The Jersey Shore, winter, 1969-1970. Land development has the economy booming and the local political scene awash in cash, while sensational headlines in the big city newspapers expose the grip of organized crime on government and politics in New Jersey.Reporter Eddie Bonneville, an ambitious but unworldly youth, records an explosive interview with Matty "The Mule" Esposito, the Shore rackets boss. Outraged at being stabbed in the back by politicians he's dealt with for decades, the aged gangster defiantly opens up about his 40 years reign over the Jersey Shore underworld.Esposito's allegations open Eddie's eyes to a world of political corruption. He believes he's onto a story that will make his career. But his investigation thrusts him into a life and death battle with the corrupt and criminal forces he has unwisely antagonized.A portrait of small-town America losing its innocence, set in the charged and painful space between generations as the Vietnam War grinds on, Eddie's story captures a young reporter's personal and professional coming of age. 'Winter in a Summer Town' is the journey of a troubled kid learning hard lessons about power, politics, and how to love a brilliant free-spirited woman, in a world that's trying to turn him into the kind of man he refuses to become. Gene Ritchings is an American novelist, journalist, and filmmaker. He was born at the Jersey Shore and was educated in public schools there. He began his journalism career at age 18 as a reporter and weekly columnist for The Ocean County Daily Observer and continued for several more years, writing for The Asbury Park Evening Press. He worked for 25 years in many different jobs in New York film production, on numerous feature films and for 10 seasons running the "Law & Order" production office. He was managing editor of The Hudson Reporter newspaper chain for over 10 years. He has produced and directed three performance films of theater dance choreographed by Anna Sokolow and played the part of a paranoid husband in the independent film "Home Defense." His novels include "Frankenrocker," "Winter in a Summer Town," and "The Reckoning of Adrienne Monet."
