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Criminal Code: A Michael Donatello Novel
In the shadows of Philadelphia's criminal underworld, where loyalty is currency, and revenge is law, a stolen masterpiece ignites a deadly chess match with no clean moves.
Fresh from a decade behind bars, Michael Donatello returns to find the Marcuccio crime family teetering on collapse. Their financial lifeline—a priceless painting called The Empress of Time—has vanished from the Château Lumière gallery, leaving a dead curator and a family desperate for answers.
The painting isn't just art. It's oxygen for an organization gasping its last breath.
As Michael hunts for the thieves, he uncovers a labyrinth of deception where everyone plays multiple angles. A calculating handler orchestrates perfect crimes from sterile offices. A master thief eliminates loose ends with surgical precision. An art curator with royal blood harbors secrets worth killing for. Even the case detective walks a razor's edge between duty and corruption.
When the body count rises and old alliances fracture, Michael must decide how deep into darkness he'll descend. Because recovering the painting means more than saving the family business—it means choosing which code he truly lives by.
The criminal code, or something resembling honor.
A taut, unflinching thriller of stolen masterpieces, calculated betrayals, and the thin line between justice and vengeance—where even the winner leaves bloodstained fingerprints behind.
Fresh from a decade behind bars, Michael Donatello returns to find the Marcuccio crime family teetering on collapse. Their financial lifeline—a priceless painting called The Empress of Time—has vanished from the Château Lumière gallery, leaving a dead curator and a family desperate for answers.
The painting isn't just art. It's oxygen for an organization gasping its last breath.
As Michael hunts for the thieves, he uncovers a labyrinth of deception where everyone plays multiple angles. A calculating handler orchestrates perfect crimes from sterile offices. A master thief eliminates loose ends with surgical precision. An art curator with royal blood harbors secrets worth killing for. Even the case detective walks a razor's edge between duty and corruption.
When the body count rises and old alliances fracture, Michael must decide how deep into darkness he'll descend. Because recovering the painting means more than saving the family business—it means choosing which code he truly lives by.
The criminal code, or something resembling honor.
A taut, unflinching thriller of stolen masterpieces, calculated betrayals, and the thin line between justice and vengeance—where even the winner leaves bloodstained fingerprints behind.
375 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2025
5 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 27, 2025
A little something different for my thriller and suspense pals!
Right off the bat, the vibe is super mysterious. I felt like I was watching the crime happen from a security camera. Then after, we start following our MMC.
MMC has just been released early from prison and is still trying to find his footing. However, he is quickly swept back up by the old crime family who immediately has a job for him. MMC is still throwing around if he even wants to stay in the mob family but gets drawn in deeper and deeper.
This book follows the committing of the crime, following the attempt at solving it and the repercussions for those attempting to follow the trail. Along the way, we meet a bunch of crime family characters as well as a variety of outside side characters. The complexity of the job (the crime) and the relationships among all the characters is super interesting and fun to follow. My only qualm was the book felt a bit slow at times. But overall, it was an enjoyable read!
Right off the bat, the vibe is super mysterious. I felt like I was watching the crime happen from a security camera. Then after, we start following our MMC.
MMC has just been released early from prison and is still trying to find his footing. However, he is quickly swept back up by the old crime family who immediately has a job for him. MMC is still throwing around if he even wants to stay in the mob family but gets drawn in deeper and deeper.
This book follows the committing of the crime, following the attempt at solving it and the repercussions for those attempting to follow the trail. Along the way, we meet a bunch of crime family characters as well as a variety of outside side characters. The complexity of the job (the crime) and the relationships among all the characters is super interesting and fun to follow. My only qualm was the book felt a bit slow at times. But overall, it was an enjoyable read!
May 1, 2025
Hard to put down
I don’t know what to expect when I read a book from a new series and an author I'm unfamiliar with. Wow, this was a great adventure. It grabbed me almost right away and dragged me along for the ride. I'll be watching for the next offering from Mike Dickson.
I don’t know what to expect when I read a book from a new series and an author I'm unfamiliar with. Wow, this was a great adventure. It grabbed me almost right away and dragged me along for the ride. I'll be watching for the next offering from Mike Dickson.
June 1, 2025
This is one of those reads where you have to do a double take to check it is in fact a debut novel, from the opening pages I was intrigued and hooked. A razor sharp crime novel
A fascinating and highly accomplished crime novel set against the backdrop of the Mafia, however, this is not your standard mob thriller, it’s a far more nuanced look inside a crime family.
The plotting is intricate in that what seems a simple art robbery is anything but, it is the reasons behind why, and what the stolen painting means to the Marcuccio family which lie at the heart of the book.
The author has created standout characters, they jump out at you on the page, Michael Donatello is interesting in that he has just served ten years, a sentence he willinginly undertook as a price for his silence then you have Briscoe as a policeman determined to seek justice, but there is a twist in that he also knows you have to play a game to sometimes achieve results, but with the added twist that there is a line he will not cross, it’s the interplay between the two and respect that make their relationship different and standout to the norm in crime fiction, giving the book a different dynamic. You get a glimpse into their backstory where you can see how easily their roles could have been reversed, though I feel there is more to be explored
Deliciously dark, unflinching and uncompromising, this is a gripping and highly engaging read, the author takes you to the heart of the matter, the dialogue is on point, the book has that wholly realistic feel
At times you have a game of cat and mouse, your’e never quite sure who is watching who, equally justice has to be served and be seen to be served, there is a fine line between right and wrong for Michael this will mean searching his conscience, possibly taking him down a road from which there is no turning back, this is where the author injects heartfelt emotion into the story
Wonderfully paced it all builds up tensions and suspense until it’s dramatic ending, one which satisfies but has an unusual slant to the outcome
You sense on a high level as you read the book that the author is familiar the world in which his characters inhabit, clearly he has researched his subject matter, for me that matters it portrays a sense of accuracy
Overall a thrilling and captivating read which does not disappoint and one which I would recommend, I will be eagerly looking out for the next book
A fascinating and highly accomplished crime novel set against the backdrop of the Mafia, however, this is not your standard mob thriller, it’s a far more nuanced look inside a crime family.
The plotting is intricate in that what seems a simple art robbery is anything but, it is the reasons behind why, and what the stolen painting means to the Marcuccio family which lie at the heart of the book.
The author has created standout characters, they jump out at you on the page, Michael Donatello is interesting in that he has just served ten years, a sentence he willinginly undertook as a price for his silence then you have Briscoe as a policeman determined to seek justice, but there is a twist in that he also knows you have to play a game to sometimes achieve results, but with the added twist that there is a line he will not cross, it’s the interplay between the two and respect that make their relationship different and standout to the norm in crime fiction, giving the book a different dynamic. You get a glimpse into their backstory where you can see how easily their roles could have been reversed, though I feel there is more to be explored
Deliciously dark, unflinching and uncompromising, this is a gripping and highly engaging read, the author takes you to the heart of the matter, the dialogue is on point, the book has that wholly realistic feel
At times you have a game of cat and mouse, your’e never quite sure who is watching who, equally justice has to be served and be seen to be served, there is a fine line between right and wrong for Michael this will mean searching his conscience, possibly taking him down a road from which there is no turning back, this is where the author injects heartfelt emotion into the story
Wonderfully paced it all builds up tensions and suspense until it’s dramatic ending, one which satisfies but has an unusual slant to the outcome
You sense on a high level as you read the book that the author is familiar the world in which his characters inhabit, clearly he has researched his subject matter, for me that matters it portrays a sense of accuracy
Overall a thrilling and captivating read which does not disappoint and one which I would recommend, I will be eagerly looking out for the next book
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews