Eddie and the Cruisers by P.F. Kluge

 

(pb; 1980)

From the back cover

“Eddie and his Jersey-bred band, The Parkway Cruisers, were going places. With an album and a few minor hits to their credit, the future seemed bright until Eddie died in a fiery car crash. Twenty years later, a British rock band turns their old songs into monumental fresh hits.

“With this comes a surge of renewed interest in the surviving Cruisers and in a rumored cache of tapes that Eddie made before he died. That’s when the killing starts.”

 

Review

Discontented high school teacher Frank Ridgeway, a surviving member of Eddie Wilson and the Parkway Cruisers, tells the story of how, decades later, one of their old songs resurrects interest in the band’s (supposed) one-album catalogue, and a spate of killings begin. The more he investigates, the deeper the mysteries, legends and regrets surrounding his time with Wilson run.

Eddie is a hard-to-set-down, entertaining novel that ably mixes suspense, relatable middle-age malaise, rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia, a later-coming-of-age tale, and an intriguing murder mystery into a seamless, worth-reading story.

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The resulting film of the same title was released stateside on September 23, 1983. Martin Davidson directed and co-scripted the film, also written by Arlene Davidson.

Tom Berenger played Frank Ridgeway. Michael Paré played Eddie Wilson. Joe Pantoliano played Doc Robbins.

Matthew Laurance played Sal “Sally” Amato. Helen Schneider played Joann Carlino.

David Wilson played Kenny Hopkins. Michael “Tunes” Atunes played Wendell Newton. Ellen Barkin played Maggie Foley (Susan Foley in the book).

John Stockwell played Keith Livingston.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band provided the band’s music.