“Friendship and Honor!”

This is what four friends Nicky, Tony, Frankie and Paulie vowed.  As little boys from the age of 6 they were already stealing, smoking and selling cigarettes, left alone to run the streets of Wilmington, Delaware.  By the age of 8 they had taken the oath of friendship and honor, promising to always have the backs of the others and never rat their friends out.  As they grew older they began running errands and doing odd jobs for the local so-called “mob.”

Eventually a few others boys joined their group and they began pulling off larger heists.  The closest of the two were Nicky and Tony due to the premature death of Nicky’s mom and his never-present father.  Tony’s mother, Momma Rosa, practically raised Nicky as her own.

Fast forward many years and Nicky is released from prison for a killing he made during a ‘gang’ fight as a kid.  While in prison Nicky earned the fear of everyone, including the guards.  None of his friends visited or wrote him while he was inside.  Frankie became a cop and Tony and Paulie moved to the big city where they were “union workers,” aka working for the real mob this time.  During the entire book, even with all that Nicky did I still thought of him as my favorite.  Very conflicting.

When Nicky was released he turned to Tony for a place to stay and a job.  He was  introduced to Tony’s boss who game him a job with the union.   They were all “union reps,” but nobody ever knew anyone’s true job description.

When several murders start taking place in Frankie’s district, he begins to suspect Nicky, but he won’t tell anyone unless he knows for sure, and he was conflicted about the oath he made with his friends as a child.  Each murder has a similarity and each murder has a clue telling Frankie yes, it’s Nicky.  How do you explain to your lieutenant that a dead rate means it could possibly be your childhood friend – since birth?

This is a story that takes you back and forth from childhood to adulthood and from the beginning of the crimes to present day.  Actually, it jumps around several dates, back and forth, and I was never quite positive where we were.  It also occasionally changed characters from one paragraph to the next, which occasionally through me off.  The only other confusion I had, was keeping up with who belonged to what nickname.  There was Paulie the Suit, Nicky the Rat, Frankie “Bugs” and I don’t remember Tony’s nickname.  There were also the members of the mob and the other boys they grew up with.  I would have to occasionally stop reading to try to remember who belonged to what and that was a bit frustrating at times.

Other than the time and name confusion, I actually enjoyed the book and read it in only a couple of days.  At the end I found myself shushing my family and leaving the room just to get to the end.  The crimes could be gruesome – I must warn you – especially the final crime.  Shocking as a matter of fact.  Shocking enough that I couldn’t keep my eyes off the words.  I also, much like detective Frankie Bugs Donovan, found myself conflicted about the prime suspect.  I wanted him to finish his jobs, I wanted him to stop, I wanted him arrested but I wanted him to get free.  You’ll see when you read it.

Do I recommend the book?  Sure.  Not an emphatic, “YES, GO GET IT NOW!!” but more of a, “If you have the time, this is a quick engaging read.”

Giacomo Giammatteo

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY:

“I live in Texas now, but I grew up in Cleland Heights, a mixed ethnic neighborhood in Wilmington, Delaware that sat on the fringes of the Italian, Irish and Polish neighborhoods. The main characters of Murder Takes Timegrew up in Cleland Heights and many of the scenes in the book were taken from real-life experiences.

Somehow I survived the transition to adulthood, but when my kids were young I left the Northeast and settled in Texas, where my wife suggested we get a few animals. I should have known better; we now have a full-blown animal sanctuary with rescues from all over. At last count we had 41 animals—12 dogs, a horse, a three-legged cat and 26 pigs. Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with me every day and happens to also be my best buddy.

Since this is a bio some of you might wonder what I do. By day I am a headhunter, scouring the country for top talent to fill jobs in the biotech and medical device industry. In the evening I help my wife tend the animals, and at night—late at night—I turn into a writer.

Now that you’ve stumbled onto this site, you might as well explore it; so look around, click some links, and, if you’ve got time, tell me what you think. Contact me at jim@giacomogiammatteo.com.”

To read more about the author, Giacomo Giammetteo, visit his website:  www.giacomogiammatteo.com.  His book(s) can be purchased there or at numerous other websites, including Nook and Kindle formats.