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Mario Balzic Detective Mystery #4
A Fix Like This
As the novel opens, Armand "Fat Manny" Manditti has been stabbed and is brought into the emergency room by his brother Tullio the Tub, who refuses to tell Chief Balzic what happened. Balzic suspects the men will take take revenge, and he works to prevent the death of a citizen or two of Rocksburg.
- GenresMystery
185 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
K.C. Constantine
35 books45 followersCarl Constantine Kosak is an American mystery author known for his work as K.C. Constantine. Little is known about Kosak, as he prefers anonymity and has given only a few interviews. He was born in 1934 and served in the Marines in the early 1950s. He lives in Greensburg PA with wife Linda.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 21, 2026
A Fix Like This (Mario Balzic Mysteries, Book 4)
By A. C. Constantine
This was a quizzical, amusing, enjoyable and very off beat “police procedural”. Mario Balzic, chief of police, of the mining/rust belt small town of Rocksburg PA, recalls to this reader the role of town sheriff as peacemaker. Mario has been quite successful to date, in his role of town peace maker, aka keep’n a lid on things. Then Fat Manny Manditti gets stabbed, saved only by his fat, a fatal attack to anyone normal. But Manny and his equally large brother Tullio aren’t talking. Then two murders, Tullio is Mario’s one and only suspect, but proving it and keeping a lid on the why’s and others involved is complicated. It’s a case of #’s fraud, with charity and good intentions, gone way bad. It’s complicated and Mario’s two closest pals: Dom Muscotti, the town’s lead hood and bar owner, plus Father Marrazo, the town priest, must be consulted on leaned for information, and drinks… many, many drinks.
“Balzic stood and filled both their glasses, still debating with himself whether to prod the priest to talk more about what Sabatine had done. When he sat down again, he had decided against it. If Father Marrazo wanted to say more, he would, and if he didn’t, nothing Balzic could say would persuade him to say anything. —He might let his emotions go now and then, as he had just done, but he was very careful with his thoughts… —this was the first time he had ever heard Father Marrazo reveal anything about another priest ... “Mario, I think I’ve said enough for one night. There is one thing though.” —“I’m sure there are going to be rumors. If you hear anything, just do your best—hell, you know what to do.”
The Trouble. “who’s supposed to take care of the poor people, the old ladies with all their sad stories? Jesus Christ, there’s a thousand stories like that around here, probably more. Anywhere there’s a mine or a mill, anywhere there’s widows old enough with husbands who never got in on those pension plans or got screwed out of them by some goddamn bookkeeper or lawyer—“ —“All I’m saying is that if you give him the benefit of some doubt, you have to recognize that he saw a chance to help some people, some old women, who really needed help, and—” “He also saw a pretty good chance to pay off the mortgage on his church, don’t forget that.” —“For everything there’s a price. You pay in money or time or sweat or blood, but you pay, and—”
The Fix. “—When you get into a fix, when you start trying to make funny things happen, you open the door for somebody else to get in there. And, goddamn it, you know that as well as I do.” —“he goes for a fix like this? With his eyes open and he doesn’t even think to look?”
Dulia. “He said that whatever he bet on wasn’t supposed to lose. That’s when I started thinking fix... —Then when Tullio starts on you, I thought, hey, what do we got here? We got a priest, five old ladies, a linotype operator at the only newspaper in town, the paper that puts out the Treasury statement every day, and one thousand tickets at two bucks a pop. So what’s the payoff on those tickets—fifteen hundred? —“So if the ladies get seven hundred apiece, that leaves thirteen bills. Subtract ten bucks for printing, and that leaves twelve-ninety, which is what you said Sabatine’s mortgage payments went up.”
“I had a witness. He saw Tullio put the job on Dulia, watched—” “You ‘had’ a witness?” “He got killed this morning. A fuckin’ mine roof caved in —without him, the only case I got against Tullio is circumstantial.” The other way: “In order to do it that way, I got to open up a real can of worms. I’d have to bust six people, including a priest and five old ladies, for operating a lottery, for fraud, for conspiracy, that whole number.”
