Shakedown

by Charlie Stella

"Stella is a winner, a true artist."-Ken Bruen "Stella is a kind of obscene Ring Lardner, finding a lean, rancid poetry in his characters' vernacular, and rendering it with flawless precision and humor."- The Washington Post Book World "Deft plotting, acerbic humor, and a knack for street talk will delight fans of Donald Westlake and Elmore Leonard."- Booklist (starred review) "Stella earns a place among the most readable writers in crime fiction."- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Fans of the leaner, meaner novels of Elmore Leonard have a great reading waiting in Shakedown. "- Publishers Weekly "Combine equal parts Mario Puzo and Elmore Leonard . . . and who do you get? Charlie Stella, that's who. His compelling and authentic portrayal of the urban netherworld places his crime thrillers among the best in the genre, past or preset."- The San Diego Union-Tribune For three months now, ex-bookmaker Bobby G has been heading down the straight and narrow. He's got the girl and he's bought the ring. He's also stashed away a tidy, slightly tainted retirement fund. Then his old boss, a captain with the Vignieri crime family, flips and rats on his Mafia associates. And Bobby's past begins catching up with him. Soon the wise guys' shakedown is escalating into warfare in the heart of Little Italy. Bobby G has got trouble. Charlie Stella 's first book drew favorable comparison with such masters of the crime novel as Mario Puzo and Elmore Leonard. Shakedown is his fifth novel. Stella and his wife Ann Marie live in Brooklyn.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Carmelo Stella is an author long familiar with the street life of New York City, which figures substantially in his writing. His work includes plays, performed off-off-Broadway, his debut novel called Eddie's World and Jimmy Bench-press, also published by Hale. He lives in New Jersey.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Stella is near the top of the list when it comes to writing colorful characters with great dialogue; as good as Elmore Leonard as you can get. Shakedown is another top notch ride through mafia land, this time featuring a recently released (and reformed?) bookkeeper who is the victim of a shakedown courtesy of the new brass. The book is fast paced and loaded with great moments and memorable characters.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding fictional crime story of mobsters, gamblers and lawmen. Excellent character development and well plotted story. Really feels like an episode of the Sopranos or Goodfellows.

[James Clifford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shakedown is the fifth crime thriller written by talented author Charlie Stella. All of his novels are set in New York City and involve the mafia, criminals, bad cops, corrupt politicians and the occasional, “good guy who has serious flaws”. Mr. Stella was born and has lived all of his life in New York and his descriptions and settings of the city reflect his upbringing. In fact, I’d be afraid to give him a bad review because his books are so realistic detailing the lives of the gritty, violent mobsters and other thugs that I wonder exactly who he hangs around with in his spare time. Ex-bookmaker Bobby G is trying to clean up his life only he has one big problem, his ex-employers won’t let him go away so easily. Bobby G thought he could quietly slip away to a more normal life after he had siphoned off enough money from the gambling operations to fund his retirement but that all ends when he is paid a visit by his old boss, a captain in the Vignieri crime family. His ex-employers can’t prove he stole money from them but when did mobsters ever need proof of anything? Rather than kill him they want money, lots of it and their demands escalate until a full blown war is started in Little Italy as wiseguys, police detectives and Bobby G all hustle, steal, cut deals and double-cross each other to make sure they all get what they think they are entitled too, which, of course, is money. What was so unusual about this book, considering it was about the mafia, was how funny the dialogue was especially among the mobsters. I actually burst out laughing a couple different times over the antics and verbal sparing among the wiseguys. The humor was a pleasant surprise but the novel left me a little disappointed because it was too predictable. I felt I knew who, what and how about who was going to get whacked and the ending to the book just all of a sudden happened with short paragraphs explaining what happened to the main characters later. It was almost like Stella had passed his publishers deadline and ended the story rather than to ask for more time to complete the book. Despite the predictability and sudden non-ending, Shakedown is still an enjoyable “rainy day” read and I would recommend it especially to anyone who likes the Sopranos or has watched The Godfather more than three times. However, I would advise new Stella readers to check out some of his earlier books first—Eddie’s World, Jimmy Bench-Press, Charlie Opera.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written as true gritty NY crime thrillers used to be written ...great dialogue, characters you feel you may well have met sometime somewhere and just don't wanna admit to ! Pacy, racy and a great feel for Little Italy along with the great City itself ...hooked me from start to finish ! Now downloading the rest of Mr Stella's body of work ....

[Rory Costello · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Stella's "Cheapskates" because I thought the plot snowballed and got too helter-skelter in roughly the last third or so of the book. The dialogue (a Stella trademark) is really snappy, and it's often quite funny, especially with Tommy Agro's malaprops.

I'll be reading at least another one or two from Charlie Stella, probably from his earlier stuff.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good read!!

[Brandon Nagel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best dialog in the business. Mafia, IRA, Dirty Cops....What's not to love! Highly recommended for all Stella fans.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Heir apparent to FRIENDS OF EDDIE DOYLE. Best "wise guys" writer working today."