The Ghost Dancers

By G.P. Schultz

You don't have to go far from home for a good read. The Ghost Dancers highlight's Kansas City's Pendergast era, and the Union Station Massacre.Terri Bumgardner - Kansas City Star.
When it comes recreating the wide-open Kansas City scene of the 1930s and 1940s, you can't beat G.P. Schultz's The Ghost Dancers.Fred Slater- Saint Joseph News Press. Anybody wondering why the bistate cultural tax passed overwhelmingly can find the answer in G.P. Schultz's novel The Ghost Dancers. The novel spans 10 years and moves from Kansas City to Hawaii to Guadalcanal.Barbara Shelly - Kansas City Star.Shorty is just a scrappy, fun-loving kid when he and katie and their gang witness the infamous Union Station massacre in 1933. That incident starts him on a path that leads to small time crime, run-ins with the Mafia, and an association with the powerful Pendergast machine that controls Kansas City. Shorty's profession as a number's runner and his Dutch Hill rough-and-tumble Irish immigrant upbringing don't stop him from courting the beautiful, headstrong Emma, who has defied her upper crust family to study at the Art Institute and persue her own dreams. Then there's Katie. Shorty's spirited younger sister wants to rescue her brother from a life of crime. She also wants a life of her own with Joe, who dreams of being a writer and is deeply in love with her. The gang enters adulthood, sharing moonlight swims, practical jokes, and first love. But World War Two intervenes, and suddenly life turns deadly serious. On the beaches of Guadalcanal, Shorty, Joe and their friends must face the most difficult moments of their lives, when courage and luck will change their destinies forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: G.P. Schultz
• Release date: May 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9780962632426

G.P. Schultz

G.P. Schultz is the author of the best-selling novels, Gully Town and The Ghost Dancers, and the Thorpe Menn award winning novel, Incident at Simms Center. He was born and grew up in wild, wonderful West Virginia, where he loved to hunt, fish and play sports. He then served with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, where he met his wife, who was attending the University of Hawaii. They have two daughters and currently reside in Kansas City. His writing career began in mid-life, with the publication of his first novel, Gully Town. He currently divides his time between his marketing business and writing, but also enjoys golf, gardening and any sporting event that requires the use of a ball. He writes fiction, but combines it with years of research to make his novels accurate in time and place. His writing philosopy is, that you can't have a compelling story, without a compelling romance.

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Reviews for The Ghost Dancers

[haleywhitehall · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

G. P Shultz has more of a memoir writing style than a novel voice. This took me a while to get used to. The group of friends followed in this novel each have their own quirks and personality. I found it interesting how they interacted with each other, influenced each other. However, I would have liked the characters to have been developed deeper. This novel is written very simply (translate as not fresh), but it made the book a very easy read.Perhaps it is just my preference, but the best part of the book was during the actual war. According to the Author’s Note, the novel “follows the exact movements of the 25th Infantry Division during World War II, the battle scenes are fictitious.” That would explain why army life felt real. I haven’t read that many books set during World War II so I learned several things reading these scenes.This book is more of a historical literary love story. In order for a liteary novel to shine, the characters have to be extremely well-drawn, unique and strong. In The Ghost Dangers this was not the case. I did not feel a strong connection to the story and I was never fully pulled into the novel.