Once the fix goes in, it’s hard for Balzic to fix it… unless he…
Read it, and try to figure it out…
By A. C. Constantine
This was a quizzical, amusing, enjoyable and very off beat “police procedural”. Mario Balzic, chief of police, of the mining/rust belt small town of Rocksburg PA, recalls to this reader the role of town sheriff as peacemaker. Mario has been quite successful to date, in his role of town peace maker, aka keep’n a lid on things. Then Fat Manny Manditti gets stabbed, saved only by his fat, a fatal attack to anyone normal. But Manny and his equally large brother Tullio aren’t talking. Then two murders, Tullio is Mario’s one and only suspect, but proving it and keeping a lid on the why’s and others involved is complicated. It’s a case of #’s fraud, with charity and good intentions, gone way bad. It’s complicated and Mario’s two closest pals: Dom Muscotti, the town’s lead hood and bar owner, plus Father Marrazo, the town priest, must be consulted on leaned for information, and drinks… many, many drinks.
“Balzic stood and filled both their glasses, still debating with himself whether to prod the priest to talk more about what Sabatine had done. When he sat down again, he had decided against it. If Father Marrazo wanted to say more, he would, and if he didn’t, nothing Balzic could say would persuade him to say anything. —He might let his emotions go now and then, as he had just done, but he was very careful with his thoughts… —this was the first time he had ever heard Father Marrazo reveal anything about another priest ... “Mario, I think I’ve said enough for one night. There is one thing though.” —“I’m sure there are going to be rumors. If you hear anything, just do your best—hell, you know what to do.”
The Trouble. “who’s supposed to take care of the poor people, the old ladies with all their sad stories? Jesus Christ, there’s a thousand stories like that around here, probably more. Anywhere there’s a mine or a mill, anywhere there’s widows old enough with husbands who never got in on those pension plans or got screwed out of them by some goddamn bookkeeper or lawyer—“ —“All I’m saying is that if you give him the benefit of some doubt, you have to recognize that he saw a chance to help some people, some old women, who really needed help, and—” “He also saw a pretty good chance to pay off the mortgage on his church, don’t forget that.” —“For everything there’s a price. You pay in money or time or sweat or blood, but you pay, and—”
The Fix. “—When you get into a fix, when you start trying to make funny things happen, you open the door for somebody else to get in there. And, goddamn it, you know that as well as I do.” —“he goes for a fix like this? With his eyes open and he doesn’t even think to look?”
Dulia. “He said that whatever he bet on wasn’t supposed to lose. That’s when I started thinking fix... —Then when Tullio starts on you, I thought, hey, what do we got here? We got a priest, five old ladies, a linotype operator at the only newspaper in town, the paper that puts out the Treasury statement every day, and one thousand tickets at two bucks a pop. So what’s the payoff on those tickets—fifteen hundred? —“So if the ladies get seven hundred apiece, that leaves thirteen bills. Subtract ten bucks for printing, and that leaves twelve-ninety, which is what you said Sabatine’s mortgage payments went up.”
“I had a witness. He saw Tullio put the job on Dulia, watched—” “You ‘had’ a witness?” “He got killed this morning. A fuckin’ mine roof caved in —without him, the only case I got against Tullio is circumstantial.” The other way: “In order to do it that way, I got to open up a real can of worms. I’d have to bust six people, including a priest and five old ladies, for operating a lottery, for fraud, for conspiracy, that whole number.”
Once the fix goes in, it’s hard for Balzic to fix it… unless he…
Read it, and try to figure it out…
December 27, 2025
RATING: 3.5
January 4, 2020
The author's plots are truly innovative and his hero, Chief Mario Balzac, is a unique policeman. This was an easy, interesting read filled with unforgettable characters from McKees Rocks, PA (having the pseudonym of Rocksburg).
October 12, 2024
This mystery series takes place around 1980, give or take some years, in a "small" town in Western Pennsylvania. Now, I'll wager that this small town is much larger than what I consider a small town, but the feeling of community is strong here and that makes it relatable. Police Chief Mario Balzic has grown up and lives in the community and seems to know most of the people and how they are all related. If he doesn't know, his wife or mother can usually fill in that last information. The community he moves in seems to be largely Italian Catholic and connections are immportant.
The volume in the series begins with a local man is stabbed and brought to the emergency room by his brother. Unfortunately, no one seems to want to cooperate with Mario and his police officers. As other incidents occur, Mario begins to feel they are related and must navigate his way through the acitivities of a wide range of people in town, on both sides of the law. He seems to do a lot of his investigating in one of the local bars, since he's gone to school and grown up with many of the locals involved.
Readers who are offended by some of the comments and actions in the book because they are now considered politically/socially incorrect must remember that the book portrays an earlier time in our history and the dialogue seems believable for the period (I was an adult then, myself). More difficult for me is the moral ambiguity that is shown here by nearly everyone, included Mario and the local priests. Although other books in the series show some of this, I felt uneasy about that at times. I actually thought the ending should have been a few pages earlier and didn't really care for it that much.
Yes, I'll read the next in the series. I'm getting to know Mario and his circle of friends and enemies; let's see how it all works out next time...
The volume in the series begins with a local man is stabbed and brought to the emergency room by his brother. Unfortunately, no one seems to want to cooperate with Mario and his police officers. As other incidents occur, Mario begins to feel they are related and must navigate his way through the acitivities of a wide range of people in town, on both sides of the law. He seems to do a lot of his investigating in one of the local bars, since he's gone to school and grown up with many of the locals involved.
Readers who are offended by some of the comments and actions in the book because they are now considered politically/socially incorrect must remember that the book portrays an earlier time in our history and the dialogue seems believable for the period (I was an adult then, myself). More difficult for me is the moral ambiguity that is shown here by nearly everyone, included Mario and the local priests. Although other books in the series show some of this, I felt uneasy about that at times. I actually thought the ending should have been a few pages earlier and didn't really care for it that much.
Yes, I'll read the next in the series. I'm getting to know Mario and his circle of friends and enemies; let's see how it all works out next time...
December 13, 2024
A fast read. Again, great characters and a snapshot of a small town mystery, a specific set of people and time. But very dated. This one has sexism, casual racism and fat phobia. I am sure it is true to the time but jarring to see the N word thrown around so lightly. Lots of alcohol abuse played for laughs as well. I have more of his books and will plow on to see if they have improved but I am not surprised they have fallen out of print
August 7, 2019
Mario Balzic must unsnarl a real "fix" this time. Two of his intimates, Dom Muscotti and Father Mazarro, for entirely different but related reasons, become involved in a double murder! When the only witness to one of the murders dies in a mine cave-in before he can make an official statement, a portion of the justice's underside in Rocksburg is all too evident.
June 15, 2026
Back in the 1970’s, KC Constantine created a series of detective novels set in a working-class town in Pennsylvania’s coal country where the lives and livelihoods of the Chief of Police, the parish priest, and the local mob boss are inescapably intertwined. I’ve read a few in the series, and this one is my favorite so far, maybe because it tells a fully satisfying story in under 200 pages. Pair this book with “Small Time” by Russell Shorto for a deep dive into an overlooked slice of Italian-American culture and geography.
April 6, 2013
The Mario Balzic series gets better with each volume. We learn about the ethical decisions that Mario made in the past. Though these decisions have worked for Mario and the community, a few situations threaten to break everything apart. Mario, the priest, and the gangster all have some tough new decisions to make as they try to puzzle out what is happening in the town. The ethnic and racial relationships still are quite uncomfortable to read, but only because of how real they feel. There is also an incredible passage about the sausage sandwiches served at Muscotti's bar. This is southwestern Pennsylvania.
August 12, 2015
#4 in the Mario Balzic / Rocksburg, PA series.
Mario Balzic warns mob leader Dom Muscotti to keep a lid on things after his runner Fat Manny lands in the hospital with multiple stab wounds. Mario is concerned that Manny's big brother Tullio will seek revenge. Tullio does go on a rampage and Mario gets to the heart of the matter after listening to Father Marazzo's problems.
Mario Balzic warns mob leader Dom Muscotti to keep a lid on things after his runner Fat Manny lands in the hospital with multiple stab wounds. Mario is concerned that Manny's big brother Tullio will seek revenge. Tullio does go on a rampage and Mario gets to the heart of the matter after listening to Father Marazzo's problems.
March 9, 2009
In this fourth outing (published back in 1975) Rocksburg police chief Mario Balzic is called to the hospital to investigate the stabbing of a grossly overweight runner for the local crime boss
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews