Walt Disney gets in on the action.

All in all, this is a tremendously fun read. A page-turner to be sure.