Lowdown

by Anthony Schneider

All it takes is one mistake. For Jimmy Paccini, savvy and cool-headed, it was joining the Brooklyn mob, the easy way out of a nowhere life that for arranging the execution of the head of a rival crime family rewarded him with a quarter-century of hard time. For Milena Cossutta, sexy and smart, it was selling out her dreams to marry a handsome but hot-headed made man, Vinnie DeNunzio, which left her on the run from the feds in Sicily, a stranger in a strange land. And sometimes the mistake is crazy, forbidden love like the one between Jimmy and Milena. Or could it be their salvation? Spanning three decades and two continents, soaked in passion, blood and the garish colors of the mean streets, Lowdown is a vivid, gripping romantic thriller that follows a twisting road strewn with sorrow and desire, deceit and ecstasy, shocking violence and intimate tenderness, to arrive at a surprising, bittersweet redemption.

Genres: Romance

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2018

About the author

Anthony Schneider has been published in McSweeneys, Conjunctions, Bold Type, Details, US News & World Report, as well as fiction anthologies and other magazines. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the NYU Creative Writing Program, he was awarded a MacDowell Fellowship and was a Pushcart Prize finalist.

His second novel, LOWDOWN, is published by Permanent Press.

His first novel, REPERCUSSIONS, won an Indies Book of the Year Award.

He divides his time between New York and London.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve all heard the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” For Jimmy Pacinni and Milena Cossutta the grass appeared greener to them. Little did they know that they were looking at fire ant infested crab grass.
In mobbed up Brooklyn, Jimmy was struggling. Intelligent and savvy, Jimmy was leading a dead end life. The mafia seemed to offer opportunities. Jimmy joined.
Milena is a young woman who has dreams and yearns for security. Marriage to Vincent, a mafia prince seemed to meet her needs.
Jimmy and Milena are the two protagonists in Anthony Schneider’s novel Lowdown. Combining a riveting crime drama and a moving love story in one book requires skill and Schneider is up to the task.
We follow Jimmy and Milena as they struggle in the life they have chosen. Love, danger, violence, crime and prison and perhaps fate determine the outcome of their lives.
We come to care about Jimmy and Milena even though they have done things in their lives that are upsetting. Can they find redemption and happiness or is it too late. Schneider will keep you reading to the very last word. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #Lowdown

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first page to the last, Lowdown is a well-crafted, finely-tuned mafia novel. Spanning decades, the novel follows two intersecting narratives. One is the mafia tough guy -Jimmy- who joins the Life and ends up doing a lot of time -25 years to be precise, returning to a world that barely seems like the one he left. The other is the young Italian girl -Milena- who marries a mafia prince, a ruthless streetfighting prince.

There are , of course, many echoes of The Godfather and Goodfellas, even to the extent of some goombah quoting lines from the movies, to the exile to Sicily, and the furious attempts to escape the law when it all begins to fall apart. But, this novel is not another copycat. It captures a time and place and attitude so well.

And, it’s not just about tough guys but also about a star-crossed romance that has few peers in literature.

In a nutshell, this book is an extremely satisfying read. Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lowdown, a romantic thriller set in the world of New York City’s mafia families, has the best first paragraph I’ve read in a long time:

“The first seven years you’re in the can, all you can think about is revenge. The next seven years you crave freedom and things you remember from before. You want to get laid more than you want to get even. After that you’re not so sure. You know you want to be on the other side, but you don’t trust your memories. People have died, gone to prison, disappeared. Places you remember have closed down. Freedom is just a dream, something you imagine often but incompletely. Part of you is scared of it. Prison has become your life. You may hate it, but it’s home. You’re not even sure if you hate it anymore. That’s what twenty-five years in the calendar shop does to you.”

Jimmy, a made man, is finally getting out of prison. He states:

”You are outside the prison gates. You’re fifty-eight years old and a newborn.”

But this is not just Jimmy’s story about reinventing himself after being a stand-up guy for twenty-five years, it also the story of young Milena. Milena is only thirteen when her story begins. She is an Italian teenage girl in the 1970s. Against the background of notorious NYC serial killers and the Vietnam war, her role is to get married and have children. Milena rebels against this stereotype by making poor choices in men and getting involved in crime. Eventually, she marries a made man and they have children. Her husband pulls her into his world with varying results.

Forgive me for quoting so much of the book but the language used is part of the charm of Lowdown. While it has mob killings and rats, it is more a love story of two people in a difficult setting finding each other. I love mafia movies and was expecting something along the lines of The Godfather. This is similar to the life story of Kay Adams-Corleone (Michael’s wife played by Diane Keaton) written after divorcing Michael. It is definitely more of a romance than a mafia book. It is recommended for readers who want an original perspective on mob life. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Permanent Press, and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! It’s a great crime novel and I particularly enjoy the main character, Jimmy. For me this book is all about him, what he has done and what he will do. In his novel, the author put perfectly into place the criminal world of New-York, with the language, the different families, the criminal activities and the reality of it, from what I know, I’m no expert, but it look very real to me while I was reading it. I also like how Jimmy live and react after he was release from prison. The desire of liberty, the little pleasure of life that take a bigger importance, again this look real and was really well describe. The balance between present and past create a good rhythm because at the same time, we want to know what he did to go to prison and also what he will do now that he is out, and because we care for him, then we really want to know and we read faster and faster. Unfortunately it wasn’t perfect… there is two elements that were less interesting for me. First, the romance/love part of it, in the middle of the book, takes a lot of place, a bit too much for my taste. Second, this isn’t the most original story. This kind of world and story has been told many times. This isn’t a strong negative element, because the author was able to bring his own color and style to it so it became a good book, but there is definitely a lack of originality to it. Would I recommend it? Yes! If you love classic crime/mafia story like The Godfather, The Drop by Dennis Lehane and other book like them, this one is worth the time!

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jimmy Piccini has served his time and now the “family” opens its arms to welcome him home. But, after 25 years, Jimmy’s not the only one that’s changed. He may be “free to feel alive,” but will he manage to hold on to freedom?

An oddly quiet novel of Brooklyn mobsters, poverty and hope, Anthony Schneider’s Lowdown brings a curiously recent past to life. It’s a world where dreams and people died to order, murder was part of the job but not the part Jimmy wanted to work on, and finance was found in clever laundering of cash. It’s all very vividly portrayed. But, as Jimmy finds, it’s a world that’s changed. Now all he wants is to keep safe, avoid the guy who betrayed him, and see the sun… and maybe remember the woman he loved.

Freedom from jail, from financial stress, from social assumptions, or from harmful relationships… many types of freedom slip through the pages of this novel, each of them real, and each inviting the reader to see the world through clearer eyes. But there’s also freedom to dream and remember. Will Jimmy’s memories reveal hope or despair? Will Milena’s path lead to survival or death? Will a small child eat ice cream…?

Lowdown is evocative of past and present, as real in its depiction of mobsters as it is in showing the modern-day worries of a modern-day wife, and as vivid in its portrayal of old Brooklyn as in the beauty of Sicily. It’s a story that draws the reader in with convincing dialog, haunting clarity, and enthralling hope. In the end this lowdown, for all its gritty reality, aims for the high notes and finds them. I really enjoyed it.

Disclosure: I was given a preview edition and I offer my honest review.

[Bernard B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite kind of book: original.

It’s engrossing, a book about wiseguys that is tender, a love story and a thriller. A story about a man who tries to become a good person within the violent confines of the crime family he has chosen and sworn allegiance to. It’s also a story about a smart woman who wanted security, only to achieve it and realize she actually wanted more—she wanted love and happiness.

The alternating chapters and layers, mostly Jimmy, imprisoned for 25 years and suddenly free one the streets of Brooklyn, and Milena, smart, beautiful, trapped and, like Jimmy, yearning for more. The lens also moves occasionally to a talkative 6 year old, at first at odds with but eventually friends with the ex-con in the apartment below.

