Of all the books I've read this twelve-month, CHARLATAN is the best candidate for a movie contract. This is a story that has it all – a murdering "doctor" con man and his coldly calculating "nurse" bride, a host of gullible men willing to pay a fortune to rejuvenate their love-lives, a Mexican connection, a political scandal, an intrepid AMA official determined to bring the doctor down, and the birth pangs of country music, involving some of the biggest stars in the Grand Old Opry. It all takes place in a dusty western post-Depression-era landscape: picture Elmer Gantry meets Bonnie and Clyde with the twang of a pedal-steel guitar in the background...
