A crime novel set in the 1930s, Sagamore is a wild ride through a rawer era in American history with a myriad of interconnected characters and settings from Pennsylvania to Mississippi.
Author/musician Jack Sonni finished this book just before his untimely death in 2023.
Cool Dog Sound is proud to announce the release of Sagamore, scheduled for publication on August 5, 2025.
Advance kind words for SAGAMORE:
“Jack Sonni writes like he lived, full of heart and with attention to all the small things that make this world such a complex, frightening, and beautiful place. Sagamore is a testament to the array of emotions that make us feel alive. It is a nod toward hope, a big dose of love, and a reminder of the courage it takes to keep going, even through the hardest of heartbreak. Jack’s life and work is an example to us all.”
— Michael Farris Smith, author of Lay Your Armor Down and Desperation Road
“Sagamore is a wild ride deep into America’s heart of darkness. A captivating noir in the spirit of a Coen Brothers film with gangsters, grifters, and deep blues. What fun to see Sonni’s immense and world renowned musical talents play out on the page.”
— Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of
The Heathens and Don’t Let The Devil Ride
“In life, Jack Sonni was a raconteur, someone who could perch at the end of a bar and hold court and tell stories about hanging out with Keith Richards, playing with Dire Straits at Live Aid, and touring with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was also a voracious reader and passionate writer, hungry to discuss influences and to learn. His gifts as a storyteller come through in Sagamore, which is a beautiful testament to his vision. It’s a novel of great emotional power, full of striking prose, pungent details, and relentless pacing. We lost Jack far too soon, but I’m so grateful that we have this incredible book to carry his fire.”
— William Boyle, author of Gravesend, City of Margins, and Shoot the Moonlight Out
“Sagamore shows a deep knowledge of the human heart and its twisty dark avenues that beckon and bewitch. In propulsive prose, with gripping narrative urgency, Jack Sonni has crafted a powerful family saga that will delight its readers.”
— Beth Ann Fennelly, author of Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs
“Sagamore is a wild tale of Pittsburgh gangsters in a rollicking road novel by a rock n roll legend.”
— Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Musician and author Jack Sonni was born on December 9, 1954. Known best as the “other guitarist” in Dire Straits, playing with that band during their 1980s height of fame before his love of the written word led him to a Writer in Residence and house manager position at the Noepe Center for Literary Arts in Martha’s Vineyard in 2013.
A native Pennsylvanian and world traveler, Jack spent his final years in Taylor, Mississippi, among a community of artists, writers, musicians, chefs, and bartenders. There, he hosted a podcast, streamed a live radio program, and performed with his band, the Leisure Class. He finished Sagamore shortly before his death on August 30, 2023.