by Len Lear

Kirkus Reviews recently had this to say about “Celebrity Cast,” the latest novel by former Chestnut Hiller and Chestnut Hill Academy student Harry Groome, which was published by The Connelly Press in Villanova and released to the public on Nov. 15:

“A suspenseful thriller set during the precarious days of the Soviet Union’s collapse. The double narrative action of the kidnapping and the grand geopolitical drama is compelling. The more these two plotlines intersect, the more intriguing the chaos that ensues … ”

“Celebrity Cast” takes place in September, 1991, shortly after the failed coup of the Soviet Union, a historic event that mired the country in political turmoil and gave rise to the ruthless Russian Mafia. American billionaire Jeb Caldwell, who has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, hosts a group of celebrity anglers on a fishing expedition to Russia’s unforgiving Kola Peninsula where he is kidnapped.

When Jeb’s wife refuses to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the odds are low that he will be returned, let alone in time for a desperately needed chemotherapy treatment that may save his life. Jeb’s situation is further complicated by President Yeltsin’s dismantling the KGB, leaving the FBI without an ally in its attempts to apprehend the kidnappers.

The title of the book refers to the three celebrities who head up the cast of characters, as the book is as much about their relationships as it is about the kidnapping. Groome also thought the word “Cast” was “a nice double entendre.”

How on earth did Groome, 81, come up with such a plot? “For one thing,” he explained, “in the early days of salmon fishing in the Soviet Union, a group of American fishermen had their camp raided by well armed police who arrived by helicopter, confiscated all their equipment and ordered them to leave the country.

“This event made me wonder the writer’s eternal question: What if? What if the intruders hadn’t been the police and were kidnappers preying on rich Americans? And number two: I fished in Russia during the exact period the book takes place and experienced the political turmoil … almost everything except the kidnapping.”

Groome grew up in Chestnut Hill and attended Chestnut Hill Academy until 1955 (it only went up to 8th grade at the time), after which he was sent to the Pomfret School, a small, elite boarding school in Connecticut. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963 with a degree in English, he worked for corporate pharmaceutical companies for more than 30 years, starting out as a writer and advancing eventually to chairman of SmithKline Beecham Consumer HealthCare.

His dad, also named Harry, was an advertising executive and civic leader. His mom Sarah taught dancing and flower arranging. He has a sister, Peggy Cooke, and a brother, Clark, who writes theater reviews for the Local.

Growing up in Chestnut Hill, Harry said he remembers “the intimacy of the community, the friendly shop keepers and the tolerant Philadelphia police in their red cars.”

When Harry was 52 and was facing retirement eight years into the future because his employer, SmithKline, required employees to retire at 60, a friend suggested that he start writing novels. As a result, Groome enrolled in a master’s degree writing program at Vermont College shortly after his retirement at 59.

It wasn’t until 11 years later that Groome’s first novel, “Wing Walking,” was published, followed by “Thirty Below” and the award-winning Stieg Larsson parody, “The Girl Who Fished with a Worm.” A finalist for the William Faulkner Short Story Awards and nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Harry's short stories, poems and articles have also appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies including Gray's Sporting Journal, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Field & Stream and Detroit Magazine.

His previous novel prior to “Celebrity Cast” was “The Best of Families,” which blew me away with its believable razor-sharp dialogue and compelling plot. It told the story of Philadelphia socialite Francis Hopkinson Delafield, who falls in love with a French Canadian girl, only to have her disappear shortly after their marriage. (The beginning and ending of the book take place in Chestnut Hill.)

When I asked Groome if he could meet and spend time with anyone on earth, who would it be, he replied, “The person who came up with the concept of the hot shower.”

More information at harrygroome.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com