Suburra

Suburra takes a deep dive into a politically and financially corrupt contemporary Italy, where a mighty local crime family, the Mafia, corrupt politicians, and new rabid criminal elements battle each other for control of a glittering prize—control over a multibillion dollar development twenty miles from the Italian capital.
         During the final days of Silvio Berlusconi’s reign, a massive development proposal that will turn the depressed coastal settlement of Ostia into a gambling paradise, a Las Vegas on the Mediterranean, is winding its way through the Italian legislature thanks to the sponsorship of politicians in the pay of crime syndicates. It’s business as usual in the Italian capital. Or so it seems. A vicious gang of local thugs loyal to nobody but themselves is insisting on a bigger cut than agreed upon. The Mafia and their political puppets aren’t going to back down without a fight.
         Orchestral in its movement and sweeping in its ambition, Suburra is a compelling, provocative portrait of contemporary Rome—a city prey to pitiless criminal factions and political opportunism. Suburra has already been adapted into a critically acclaimed Italian film and soon to be a Netflix Original Series.

Suburra (International Crime)

By Carlo Bonini & Giancarlo De Cataldo

Europa Editions

ISBN #978-1609454074

Price $12.02 (Paperback)

Price $9.99 (Kindle)

521 Pages

Rating 2-Stars

Modern Italy is the contemporary setting for this yarn. It pits a local criminal gang, corrupt politicians and the Mafia against each other, as they battle over a multi-million dollar development project, bringing a gambling casino to a town near Rome. Thankfully, there is a two-page listing of the cast of characters at the first of the book, so we can refer to it to remember who everyone is. As it was, I almost gave up on the story a long time before I reached the final pages. Why I continued reading, I don’t know.

I knew going into the story that there would be violent crime, sex, and profanity, but I stuck it out because Europa Editions usually brings us interesting writers from overseas. But this story is packed solid with crime and political corruption, and I found very little to like in the book. The characters are stereotypes of every Mafia movie you’ve ever seen, and the dialogue is so stilted it left me in pain. There is very little to recommend about this book. You have to be a die-hard fan of violent Mafia and corruption to enjoy this type novel. I am not. Let’s hope the Netflix series is written better, with actors able to bring the story off, but I’m not counting on it.

Tom Johnson

Author of ASSIGNMENT: NINA FONTAYNE

Fever City

The story kicks off in 1960 Los Angeles, with the daring kidnapping of the child of one of America's richest men. It then darts back and forth between a private detective's urgent search for the child, the saga of a notorious hit man in the days leading to JFK's assassination, and the modern-day story of a skeptical journalist researching the still-active conspiracy theories of the 50s and 60s, with the aim of debunking them. Just as the detective discovers that the kidnapping is a crime much larger than he imagined, and the hit man finds himself caught in a web that is astonishingly complex, the journalist discovers-to his horror, dismay, and even his jeopardy-that the conspiracy theories might well be true.

With expert pacing, sparkling dialogue, and plot twists that will keep readers entranced, Tim Baker's irrepressible debut novel is a joy ride through classic noir traditions, updated with a surprisingly contemporary sensibility.

Fever City (Crime Noir)

By Tim Baker

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

ISBN #978-1609452872

Price $12.07 (paperback)

400 Pages

Rating 5-stars

“A Fast-Paced, Thrill-A-Minute ride.”

Normally, there are two things I absolutely hate in a story. One is using real people in scenes and narrative, the second is jumping back and forth in the tale from one point to another. This story contains both, but the author pulls it off. The author’s writing is smooth, and he keeps the same people throughout the tale, even if the years jump from 1959 to 1960, 1963, and 2014. It all stems from the kidnapping of the Bannister child in 1960 and the private eye handling the case, to the assassination of JFK in 1963 and one of the assassins hired for the job, and finally culminates with the son of the private detective searching for answers to the mystery in 2014. We are led through conspiracies with Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes and the Roswell UFO crash, to secret cabals, the Masons and Illuminati, and hidden temples in the homes of powerful men who control the political system of America and the world.

Two leading questions haunt the tale. First, what became of the missing child, and why are assassins trying to kill the son of the detective, now a reporter, trying to find answers to an old mystery. Everyone the reporter questions turns up dead, and some really weird people are trying to protect him before he meets the same fate. With most of the original people involved now dead, it seems he will not find the answer.

The story comes to an end in France, as the reporter finally learns the truth from one of the main players in this long-running mystery, although I had figured it out early in the story, and if readers will pay attention they will also. But it is certainly a good yarn, even if it does play loosely with real people in history. This book was hard to put down, and kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended for noir lovers.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH

Bootleg Broadway

 It’s 1932. Prohibition rages, the Depression ravages, and Billy McGlory comes of age whether he wants to or not. Musical and adventurous, Billy dreams of having his own ritzy supper club and big band. On the eve of his marriage to the pregnant Prudence, the shifty “businessman” Rosario Ingovito offers him all that and more. Fame, fortune, his own Broadway musical—it’s all his for the taking, despite Pru’s opposition to Rosie’s ventures. Meanwhile, Pru’s artistic career gains momentum and their child is born. Can anything go wrong for Billy? Only when he gets in way over his head does he stop to wonder how his business partner really makes his millions, but by then it’s far too late…

Bootleg Broadway (Historical Romance)

Diana Rubino

The Wild Rose Press

ISBN #978-1509201280

Price $18.99

402 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Inside The Mob.”

It’s 1932 New York, and young Billy McGlory, a musical genius has high hopes of seeing his name in lights. He has just married his childhood sweetheart, Prudence Muller, who also wants to be an artist. She’s pregnant, and Billy wants the best for their child. He’s discovered by Rosario Ingovito, a local mobster once from the Chicago Mob, now setting up business in New York. Rosie has big plans for Billy and his piano. Setting him up in a club, it only gets better as the mobster uses Billy’s talent to bring people in the clubs he owns. But Pru wants Billy out of the mobs. She knows where this connection will lead if he stays with his new pals.

It does sky rocket Billy to fame, with his name in lights; his own hit play on Broadway, and records. Billy is flying high while his wife sinks into depression and drugs. With the mobs involvement in bootleg whiskey, prostitution, and now moving into drugs and gambling, Billy also sees that it must end, but in the mob, there’s only one way out.

This was a fascinating story set in Prohibition and the Depression era New York. We see inside the Mafia, even meeting Al Capone and other high-ups in the mob. There are dirty cops and politicians on the take. The author did her research, and the reader is better for it. The love story is bittersweet, and the story ends as only such a story can when the mob runs the show – and your life. Yes, it’s a romantic tale, yet it’s also a Mafia story, and I highly recommend it to readers especially interested in the period, and for those who love a good yarn, and want to be entertained. It’s not just a love story.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

Gulf Boulevard

Gulf Boulevard (Comedic Mystery)

By Dennis Hart

The Permanent Press www.thepermanentpress.com

ISBN #978-1579623531

Price $29.95

318 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Fun Romp With Beautiful Women and Mafia Hit Men”

Jason Najarian, a Boston office worker suddenly wins the lottery, walking away with 19 million dollars. He leaves his boring job, buys a beach home in the Florida Keys, and his life makes a complete turn-around. But things may not be for the better. Now, with the sudden windfall, his ex wife, who left him for a muscle-head gym instructor, wants in on the money and comes after him. And to make matters worse, none of his new neighbors seem to be what they are supposed to be. In fact, the jolly fat man just might be a Mafia hit man running from the mob, and the French poet could be just about anything. Then there is the old lady with the pie, a young daughter and two ugly sons who look like gangsters. He does know the beautiful Indian girl, nicknamed Running Bush, is the woman of his dreams – well, maybe.

Okay, there really isn’t much of a mystery to the story, except for who is who, and what is really going on. The hit man made a bad mistake on his last assignment, and now there is a contract out on him, so things are pretty hot around the beach. How can a sudden millionaire find so much trouble in paradise? But the author gives us an enjoyable read, with fascinating characters, and cool plot, written with humor and realistic dialogue. Highly recommended for a quiet weekend reading.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories