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Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is a dark, delightfully comedic noir thriller jam-packed with mob villains of old and starring a kick-ass, 50's styled-heroine.
Greed drives the stakes higher and higher in this finely crafted modern day noir fiction starring Jessica a sassy, vintage loving fashionista who works as a janitor by night and dreams big by day. When she becomes a powerful mobster's mistress, Jessica finds herself thrust into a world that's as dangerous as it is glamorous. Don't mess with mob boss antagonist, gangster Enzo Esposito, whose love for the murder photographer, Weegee, finds its way into his business dealings.
Greed drives the stakes higher and higher in this finely crafted modern day noir fiction starring Jessica a sassy, vintage loving fashionista who works as a janitor by night and dreams big by day. When she becomes a powerful mobster's mistress, Jessica finds herself thrust into a world that's as dangerous as it is glamorous. Don't mess with mob boss antagonist, gangster Enzo Esposito, whose love for the murder photographer, Weegee, finds its way into his business dealings.
- GenresThriller
234 pages, Paperback
Published August 25, 2025
5 people want to read
About the author
Lisa de Nikolits
24 books390 followersLisa de Nikolits is the author of twelve traditionally published novels. That Time I Killed You is forthcoming in 2026 (Level Best Books).
12. “In her new book MAD DOG AND THE SEA DRAGON, Lisa de Nikolits lends her literary talents to noir, bringing wiseguy mobsters to the new millennium. She brings wiseguy mobsters to the new millennium. She's mastered spec-fic, thrillers, sci-fi, drama, and more; and now, with MAD DOG AND THE SEA DRAGON, Lisa de Nikolits turns to noir!” – AllLitUp.ca
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is noir thriller. Christopher Moore comes to mind, or Carl Hiaasen with a dash of Quentin Tarantino, all bundled up in a 50's-styled gangster novel set in modern day times.
The dropdead-gorgeous protagonist, Jessica, dresses like a Hollywood movie star but she's razor sharp. She likes to hang out with Daisy, her leafy sea dragon pal while she waits for her mob boss lover, Enzo Esposito, take her out on the town. Enzo's a big fan of Weegee, the 1940's true crime photographer, and what Jessica discovers, will shock her and put her life in danger. She'll need all her wits about her to get out alive.
11. Everything You Dream is Real: "In this darkly funny, politically charged follow up, de Nikolits, always a fearless writer, taking no prisoners. Whether you've read The Rage Room or not, Everything You Dream is Real is a searing, accessible fable for our collective fears and weaknesses, as fun as it is thought-provoking."
10. The Rage Room: “In her latest captivating book, Lisa de Nikolits proffers not only a roller coaster of entertainment, but also, sharp political commentary in complicated times. The Rage Room is an intricately woven dystopian world, rich in strong female characters who easily whisk readers to a world of futuristic follies. Move over George Orwell—De Nikolits shows us how the future can be scary, exciting, and above all, female.”
—Kelly S. Thompson, national bestselling author of Girls Need Not Apply: Field Notes from the Forces
“Wow, what a ride! Lisa de Nikolits has written a pulse-pounding thriller set in a troubled future that might just be ours. We see the seeds of The Rage Room in our own digital landscape. Mind-bending yet all too believable in the hands of a masterful storyteller.”
—Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
9. The Occult Persuasion and The Anarchist's Solution: "Lisa de Nikolits sets readers on a rollercoaster ride of clever twists and unexpected turns. The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist’s Solution is a lot of fun and filled with some believable, yet zany characters. It bounces between the viewpoints of Lyndon and Margaux, a retired couple whose marriage speeds steadily downhill after Lyndon decides to call it quits and runs off. It’s the ultimate story of marriage meltdown told in a style all Lisa’s own, and this one should be on everybody’s must-read list." –Dietrich Kalteis, author of Zero Avenue
8. Rotten Peaches, "Wow. Just wow. Lisa de Nikolits’ Rotten Peaches blew me away. A dark, compulsive, and addictive story in which the characters’ secrets and needs conflict with each other and fold back in on themselves in an ever-tightening noose, Rotten Peaches will keep readers gripped until the very last page. Highly recommended!" —Karen Dionne, internationally bestselling author of The Marsh King’s Daughter
7. No Fury Like That, a murder mystery with excellent reviews by Metroland Media and high profile international crime writers. No Fury Like That will be published in Italian, under the title Una furia dell'altro mondo, in 2019.
6. The Nearly Girl was released to rave reviews by magazines, literary journals and readers.
5. Between The Cracks She Fell was released in August of 2015 and received excellent reviews in magazines as well as literary journals. It won the Bronze IPPY Award for Popular Fiction.
4. The Witchdoctor’s Bones launched in Spring 2014 to acclaim from Canadian Living magazine and many
12. “In her new book MAD DOG AND THE SEA DRAGON, Lisa de Nikolits lends her literary talents to noir, bringing wiseguy mobsters to the new millennium. She brings wiseguy mobsters to the new millennium. She's mastered spec-fic, thrillers, sci-fi, drama, and more; and now, with MAD DOG AND THE SEA DRAGON, Lisa de Nikolits turns to noir!” – AllLitUp.ca
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is noir thriller. Christopher Moore comes to mind, or Carl Hiaasen with a dash of Quentin Tarantino, all bundled up in a 50's-styled gangster novel set in modern day times.
The dropdead-gorgeous protagonist, Jessica, dresses like a Hollywood movie star but she's razor sharp. She likes to hang out with Daisy, her leafy sea dragon pal while she waits for her mob boss lover, Enzo Esposito, take her out on the town. Enzo's a big fan of Weegee, the 1940's true crime photographer, and what Jessica discovers, will shock her and put her life in danger. She'll need all her wits about her to get out alive.
11. Everything You Dream is Real: "In this darkly funny, politically charged follow up, de Nikolits, always a fearless writer, taking no prisoners. Whether you've read The Rage Room or not, Everything You Dream is Real is a searing, accessible fable for our collective fears and weaknesses, as fun as it is thought-provoking."
10. The Rage Room: “In her latest captivating book, Lisa de Nikolits proffers not only a roller coaster of entertainment, but also, sharp political commentary in complicated times. The Rage Room is an intricately woven dystopian world, rich in strong female characters who easily whisk readers to a world of futuristic follies. Move over George Orwell—De Nikolits shows us how the future can be scary, exciting, and above all, female.”
—Kelly S. Thompson, national bestselling author of Girls Need Not Apply: Field Notes from the Forces
“Wow, what a ride! Lisa de Nikolits has written a pulse-pounding thriller set in a troubled future that might just be ours. We see the seeds of The Rage Room in our own digital landscape. Mind-bending yet all too believable in the hands of a masterful storyteller.”
—Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
9. The Occult Persuasion and The Anarchist's Solution: "Lisa de Nikolits sets readers on a rollercoaster ride of clever twists and unexpected turns. The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist’s Solution is a lot of fun and filled with some believable, yet zany characters. It bounces between the viewpoints of Lyndon and Margaux, a retired couple whose marriage speeds steadily downhill after Lyndon decides to call it quits and runs off. It’s the ultimate story of marriage meltdown told in a style all Lisa’s own, and this one should be on everybody’s must-read list." –Dietrich Kalteis, author of Zero Avenue
8. Rotten Peaches, "Wow. Just wow. Lisa de Nikolits’ Rotten Peaches blew me away. A dark, compulsive, and addictive story in which the characters’ secrets and needs conflict with each other and fold back in on themselves in an ever-tightening noose, Rotten Peaches will keep readers gripped until the very last page. Highly recommended!" —Karen Dionne, internationally bestselling author of The Marsh King’s Daughter
7. No Fury Like That, a murder mystery with excellent reviews by Metroland Media and high profile international crime writers. No Fury Like That will be published in Italian, under the title Una furia dell'altro mondo, in 2019.
6. The Nearly Girl was released to rave reviews by magazines, literary journals and readers.
5. Between The Cracks She Fell was released in August of 2015 and received excellent reviews in magazines as well as literary journals. It won the Bronze IPPY Award for Popular Fiction.
4. The Witchdoctor’s Bones launched in Spring 2014 to acclaim from Canadian Living magazine and many
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 21, 2025
I don't normally read this type of book, but I'm glad I made an exception for Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon. This noir thriller is told by Jessica Wren, a gorgeous and vain woman raised by her older sister Glennis after their parents' murder-suicide.
Jessica falls in with Enzo, a mobster with a domineering mother. She's the latest in his series of mistresses, pampered but confined by his rules.
Over the course of the story, Jessica grows from a naive and dependent girl to a savvy and strong woman. Throw in a bad boy from her past, gun-running, pastries and an exotic fish, and you have a great story.
Thank you to River Street Writing for the advanced reader copy.
Jessica falls in with Enzo, a mobster with a domineering mother. She's the latest in his series of mistresses, pampered but confined by his rules.
Over the course of the story, Jessica grows from a naive and dependent girl to a savvy and strong woman. Throw in a bad boy from her past, gun-running, pastries and an exotic fish, and you have a great story.
Thank you to River Street Writing for the advanced reader copy.
December 4, 2025
From the moment we meet drop-dead gorgeous Jessica Wren in Lisa de Nikolits’s latest noirish tour de force, we are hooked. Jessica is playing a dangerous game: with the help of her moneygrubbing sister, she ensnares the affections of a powerful mafioso. But the life of a gangster’s moll is not an easy one. Among other challenges, she has to cope with her volatile and possessive lover, her flaky former boyfriend, and her unreliable sibling. And always, lurking in the wings, looms the terrifying figure of her lover’s domineering mother. Will Jessica be able to thread her way through the mess — and overcome her own vulnerabilities? You’ll want to keep turning the pages to find out!
November 11, 2025
An incredibly fun and well written romp that follows Jessica’s personal transformation from naïveté to badassery.
Lots of wit, heart and satire to boot.
Reminded me a bit of Christopher Moore’s book “Noir: A Novel.” That’s high praise from me.
Lots of wit, heart and satire to boot.
Reminded me a bit of Christopher Moore’s book “Noir: A Novel.” That’s high praise from me.
August 31, 2025
Definitely one of Lisa's best, if not *the* best of her novels. Noir-ish, but not too dark. Lisa's deft touches with characters and their eccentricities are all here.
October 21, 2025
I received this copy from River Street Reads in exchange for a fair review.
A wild ride featuring dysfunctional siblings and zany scenarios, Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is a modern thriller-adjacent noir.
I will admit that, in general, I don’t really like mob stories most of the time, but this book is really, really good, mainly because the mobster life is in no way glamourized and the story is from an interesting perspective - someone who doesn’t know anything about the business dealings. It’s one of those books where you really aren’t sure what is going on a lot of the time, but in a good way - we follow Jessica as she, on the behest of her sister, seduces and becomes the mistress of the local mob boss’s son. A good chunk of the story is her adapting to this life - it’s not a mystery at all, but the intrigue comes from odd things that Jessica notices around the apartment where she’s essentially sequestered. There’s a weird bunch of characters that you’re not sure mean Jessica harm or not, including her own sister, an ex-boyfriend, and some people from the mob family.
I will admit that in the first third, I was sort of wondering where it was going, but it’s also really interesting at the same time.
The book has a really interesting style. There are some pretty dark and dreadful things that happen in this novel, but, despite that, I was never disturbed by it. There’s this almost veneer of amusement that envelops the book. It’s not funny, but it’s weird and zany, almost farcical but not really.
It also helps that you don’t really like Jessica. She seems like a bit of a doormat for a lot of the book, and is both naive and pretty lazy. Yet, you have a feeling the entire time that she’s hiding something from the reader, so you wonder whether there is more to her than she seems. And, if not, her decision to trade away her independence for the potential windfall of being a mobster’s mistress is an interesting route for a character to take.
The other characters are just as weird as she is, making them a really wild bunch.
Aside from a mildly meandering first third, I can’t really provide much critique on this book. It moves at a great clip and is an addictive read. I really enjoyed it.
A wild ride featuring dysfunctional siblings and zany scenarios, Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is a modern thriller-adjacent noir.
I will admit that, in general, I don’t really like mob stories most of the time, but this book is really, really good, mainly because the mobster life is in no way glamourized and the story is from an interesting perspective - someone who doesn’t know anything about the business dealings. It’s one of those books where you really aren’t sure what is going on a lot of the time, but in a good way - we follow Jessica as she, on the behest of her sister, seduces and becomes the mistress of the local mob boss’s son. A good chunk of the story is her adapting to this life - it’s not a mystery at all, but the intrigue comes from odd things that Jessica notices around the apartment where she’s essentially sequestered. There’s a weird bunch of characters that you’re not sure mean Jessica harm or not, including her own sister, an ex-boyfriend, and some people from the mob family.
I will admit that in the first third, I was sort of wondering where it was going, but it’s also really interesting at the same time.
The book has a really interesting style. There are some pretty dark and dreadful things that happen in this novel, but, despite that, I was never disturbed by it. There’s this almost veneer of amusement that envelops the book. It’s not funny, but it’s weird and zany, almost farcical but not really.
It also helps that you don’t really like Jessica. She seems like a bit of a doormat for a lot of the book, and is both naive and pretty lazy. Yet, you have a feeling the entire time that she’s hiding something from the reader, so you wonder whether there is more to her than she seems. And, if not, her decision to trade away her independence for the potential windfall of being a mobster’s mistress is an interesting route for a character to take.
The other characters are just as weird as she is, making them a really wild bunch.
Aside from a mildly meandering first third, I can’t really provide much critique on this book. It moves at a great clip and is an addictive read. I really enjoyed it.
December 8, 2025
Mad Dog, or rather Enzo, was raised to lead one of Ontario's multi-generational criminal gangs. Our narrator Jessica is his moll, latest in a long line of sweet but not swift cuties, who does as she's told and asks no questions. It's a precarious life, given that his previous molls all vanished when he got tired of them, and few know that better than Jessica's big sister, a respectable-looking accountant in Enzo's crime family, who is determined to make bank on Jessica's big eyes and bigger curves.
Jessica can cope with life under Enzo's strict rules; she's been under her sister's orders ever since she was old enough to sit still and listen. Her only escape was reading, living in her fantasies. At first, life with Enzo seems like all her fantasies have come true: unlimited funds for vintage clothing, gifts of jewelry, an extravagant apartment, even a chef who sends her meals tailored to her taste three times a day. And the sea dragon, Enzo's first gift to her: a frilly seahorse that lives in its own columnar aquarium.
Gradually Jessica comes to understand how precarious her position really is, how dangerous her boyfriend and his family are, and starts to think that maybe her sister is right: she needs to build up an escape fund big enough to get her far far away before Enzo makes her disappear the way her predecessors did. But when Enzo's scary mother comes to visit her, that's when things really get crazy.
The writing is crisp and the pace dances along like a conga line: prim matrons and drunken revelers bobbing and flailing in several directions at once. There’s always something happening or just happened, and even though Jessica almost never sees anyone except her sister and Enzo, ever more of the world outside becomes ever clearer to her and to the reader. It's all set up for a big, zany, gangland finish, and yes, there's a twist at the end that I didn't see coming even a few pages before.
Jessica can cope with life under Enzo's strict rules; she's been under her sister's orders ever since she was old enough to sit still and listen. Her only escape was reading, living in her fantasies. At first, life with Enzo seems like all her fantasies have come true: unlimited funds for vintage clothing, gifts of jewelry, an extravagant apartment, even a chef who sends her meals tailored to her taste three times a day. And the sea dragon, Enzo's first gift to her: a frilly seahorse that lives in its own columnar aquarium.
Gradually Jessica comes to understand how precarious her position really is, how dangerous her boyfriend and his family are, and starts to think that maybe her sister is right: she needs to build up an escape fund big enough to get her far far away before Enzo makes her disappear the way her predecessors did. But when Enzo's scary mother comes to visit her, that's when things really get crazy.
The writing is crisp and the pace dances along like a conga line: prim matrons and drunken revelers bobbing and flailing in several directions at once. There’s always something happening or just happened, and even though Jessica almost never sees anyone except her sister and Enzo, ever more of the world outside becomes ever clearer to her and to the reader. It's all set up for a big, zany, gangland finish, and yes, there's a twist at the end that I didn't see coming even a few pages before.
December 6, 2025
In a world where “you dance with the devil, you pay the price,” Jessica Wren learns from a young age, the devil is never the scary stranger, but someone more familiar. Jessica, and her sister Glennis, dream their entire lives of being more, of moving up in the world, of having it all, but when the chicken comes home to roost-or the Mad Dragon’s mother- the revelations aren’t surprising to everyone —well except the reader of course.
Lisa de Nikolits masterfully unfolds a noirish, mobster-style, mystery with her usual fun frolicking dialogue and spot on characterization. Jessica is a self-dressed (after finding a trunk full of old clothes in the foster) damsel in distress, who appears to get herself in way over her head. Her sister Glennis is a “potato faced” misery guts who manipulates Jessica into believing she is nothing without her. The two get themselves into a heap of trouble that is as enjoyable to witness as any noir film of the last century.
With a perfectly cast set of characters, de Nikolits delivers a high stakes rollicking novel that is easy to read but won’t be easily forgotten. I particularly love Daisy, the sea dragon one of many little details in this novel that are more important than they appear at first.
Lisa de Nikolits masterfully unfolds a noirish, mobster-style, mystery with her usual fun frolicking dialogue and spot on characterization. Jessica is a self-dressed (after finding a trunk full of old clothes in the foster) damsel in distress, who appears to get herself in way over her head. Her sister Glennis is a “potato faced” misery guts who manipulates Jessica into believing she is nothing without her. The two get themselves into a heap of trouble that is as enjoyable to witness as any noir film of the last century.
With a perfectly cast set of characters, de Nikolits delivers a high stakes rollicking novel that is easy to read but won’t be easily forgotten. I particularly love Daisy, the sea dragon one of many little details in this novel that are more important than they appear at first.
June 19, 2025
Lisa de Nikolits has done it again! Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon is finely crafted modern day noir fiction starring Jessica Wren: a sassy, vintage loving fashionista who works as a janitor by night and dreams big dreams by day. When she becomes a powerful mobster’s mistress, Jessica finds herself thrust into a world that’s as dangerous as it is glamorous.
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon has all of the thrills of your favorite gangster movie (including a tough, gun toting mama to rival Cagney’s mother in White Heat) but with a feminist twist. Tired of being a bird in a gilded cage, Jessica blows the cage wide open in this exciting tale of reinvention and one woman’s quest for independence. The reader will cheer Jessica on every step of the way!
Thank you to the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon has all of the thrills of your favorite gangster movie (including a tough, gun toting mama to rival Cagney’s mother in White Heat) but with a feminist twist. Tired of being a bird in a gilded cage, Jessica blows the cage wide open in this exciting tale of reinvention and one woman’s quest for independence. The reader will cheer Jessica on every step of the way!
Thank you to the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews