The Return

by Roland Merullo

Part novel of suspense, part family drama, The Return follows six characters originally introduced in Roland Merullo's bestselling novel Revere Beach Boulevard.Kirkus Magazine praised Boulevard in a starred review saying, "although it’s about family, gambling, gangsters, sin, and redemption, Merullo’s smart book resists all the clichés of ethnic melodrama . . . this study in secrets and lies in no way romanticizes either its working-class Italians or the goodfellas who prey upon their addictions. Merullo, with a tip of his hat to Dostoyevsky, probes the psyche of the gambler but avoids any neat explanations for —the animal of addiction. The conflict of loyalties here (church, blood, class) also accounts for much inner turmoil among the primary characters, each drawn with sensitivity and intelligence. If Coppola or Scorsese ever repent for their glamorization of the underworld, this is the perfect novel to bring to the big the ordinary people of Merullo’s realist fiction, no easy saints themselves, testify to the true meaning of familial love."These lives have been sewn together by love, addiction, and deceit.Peter Imbesalacqua is living in Montana in the witness protection program. A former gambling addict, he went deep in debt to a mob figure in his hometown of Revere, Massachusetts, bravely wore a wire at their last meeting, then had to flee. Now he’s happily married, with an adopted son, but he longs for his hometown, and especially misses his aging father.Vito Imbesalacqua, Peter’s dad, lives alone in the family home, visited occasionally by his daughter and illegitimate son, Alfonse, and tormented by the mistakes he’s made and the way they damaged his family.Joanie Imbesalacqua is obsessed with finding the mobster her brother Peter sent into hiding. She believes — correctly, as it turns out — that this evil man will one day return to Revere to seek revenge on her family. Locally famous, secretly gay, Joanie is torn between ambition and family, fury and love.Alfonse Romano is a local police captain, son of Vito, engaged to a woman who fled the Cambodian Holocaust and worried about Joanie, Vito, and Peter. Dutiful, kind, the ultimate straight-arrow, he came of age not knowing the identity of his true father and he and Vito are now rebuilding their relationship.Eddie Crevine was once a mafia captain. When Peter tape-recorded his threats he was forced to leave Revere with his wife, Alicia, and — like Peter — live in hiding under a false name. Vicious, racist, utterly self-centered, Eddie is haunted by what he sees as Peter’s betrayal of the codes of their hometown. Thousands of miles apart, very different men, Peter and Eddie both decide to return to Revere at the same time, drawing all of the characters into a vortex of violence and grace.

Genres: Fiction

362 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

ROLAND MERULLO is an awarding-winning author of 24 books including 17 works of fiction: Breakfast with Buddha, a nominee for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, now in its 20th printing; The Talk-Funny Girl, a 2012 ALEX Award Winner and named a "Must Read" by the Massachusetts Library Association and the Massachusetts Center for the Book; Vatican Waltz named one of the Best Books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly; Lunch with Buddha selected as one of the Best Books of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews; Revere Beach Boulevard named one of the "Top 100 Essential Books of New England" by the Boston Globe; A Little Love Story chosen as one of "Ten Wonderful Romance Novels" by Good Housekeeping, Revere Beach Elegy winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for nonfiction, and Once Night Falls, selected as a "First Read" by Amazon Editors.

A former writer in residence at North Shore Community College and Miami Dade Colleges, and professor of Creative Writing at Bennington, Amherst and Lesley Colleges, Merullo has been a guest speaker at many literary events and venues and a faculty member at MFA programs and several writers’ conferences. His essays have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Outside Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Magazine, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Merullo's books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, German, Chinese, Turkish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Czech.

Reviews

[Will G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in Merullo’s Revere Beach series and in my opinion the best. It brings to a close all of the characters from his first two books, introduces a couple more and delivers a satisfying conclusion. I read these as a favor to a friend (she’s from Revere) who desperately wanted to talk about them and in the end, I’m glad I did. They are worth reading, enjoy.

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book Merullo writes never fails to entertain me, especially his Revere Beach books. As someone who grew up in the town next to Revere, I always found pleasure in reading about places I know, streets I have traveled on, even hearing the authentic words of the people around whom I grew up. This book is a sequel to his novel REVERE BEACH BOULEVARD, but you really don't need to read the first one to get caught up in the drama and the tragedy of this book, which offers a day of reckoning for one Italian-American family caught up in a plot of revenge. Highly recommend.

