Road to Paradise

Road to Perdition #4

by Max Allan Collins

Running a casino for the mob in the early 1970s, former Mafia hit man Michael Satariano refuses an order to kill a particularly violent mobster and is subsequently framed for the man's murder, a situation that forces him to place his family in the hands of a fledgling Witness Protection Program. By the author of Road to Purgatory. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, Noir, Audiobook, Adventure

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 29, 2005

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars for Road to Paradise (audiobook) by Max Allan Collins read by Yuri Rasovsky.

A middle aged mobster leading a comfortable life is asked to do something that he just can’t do anymore. He and his family end up in witness protection program and they start their lives all over in Tucson. But it’s just a matter of time before his past catches up with them.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love The Godfather movies and have watched them dozens of times, you'll love this book. It is as good as it gets when it comes to a mobster- oriented story. I have not read the first two books in this series, but just a few pages into this, I downloaded both. Collins is one of my favorite crime writers, but he really outdid himself this time. Taking place in 1973, this novel has Michael O' Sullivan ensconced at the Lake Tahoe resort casino the mob controls. He's a Medal of Honor recipient and the calm business face of the casino business, busy raising a family, a son serving in Vietnam, a daughter getting ready for senior prom. Then, the wheels come off and Michael's past returns and he has to do battle with the mob's deadliest monsters in a war that takes no prisoners. Expertly crafted with a plot that just builds and builds, it's everything you could want from a crime fiction novel and more. Many thanks to Brash Books for providing a copy for review.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this from Brash Books in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What an excellent ending to the O'Sullivan/Satariano saga, started in Road to Perdition: The New, Expanded Novel, and continued in Road to Purgatory.

The writing is simply outstanding, and Mr. Collins captures the human emotion in all its facets over the course of this book. The ending was a surprise, too, and it left me in awe at its "perfect-ness".

You may already be familiar with the 2001 Tom Hanks and Jude Law movie, Road to Perdition, which was based on the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The first book itself was based on the graphic novel and movie, instead of the other way around, surprisingly. Max Allan Collins stated that this was a story that needed enhancing, hence the three-book series. I'm eminently glad he continued with these characters.

If you haven't read this series, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's not often an entire series is able to live up to the standard set in the first volume, but this one definitely exceeds the mark.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Road to Paradise is a novel written by Max Allan Collins.

We jump to the 1960s where Michael Satariano has been rewarded for years of loyalty and hardwork and is now the manager of the Cal-Neva Lodge and Casino. He is visited by former headboss Sam Giancana, who wants to return to power after being sent to Mexico, to a lay a hit on Mad Sam DeStefano. When Michael refuses to do the job, he sets forwards a chain events that will forever change his life and the Chicago mob.

I felt this book was much more interesting and exciting than Road to Purgatory. We finally get the events that lead to the profession that Satariano/O'Sullivan Jr was practicing at the end of Road to Perdition. I'm not sure if I agree with all the character decisions along the way, but it was an interesting journey.

[Jeff P · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good, I probably should have read the other books in this series first. I won't give it away, but I really liked the ending.

[Michael Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Road to Paradise, Max Allan Collins [Brash Books, 2005].

The final volume of the trilogy which began with Road to Perdition. In the early 1970s, as the Vietnam War is winding down, Michael O’Sullivan’s son is listed M.I.A. and is believed to be the war’s final American casualty. Michael is managing a casino in Lake Tahoe; providing a respectable front for the mob. After Michael is caught in the middle of a gang war, and framed for a murder he didn’t commit, he goes on the run with his teenaged daughter seeking revenge and redemption.

Road to Paradise is locally published by Brash Books of Leawood, KS.

***

Max Allan Collins is one of America’s most lauded writers of hard boiled crime novels. Collins is a twenty-one time recipient of the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America. His series fiction includes Nolan, Quarry (the basis of a Cinemax show), and Elliott Ness. Additionally, he has completed and continued Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer series. His adaptations of Saving Private Ryan, American Gangster and Air Force One were New York Times bestsellers. Collins wrote the syndicated comic Dick Tracy from the late 1970s to the’90s.
His graphic novel Road to Perdition served as the basis of a film by Sam Mendes featuring Tom Hanks.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the intense disappointment of the previous entry in this series, I was surprised at the fact that this story was good at all. Jumping pretty dramatically from the 30s/40s into a narrative set in the 70s was a bold choice, but one that pays off with a more seasoned and interesting Michael O'Sullivan occupying center stage here, with a much more engaging set of concerns and characters that he has to think about and take care of. The action also feels a lot less historically laden, even as it does follow the general contours of history; the characters are more lively than perhaps the more famous gangsters present in the previous novel, and so the whole story feels a lot freer and more interesting. The conclusion is generally pretty good, too, though there's a final kind of bait-and-switch that ended up feeling a bit hokey and kind of ruining the very last moments, even if the end of the saga as a whole is actually wrapped up rather nicely. I didn't hate my time with this book as much as I did with the last one in the series, but I still question whether or not this one actually needed to happen for the series to feel complete.

