Author, Playwright, Poet
THE BOOKS
Below is a list of all published works, with more coming soon! Each title is available on Amazon for a great price!
The Mullah and The Madam
Another international thriller from McArthur! From Houston to Cameroon. From Montreal to Las Vegas to LA. From Boka Haram to radical Islamic clerics and home grown terrorists to Las Vegas con men and LA escort services, the pace is fast and furious as an oil company executive is thrust into the position of trying desperately to defuse terrorist plots, while seeking love in his life. Along the way Dan Tremblay finds romance in the most unlikely places, along with a newfound knowledge of small arms and explosives from ex French foreign legion mercenaries.
The Suncatchers
This historical thriller tells a tale or romance, adventure and murder. The accidental discovery of an old chest in a root cellar beneath an old farm shed in New Jersey reveals the 18th Century journals that record the journey and lives of two brothers in their quest for fortune. This journey stretches from the shore of Chesapeake Bay to the frozen lakes and turbulent rivers in the far reaches of northern Canada. It is a saga of the hardships in panning for gold, the romance of an American boy and an Indian maiden, and of murder in the pursuit of the little gold flakes that catch the rays of the sun and the wild imagination of men.
Double Identity
Another mystery/thriller from John McArthur. After a New Jersey mobster is killed its an all out race to locate and obtain his ill gotten gains as family, friends and crooked cops join the deadly competition. Follow the loot and blood trail to Florida as the bodies increasingly pile up. The question of who is really who becomes the question as double identities seemingly proliferate among the cast of characters. A well woven yarn!
The Sniper and The Nude Photographer
Another fast paced action thriller from McArthur. A sniper who comes back from the Middle East with PTSD is encouraged to sign himself into a corruptly run mental health facility by his cousin in order to drug him into oblivion and steal his inheritance and share of the family business. He secretly stops taking his meds and escapes from the facility and then the long road to regaining control of his life begins as well as beginning a romance with a nude photographer. Along the way this veteran’s skills learned in battle are put to good use as he deftly deals with hit men hired to make him disappear forever. Follow the serpentine plot and cheer for our hero obtaining justice.
A Time of Change: Poems by John McArthur 2nd ed.
A TIME OF CHANGE: Poems by John McArthur, 2nd edition is a wonderful collection from the Author and Playwright's early days. This review was included on the back cover of the original 1973 Canadian edition: “McArthur’s poetry is a lyrical experience, unspoiled by vague symbolism or some popular plaintive revolt. Here beauty is not seen in emotional triumph but in emotion itself, as Man gropes eternally for infinite love and compassion, glimpsing it only in the end from the narrow window of his finite life.”
David W. Ross, Author, critic
and formerly member of the
English faculty of Columbia
University, New York.
All That Glitters
A fascinating tale of greed, ambition and romance that spans the continent from Montreal to New York to Hollywood. Follow the con man's quest for success from speculative mining ventures to the silver screen as the character development unfolds in this historical study and rollicking yarn of a flim flam man. Fun and games in the early days of the Silver Screen. Another enjoyable read from John McArthur.
Huckleberry: A Play in Three Acts
This Play explores the lives of Mark Twain's unforgettable characters Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer and their friends after they grew up. The author creates a wonderfully fascinating hypothetical future for these characters and we follow up their life stories as they grow successively older. The classic story continues in this creative and masterful adaptation and exploration of "what would they be like when they grow up?"
The Fur Trade: A One Act Comedy
This one act play is a whimsical romantic comedy which takes place in a retail furrier shop. Watch this thoroughly modern Juliette and her reluctant Romeo deal with the shenanigans and internal politics of a sharp elbowed family business to fend off family members battling for control of the business and eventually make their way toward the alter. (This one act comedy was originally produced by the Harlequin Players Foundation at the Red Barn Theatre in Ontario Canada and the play has been updated by the author for this kindle release.)
The Russian Connection
The back story of a Russian crime family oligarch comes to life in this new work of fiction by thriller writer John McArthur. This remarkable biographical tale of darwinian survival is recounted at the end of an old man's life. In WWII a young Canadian paratrooper ends up being imprisioned in Russia. This gripping saga of the POW's survival and how he later builds a "family business" empire over decades based on the ever shifting sands of political corruption and human frailties will keep the reader riveted until the final page.
In Search of Will: A Novel Answer to an Age Old Mystery
Shakespeare lost and found! On a Caribbean Isle, an American US AID worker discovers a treasure trove of previously undiscovered works by the legendary Bard. And then the fun and mayhem begins because literature, after all, is a cut-throat business indeed. Shakespeare history buffs will enjoy reading a previously undiscovered Sonnet, among the other mysteries that unfold in a fascinating plot set on this desert Isle populated by the author's imagination and inspired by a lifelong study of the Bard's master works. Another fast paced thriller by John McArthur!
The Contra Papers
A thriller that spans from the jungles of Central America to the corridors of political power in Washington DC. When a small plane goes down in the jungle with a list of those funding the Contra rebels, the chase is on for both sides to recover the evidence. CIA tradecraft, mystery, mayhem, death and romance are intertwined as the adventure unfolds. A page turner.
The Hacker: A Satire
In a style reminiscent of Christopher Buckley, McArthur skewers a variety of cultural sacred cows in this modern thriller and satire about corrupt government officials, enemies lists and computer hacking, where fiction is often closer to reality than one would think. In this fast paced plot that stretches from the shores of the Potomac to the Beaches of Rio, our whistleblower hero enters a true wilderness of mirrors as he delves deeper and deeper into the truth and learns that not all is as it seems. With Edward Snowden’s NSA revelations, Americans are left to wonder how much they don’t know and who they can trust. This engrossing story attempts to answer the questions which are ripped from today’s headlines.