[Jack Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read - a sequel to "Revere Beach Boulevard." Some of his descriptions have the force to scratch the emotions . . . both happy and sad. We need a new novel from Merullo.

[Tresa Casaletto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping quick read with enjoyable characters.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the author of Breakfast With Buddha, Revere Beach Elegy and many other fine novels and memoirs, Roland Merullo bring his gifts of storytelling and sense of place to this sequel to Revere Beach Boulevard. The story picks up the saga of the Imbesalacqua family of Revere Beach, a once closely knit family torn apart by infidelity, who struggle against the aftermath of addiction and the threat of deadly revenge at the hands of a sadistic criminal.The novel explores the meaning of family and traditional values challenged by the circumstances of real life decisions and how one mistake creates consequences that reverberate through generations.

Merullo has a fine talent for the language and dynamics of Italian-American families who populate this work, and brings realism to every page. There is both suspense and tragedy in this story. Like all good novels that deal with the struggle between good and evil,there are no clear answers or tidy endings. For readers from Massachusetts, you will enjoy the local color and recognize some of the scenes and locales.

A long time Merullo fan, I am always impressed by his ability to bring genuine feeling and a sense of the common man to his work in a way that connects the reader to the characters. I enjoyed this book and think that you will too.

[Maryallyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters in this book were well-delineated. A good thing, since the plot emphasized character over action.

The book consisted primarily of each character's reflections on the past, which shaped current behavior and moved the story forward. Plenty of solitary evenings, car and plane trips, shared meals and joint projects afforded the characters opportunities to flesh out the back stories that culminated in the novel's bizarre and violent ending.

Because there were numerous characters and their points of view on past events constituted the bulk of the story, the author's device of alternating chapters between them became tedious and heavy-handed. The language was fresh, with lots of original metaphors and similes that held my interest.

I entered (and won) a Goodreads giveaway for this book because I really enjoyed "Breakfast with Buddha" and "Lunch with Buddha" by Roland Merullo. In my opinion, this book was minor league compared to those, but still an engaging read.

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Return, Roland Merullo returns to Boston's gritty neighbor, Revere. Six characters from Revere Beach Boulevard return in this novel, a little older and a lot more battle scarred.

Peter Imbesalacqua is in Montana, in the witness protection program - the result of his wearing a wire when he met with Eddie Crevine, a mafia boss, to discuss his gambling debts.

Eddie Crevine had escaped arrest and is living incognito in Florida.

Peter's father, sister and half brother are still living in Revere, each fearing Eddie Crevine and missing Peter.

Peter decides to take a trip to Revere, disguised, in order to see his father one last time. At the same time, Eddie decides to take a little trip to Revere to settle an old score.

On one level, The Return is an action novel, with really bad bad guys, and likable good guys with character flaws. On another level, this is a story about families and in particular, about an Italian American family from Revere, Massachusetts. And like all of Merullo's novel set in Revere, the town itself is almost another character.

[Robin Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read "Revere Beach Boulevard" (and numerous other books by this author) I was eager to read this one and it did not disappoint. The author adds much color to the pages, whether he is describing a location or inserting dialogue between characters. And the pages fly by. This novel contains a Mafia boss (plus his 2 sons - one a straight arrow accountant and the other who follows in his father's footsteps), a television news anchor, a "snitch" who was forced to enter the Witness Protection program (along with his family), a retired carpenter, a captain in the Police Dept. (engaged to a Cambodian woman with a daughter, who takes a shine to the carpenter and shows enthusiasm for learning his trade), a priest and a few others. The ending is something we're prepared for (and the writer includes just about all of the main characters in this ending) but it included a twist I didn't imagine.

[Joshua Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Roland Merullo writes very well, unique characters, but that leads to the only downfall of the novel. The Return is marketed and reads as a mystery novel, and novels of that genre require heavy attention to plot. This story was more of a character-driven piece that was well written, but not well plotted. If only the author would write a book that doesn't demand so much attention to plot, and more to the characters, I feel Roland could have a masterful novel.

[Ginni · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the right ingredients are here--fully realized characters, description and detail that rings true to life, competent prose--but the pacing is far too slow, and it makes the whole thing drag. It has to be the slowest book about mobsters and crime ever written.

Really, everything else was great. The characters were spot on, it was all very well written, but man, was it hard to keep reading.

(From an ARC.)

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite-Merullo book as I felt it was slow to develop. It still kept me going but unlike many of his other books was in no hurry as it is not a page turner.