Author: Michael Cannell
Publication Date: Oct. 6, 2020
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle book courtesy of NetGalley
Started: Jun. 14, 2020
Finished: Jun. 17, 2020
This was my first mob-related book and I found it fascinating. The story delves into the growth of the mob family in Brownsville, New York - a neighborhood in Brooklyn. Abe Reles, a mob murder man and enforcer, works his way up through the ranks to become the enforcer that everyone turns to, this gives him an unimaginable of power over those below - and above him. When Reles feels the law is coming for him, he quickly starts to sing. Thanks to a memory most people would be jealous of, Reles tells all his takes and sends multiple mob members to Sing Sing where they are executed in the electric chair nicknamed "Old Sparky." Shortly before Reles is set to sing at his biggest trial, he is found dead outside his safe house. There continues to be a lingering question of if he was murdered, killed himself, or died trying to escape.
All in all, this book was definitely worth the time invested to read it. I learned about mobsters I never knew existed and allowed me to learn more about those I knew the names of. I found myself googling the mobsters so I could have a picture in my head of what they looked like so I would have a better understanding of those involved.