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pulp epic life of Michael Satariano wraps up in satisfying fashion here. A middle-aged man in 1970s Lake Tahoe, he runs a Mob-owned casino. His comfortable life is disrupted one day when gangster Sam Giancana, back in the country after a period of exile, asks Mike to carry out a hit. Giancana knows that Mike's real surname is O'Sullivan. When his mother and brother were whacked 40 years before, Mike fled with his hit man father, leaving a trail of dead wiseguys in their ride of vengeance. A frame-up leaves him to try the Witness Protection Program - but can he trust his safety to anyone now?

Collins does his usual excellent job combining real characters with fictional ones, the combination of thorough research and solid storytelling skills. Despite its pulpy nature, the book feels epic in scope. An excellent conclusion for the story begun with Road to Perdition.

[Tom Gase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really liked this series. This is another sequel to the graphic novel that later became a Tom Hanks/Paul Newman film, Road to Perdition. Like the sequel to that book, this revolves around Michael Sullivan Jr, the son of the Tom Hanks character, the Angel Of Death. This book takes place as Jr. is older and is looking to get out of the crime business. This story takes place in Tahoe and Arizona as well as Illinois. I really like the main characters but don't want to say much about the story in fear of giving something away. If you like the Road to Perdition sequel, Road to Purgatory, then you'll likely enjoy this one as well.

[Jacob Dzik · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, no one makes a better mob movie than Martin Scorsese. And with Max Allan Collins, no none writes a better mob book whether it be fiction or non fiction. And the impressive thing about his fiction mob stories, is that they 100% seem like they could be non fiction. His attention to detail is incredible and he puts you in the world of these characters. The Road to Perdition saga is one of the best mob tales ever told and it is ridiculous it is not better known. I love these stories and give this series and his Nathan Heller series as well the highest recommendations.

[MM Suarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The O’Sullivans have a sort of family trait, you see—we settle scores.”

This is Road to Paradise (The Perdition Series Book 3), not sure why Goodreads picks it up as book 4, but in short a disappointing end to the trilogy for me. I enjoyed the first two books very much but unfortunately this one felt contrived and frankly quite a bit silly specially the ending. Also, I'm not sure what the author was thinking when he wrote the Anna character (daughter), all I have to say is; really dude?🙄

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this trilogy as a whole. Every story kept my interest and I've always been fascinated by organized crime. This trilogy was well written and had some very interesting characters. I hope one day he picks up this story and a 4th entry is written, but this definitely satisfied the mafia fan in me.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't read the first book Road to Perdition, or seen the movie. I did however enjoy this novel that follows Michael O'Sullivan Jr. as an adult years after the events of his childhood. It was an excellent blend of history and fiction. I would recommend it highly!

[Corky]

This is written by the same author as Road to Perdition. I liked it. It is a fast read. the plot is similar to the first book but carried out by the son of Michael O'Sullivan.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A violent end to the Perdition saga

[Paul Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Road to Paradise by Max Allan Collins (Brash Books, November 2017) is the second sequel to The Road to Perdition, which was an award-winning graphic novel and a superb motion picture starring Tom Hanks. Collins is an MWA Grand Master and a multiple Shamus-award winning author.

When I began reading The Road to Paradise, I only knew that the author had co-authored mysteries with Mickey Spillane and had written the Dick Tracy daily and Sunday comics for the Chicago Tribune. I also knew he had written the Ms. Tree comic books and was a fellow member of MWA Midwest. I hadn’t yet read The Road to Perdition nor seen the film.

I lived I Oak Park, Illinois, in the mid-1970s when a mob hit man murdered crime-boss Sam Giancana in his Fillmore Street home, less than six blocks from me, so I was instantly intrigued by this novel’s opening scene where the Outfit similarly slays Mad Sam DeStefano. Not only did I regularly hang out at the Big Top restaurant in Berwyn (at the corner where the cities of Cicero, Chicago, Oak Park, and Berwyn intersect) with lots of people associated with Mad Sam, but I also met two of Momo Giancana’s three daughters when I managed O’Hare convention hotels. Unfortunately, Collins momentarily lost me when we left that familiar road to focus on Michael Satariano, formerly Michael O‘Sullivan, at the Cal-Neva in Tahoe. If I had read the previous Road books (both Perdition and Purgatory) before reading The Road to Paradise, I wouldn’t have confused Connor Looney with Mooney Giancana. Nevertheless, Collins kept me reading until I could piece together who was who and who did what to whom and where and when and why.

The Looneys were Irish bootleggers in Moline in the 1920s. Michael O’Sullivan, Sr., Michael Satariano’s father, went to work for them as their “Angel of Death” enforcer after serving during WWI. He considered himself still a soldier. Soldiers killed enemies. It was easy for him to emerge from one war to fight in another.

When Connor Looney murdered his wife and youngest son, Michael Senior declared war on the Looneys and the Chicago mob. He took his surviving boy along to drive the getaway car while he robbed banks and sought revenge for the death of his wife and his other son.

After Michael Senior’s death in Perdition, Kansas, Michael is adopted by the Satarianos. He grows up in DeKalb, Illinois, and falls in love with Patsy Ann O’Hara. He enlists in the Army and is a sniper on Bataan when war is declared, He’s already a trained killer, and he kills more than fifty enemy Japs. He becomes the first medal of honor recipient of the second world war when he loses an eye saving the lives of his captain and General Wainwright. He’s sent home to make speeches and act like a hero during War Bond tours.

If you want the whole story, read The Road to Perdition and The Road to Purgatory before you read The Road to Paradise. I bought all three books but read them in reverse order, beginning with Paradise. They do work as stand-alones, if you pay attention to the back-fill and can keep it straight. I love all three novels so much I’m now attempting to get my hands on everything Max Allan Collins has written.

It’s easy for me to identify with Michael because I once lived in Chicago and Oak Park and Berwyn and Cicero. I received my masters in educational psychology from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, and still live nearby. I was a hotel and resort manager in Chicago and Atlanta and Florida during the seventies, and I personally encountered some of the real-life mob figures featured in these novels.

And, like Michael Senior, I believe in revenge, an eye for an eye. I do not believe in turning the other cheek.

Is the son of the Angel of Death a saint or a sinner? Can even a merciful God forgive him for killing so many?

I highly recommend The Road to Paradise to anyone who loves a good mystery, a great story, or who simply wants to learn more about history. It’s a wonderful tale of revenge, redemption, and family (no pun intended) values.

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Final(?) Chapter of the Michael Satariano Saga

This book, Road to Paradise, is the third and final (at least for the moment) installement of the saga that started with the Road to Perdition and Road to Purgatory. In this book Michael Satariano is a middle-aged entertainment-manager of a casino. He gets caught up by the past and has to enter a witness protection programm.
But, as one might guess, this goes wrong and so he is on the road again seeking revenge.
As always, Max Allan Collins knows, how to entertain the reader first class. He is mixing a good portion of historical fact in his fiction, giving additional "meat" to his story.
Like always a very enjoyable book. Highly recommended.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad...though Anna needed to get toned down a LOT. Also, Collins reeeeeally needed to quit focusing on women's parts. It was a little awkward after the first time.

[Ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible writing! Shockingly bad!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great conclusion to the series of books focusing on Michael O'Sullivan. Highly recommended. I'd love to see a movie sequel of Road to Perdition of this book or Road to Purgatory.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

On we go

[Michael Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAC does it again.

A wonderful finish to . The Perdition series. MAC writes about real family dynamics in this novel. Good story of the Mob during the 70's

[Rancy Breece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lacks the edge of the first book in the series and is contrived.

[Stacy Derebery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I enjoyed series. Several times I felt the emotions of what Michael must have felt. I’ve read this series multiple times. Great Read!

[Ondrej Ko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffers a bit from being the second in a trilogy, but still very good nonetheless

[Chuck Barksdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Max Allan Collins’ writing but I had not read the first two books in this series, in the original graphic novel or newly reissued novel versions. However, I had no difficulty in following along with this book. Collins does an excellent job of quickly giving the history of Michael Sullivan Jr., now Michael Satariano, the manager of a mob casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Michael is living in Nevada with his wife and two children where he’s been for twenty years with minimal contact with his old life. Very few people know he was the son of Michal Sullivan. Now 1973, one of the mob leaders asks him to again be a killer and Michael resists going back into that part of his past. This leads to revenge against Michael, so he needs to leave Nevada behind him to provide safety for his family. He first tries to work with the Federal government but that is not without its own risks that he and his family eventually escapes.

Collins writes another excellent book that makes me want to read the first two books in the series which I now own. I’ll continue to read more of the many other books and series he’s written.

Thanks to Brash Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.