What do you think?
Rate this book
Gina Gallo #5
The Bootlegger's Goddaughter
As Gina gets ready for her Christmas wedding, all is quiet in Steeltown. Then she's robbed, cousin Jimmy has a heart attack, and someone in the city has hijacked a transport truck full of booze. But who? And why? Gina knows bootlegging used to be a family business, but they stopped that in the '30s. Didn't they?
Gina and Nico work feverishly to keep the latest bungled family matter under wraps, but the police are closing in. And, once again, everything points to the Holy Cannoli Retirement Home.
The Bootlegger's Goddaughter is the fifth book in the Gina Gallo Mystery series.
Gina and Nico work feverishly to keep the latest bungled family matter under wraps, but the police are closing in. And, once again, everything points to the Holy Cannoli Retirement Home.
The Bootlegger's Goddaughter is the fifth book in the Gina Gallo Mystery series.
- GenresYoung AdultMysteryHumor
128 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2017
4 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Melodie Campbell
46 books106 followers"the Canadian literary heir to Donald Westlake"
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
NEWS: THE GODDAUGHTER DOES VEGAS is on the Ontario Library Association 2020 Forest of Reading GREAT STORIES list!
THE B-TEAM has been shortlisted for the 2019 Arthur Ellis Award for Excellence in Crime Writing! Melodie Campbell is a double finalist this year, with A SHIP CALLED PANDORA (Mystery Weekly Magazine) being a finalist in the short story category.
THE GODDAUGHTER'S REVENGE has won the DERRINGER AWARD and the ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD for Crime Writing!
The Toronto Sun called her Canada's "Queen of Comedy." Library Journal compared her to Janet Evanovich.
Melodie got her start writing comedy so it's no surprise that reviewers and editors have called her fiction "hilarious" and "laugh-out-loud funny". She has over 200 publications, including 40 short stories, 15 novels, and has won 10 awards for fiction.
"The Goddaughter" a comic mob caper, has been called "Just right for Janet Evanovich fans...impossible not to laugh" by Library Journal.
"The Goddaughter's Revenge" from Orca books, was dubbed 'Real Gold' by the Hamilton Spectator. It won the Derringer Award in the States, and the Arthur Ellis Award in Canada.
Book 5 in the series, "The Bootlegger's Goddaughter" was a finalist for the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak Award. Book 6 in the series, "The Goddaughter Does Vegas" is now available.
Top 100 Bestseller "Rowena Through the Wall," was the first novel in the Land's End comic time travel fantasy series. The entire Land's End trilogy is a Top 50 Amazon Bestseller (all books).
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
NEWS: THE GODDAUGHTER DOES VEGAS is on the Ontario Library Association 2020 Forest of Reading GREAT STORIES list!
THE B-TEAM has been shortlisted for the 2019 Arthur Ellis Award for Excellence in Crime Writing! Melodie Campbell is a double finalist this year, with A SHIP CALLED PANDORA (Mystery Weekly Magazine) being a finalist in the short story category.
THE GODDAUGHTER'S REVENGE has won the DERRINGER AWARD and the ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD for Crime Writing!
The Toronto Sun called her Canada's "Queen of Comedy." Library Journal compared her to Janet Evanovich.
Melodie got her start writing comedy so it's no surprise that reviewers and editors have called her fiction "hilarious" and "laugh-out-loud funny". She has over 200 publications, including 40 short stories, 15 novels, and has won 10 awards for fiction.
"The Goddaughter" a comic mob caper, has been called "Just right for Janet Evanovich fans...impossible not to laugh" by Library Journal.
"The Goddaughter's Revenge" from Orca books, was dubbed 'Real Gold' by the Hamilton Spectator. It won the Derringer Award in the States, and the Arthur Ellis Award in Canada.
Book 5 in the series, "The Bootlegger's Goddaughter" was a finalist for the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak Award. Book 6 in the series, "The Goddaughter Does Vegas" is now available.
Top 100 Bestseller "Rowena Through the Wall," was the first novel in the Land's End comic time travel fantasy series. The entire Land's End trilogy is a Top 50 Amazon Bestseller (all books).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 22, 2017
This was the most hilarious hour I’ve spent with a book all year! I’ll think of it whenever I see a crow. Or any wedding decorations. And I’ll never look at a senior in a track suit without wondering….
Gina Gallo just wants to get married without any hitches. Well, and stay out of the Family’s business. It’s not enough that an East Coast ice storm might strand the wedding travelers, including her mother. Her purse gets snatched, her most incompetently crooked cousins get in over their heads, and things only goes downhill from there.
Author Melodie Campbell deftly handles the chaos with her trademark wry humour and speedy character sketches of as kooky a collection of mobsters as ever tried to bootleg booze.
March 25, 2017
For sheer wackiness, character portrayals and laughter galore, you can't go wrong with Melodie Campbell's Gina Gallo mysteries! Rapid Reads give you a complete story in a novella, the perfect combo for Gina Gallo's exploits trying to escape her family "business" whatever it may be. No matter how hard she tries, she is always drawn in. But what do crows have to do with anything? Well, obviously everything, because as so-called harbingers of bad luck they are outdoing themselves in this latest book. Not to mention everything is screwing up her upcoming wedding. From being robbed to her wedding venue blowing up, and being shot at, she is not having a good day. Such is the life of a Sicilian goddaughter who is a don't-wannabe. Her continued efforts to stay out of the family businesses are hilarious and makes for a great series in a quick but full-fledged read. I love Gina Gallo's exploits.
May 23, 2017
Book 5 in this Rapid Reads series
Gina's family definitely has some underhanded dealings going on and while Gina tries to stay clear of them, she often becomes entangled in them anyway. In this case, she is preparing for her wedding, plus trying to get some Christmas shopping done when she is mugged. In addition, her cousin has a heart attack while making a delivery, and then a truck full of illegal alcohol gets stolen.
Due to age of characters, this is more likely to appeal to high school and up. I think it would also help to have read the other books in the series, at least for struggling readers. However, there was enough information there to hold everything together.
Gina's family definitely has some underhanded dealings going on and while Gina tries to stay clear of them, she often becomes entangled in them anyway. In this case, she is preparing for her wedding, plus trying to get some Christmas shopping done when she is mugged. In addition, her cousin has a heart attack while making a delivery, and then a truck full of illegal alcohol gets stolen.
Due to age of characters, this is more likely to appeal to high school and up. I think it would also help to have read the other books in the series, at least for struggling readers. However, there was enough information there to hold everything together.
May 27, 2017
The goddaughter is back and so is her coterie of quirky relatives. With her wedding mere days away, Gina Gallo is more determined than ever to see-no-evil, hear-no-evil and definitely do-no-evil when it comes to the family mob business. But the best intentions go very wrong when bullets start flying. Throw in an approaching storm, a bit of truck thievery, a pair of bumbling bootleggers and even the best laid wedding plans might not survive.
In this novella, part of Orca’s Rapid Reads series, author Melodie Campbell rolls her trademark humour, witty description, and affection for the city of Hamilton into a wonderful couple hours of reading fun.
In this novella, part of Orca’s Rapid Reads series, author Melodie Campbell rolls her trademark humour, witty description, and affection for the city of Hamilton into a wonderful couple hours of reading fun.
February 26, 2017
I really don’t like short books. There, that’s over with. I loved Melodie Canpbell’s new Goddaughter novelette The Bootlegger’s Goddaughter but I needed another 200 or so pages. I only wish I’d known about the other novels first but when you win a book for review you go with what you’ve got.
I laughed myself silly with her characters. Gina is wonderful but the rest of the cast is even better. Mad Magda and her sweetie Jimmy. Zia Sophia in Sicily…they are all there to entertain and they do it well.
Off to find the rest of this madcap series.
I laughed myself silly with her characters. Gina is wonderful but the rest of the cast is even better. Mad Magda and her sweetie Jimmy. Zia Sophia in Sicily…they are all there to entertain and they do it well.
Off to find the rest of this madcap series.
January 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this little book. Gina is getting ready for her wedding, which is coming up really soon. She is a good person who runs a jewelry store. She is also part of a mob family. This means that she gets wrapped up in their activities no matter how much she doesn't want to, including bootlegging? She knows that there used to be bootlegging activity in her family's past, but that was in the past...right? This is a book full of a comedy of errors. Will these things interfere with her wedding? A cute story.
December 22, 2023
Book 5 in the series and my favourite so far as I missed this family, the antics, and this had more action than previous books. Gina is simply trying to get to her wedding but things go off track when she's mugged while on her cell phone in downtown Hamilton. She's in high heels, but takes off running after the young thug to get her stuff back. Craziness continues, escalating with a high speed chase on the highway and involving some stranded seniors with stolen goods. These books are a quick read, full of colourful characters, and fun.
September 10, 2019
This book was nothing like I expected....a story of the backwoods and bootlegging. This story was about a mafia and their delightful goddaughter, Gina. Lots of capers and cuteness. Very easy to read with large print and few pages. I think The Bootlegger's Daughter Revenge won some awards. Will have to check it out.
July 17, 2017
Great light read. I would have given it five stars if it had been longer - but it's a "rapid reads" book, so there are limits. Whiled away a couple of hours that otherwise would have been pretty boring. Great characters and a wacky plot. Liked it very much.
June 19, 2025
A fun read about mobsters, omens, and trying to get married when you are part of the "family." Being mugged, shot at, dealing with bootleggers, and counterfeiters are the norm for Gina and her family.
July 17, 2019
I really liked this quick read. Took about an hour and I reserved the rest of the series right after.
July 22, 2019
Cute short story. Would make a nice beach read or a read for a mom who is short on time.
September 3, 2025
I love how zany everything is. But it feels a little bit repetitive to still have Gina think Pete think she’s going straight 😅
February 24, 2017
Poor Gina. All she wants to do is marry Pete but with a family like hers it's not that simple. The Bootleggers's Goddaughter is the fifth book in the Gina Gallo Mystery Series. Just like the other four books in the series, this one is full of laugh out loud chapters.
The characters are well developed and the story is well written. You don't need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one.
When I read this series it reminds me a little of my family. From Zia Sophia seeing a crow to poor Gina not wanting to know what's going on with "the business". I love that the book is only 117 pages long. You can sit in a comfy chair with a cup of tea and enjoy the story in one sitting.
I can't wait for the next book to see what's going to happen.
I won this Library Thing Early Review copy and voluntarily submitted a review.
The characters are well developed and the story is well written. You don't need to read the other books in the series to enjoy this one.
When I read this series it reminds me a little of my family. From Zia Sophia seeing a crow to poor Gina not wanting to know what's going on with "the business". I love that the book is only 117 pages long. You can sit in a comfy chair with a cup of tea and enjoy the story in one sitting.
I can't wait for the next book to see what's going to happen.
I won this Library Thing Early Review copy and voluntarily submitted a review.
January 14, 2017
The Bootlegger’s Goddaughter or The Hammer Humour strikes again, is the best in what can be described as the finest compact mystery series out there. The writing is polished, the funny bits sneak up on you and you’ve been had and then had again before there’s time to recover.
It’s a big challenge to keep the writing fresh in a series: no reliance on formula tweets, strong dialogue with bite and the delivery of experienced stand up comedy, action that doesn’t quit but most of all, story telling that feels like you’re sitting in a small Hammer Italian hang out listening to the latest miss-adventures of Gina and her gang.
Just a teaser of what’s in store: Gina is preparing for her wedding. The groom has been vetted by the family. Gina is robbed, cousin Jimmy has a heart attack and a truck full of bootleg booze is stolen and Gina is shot at while she recovers the load of beverages. The wedding is a blast. Entertainment that delivers.
To sum it up, The Bootlegger’s Goddaughter is a miniature gem, the work of an author at the absolute top of her game. There is so much more to come from the imagination of this talented writer. The Hammer’s been made over by Melodie Campbell.
Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews
It’s a big challenge to keep the writing fresh in a series: no reliance on formula tweets, strong dialogue with bite and the delivery of experienced stand up comedy, action that doesn’t quit but most of all, story telling that feels like you’re sitting in a small Hammer Italian hang out listening to the latest miss-adventures of Gina and her gang.
Just a teaser of what’s in store: Gina is preparing for her wedding. The groom has been vetted by the family. Gina is robbed, cousin Jimmy has a heart attack and a truck full of bootleg booze is stolen and Gina is shot at while she recovers the load of beverages. The wedding is a blast. Entertainment that delivers.
To sum it up, The Bootlegger’s Goddaughter is a miniature gem, the work of an author at the absolute top of her game. There is so much more to come from the imagination of this talented writer. The Hammer’s been made over by Melodie Campbell.
Don Graves, Canadian Mystery Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews