Product Description

An incomparable "legal" con man's well-ordered life crashes into a bizarre montage of the unexpected following his misguided involvement with a mobster, and worse, the mobster's daughter. An elaborate web of deceit leads to an unusual love story amid his delicate balancing act of many crafty con games, and builds to an inexorable, hammer-like climax.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1558797 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From the Publisher
Most people do not realize the wide-spread nature of "legal" crime in American business They do not recognize the behavior paterns that point to it, much less the enormous societal impact of it.

To expose it--this is why Jack Payne felt it important to come out of retirement to write this book.

About the Author
Jack Payne was the founder and first editor / publisher of the newsletter, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES DIGEST. He has authored 55 business books--both hardback and paperback--which have racked up total sales of more than 1,100,000 copies. His HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE IN FINDERS' FEES remained in print 25 years.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, he now lives in Northern California and is a widower, after 50 years of marriage and the raising of 3 sons.

Known for his intensity, this is his first novel.

Customer Reviews

The sixties again
This novel well mirrored the way things were back then. The bars filled at four, what room was left because some were still there from lunch. This was business in those days and how it was conducted. This story line followed many people I had known in that time. They were all trying to make the big "Score" but carried themselves as if they had already attained it. The climax of the plot was quite exciting and shattering. All in all it was a very good novel. I will remember it for a long time

Exquisite twists and turns weave a very interesting tale!
"Six Hours Past Thursday" is excellent reading. It is a story about a man on the brink of having it all, having realized his successes by somewhat scurrilous methods, and literally losing it all in a dramatic twist of the plot.

Through insider trading, intricate real estate deals and a variety of other "right on the edge of legal" ways, Draves, the key character, amasses a fortune during the 60s as a surprise and boon to his wife and twin sons.

However, having utilized every legal means of bilking his clients, taking advantage of his acquaintances, lording his achievements over his friend, womanizing and being an all-around amoral man, he is dealt his just desserts as the curtain falls.

Simple Emotions
There is an old Wall Street truism. Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered.

Jack Payne sets his tale in a different age - 1966. His protagonist, Steve Draves is a scummy, womanizing, corner-cutter who manipulates the system. The author warns us this is a tale of sin. It is set in a simpler time. Homes could be brought for between $15,000 and $18,000. A cup of coffee cost a dime; a drink cost only a quarter and a dime.

Draves wants to be rich. He starts as a bull and somewhere along the way becomes a pig. Despite his marriage to a woman he claims to love, twin sons and ownership of a $12,000 house, he pursues a million dollar deal with a mob boss. By the time his greed swings to fear, it is too late.

The clock may have reeled off 40 years, but the tale is relevant. Today we may think life is more complicated. Both eras share their respective rampant sins. As the author tells us in his prologue Six Hours Past Thursday is a simple story of sin, everyday working sin.

Payne's novel allows the reader to successfully straddle these two eras. The more things change; the more they remain the same. He leaves the answer to the question, which was worse, entirely to the reader.