Here’s Jimmy: “You’re fifty-eight years old and a newborn. On a bright summer day that feels like a song, a guard hands you your belongings and you wave to the guy who is there to ferry you home, and you stand there for a minute, outside—a civvy, a free man under a blue sky.”

The young Milena is “a bug-eyed princess aloft in the sunlight above the flow of pedestrians.”

I love that it’s a story as steely-eyed as redemptive, told in prose both gritty and poetic, a novel with a lot to say but it lets he characters and the moving story do the talking — it’s never preachy, never overwritten.

A terrific novel of hope, life, love, in Sicily and Brooklyn, that is both evocative and rewarding.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a well-written book. A quiet story of youth and maturity, impulse and restraint, violence and tenderness, Lowdown will be added to those very few books that I will read again and again.

Anthony Schneider created characters very different from me, yet he lured me into believing them, caring about them, and rooting for their unlikely success. His dialogue is natural and authentic. The story is built slowly and skillfully, layering the bits of knowledge he shares with readers about each character and each pivotal event.

Others have called this book a romantic thriller, but it transcended either genre. Jimmy Paccini, a former Brooklyn mob figure, is released from a 25-year prison sentence as the book opens. Milena, married to another mobster, loved Jimmy when he was a young man. Both Jimmy and Milena have a quiet intelligence and a savvy discretion, and both are capable of violence and criminality.

Taking us both backward and forward in time, the author puts organized crime in a personal context. This is not a gangster book -- this is a story about complex human beings working out how to survive, set amidst the Mafia of the 1980s and onward.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! I am about the same age as Jimmy Piccini, the protagonist, and wow, what memories of living in and around NYC in the 1980's this has brought back. Great writing!
What a well rounded novel - the setting is so realistic, you feel as though you are right there, the story is so compelling, who hasn't wondered what it would be like to serve time in jail, then be released 25 years later back into a world that is at once foreign and familiar? The characters all have depth, especially, Jimmy and Milena, both flawed people, but you root for them anyway. Even the people we don't know personally, just by the other characters interacting with them, makes each one whole and interesting.
From Brooklyn to Sicily, the descriptions of the landscape and social customs of the people were so vivid, I found myself thinking about them often during the day.
I had no idea how this was going to end, and I like that - I hate it when I have already figured out everything by the middle of the book. The flashbacks were very well done, not confusing, very enlightening, and the ending was the best!

[Melanie Cesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic story! A mafia story with romance mixed in. I really enjoyed seeing into the mob world and following Jimmy’s journey. It’s tough, made me feel, and I found it very intriguing and interesting.

We also follow Milena’s story. Her and Jimmy’s meeting, her involvement, their connection, and their lives.

Anthony Schneider gives a story of the reality of the mob world and the families and criminal activities. His writing captivates you and you find yourself caring for these characters. I enjoyed the back and forth of past and present and being able to see in to how everything develops and unfolds. It’s gritty and real.

This suspenseful story of survival, second chances, and hope gripped me from the start.

[Suzette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A love story that spans decades. It survives hardships and stresses that most relationships would not endure. The author makes wonderful use of the first person voice to give the reader insight into what the character is thinking and feeling. The process of skipping between time periods also draws great comparisons to show the effect time has on the perspectives of the characters. Molly was an especially great addition as an unadulterated young viewpoint. The story flows smoothly and easily and leaves the reader in a good place.

[Schuyler Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two main characters created by author Anthony Schneider make his novel, “Lowdown,” shine with originality. Although neither are exactly paragons of virtue, their story is told with a dramatic patina that makes them lustrous and memorable.

Told by two protagonists, Jimmy Piccini and Milena Cossutta, both Brooklyn natives with mob leanings, who find early romance amid tangled mob operations. Jimmy eventually gets time in prison for assisting in a mob hit while Milena settles, in his absence, for a marriage to wealthy Vincent DeNunzii, a high up in the Ruggeiro crime family, who she believes can provide the security she craves in her life. But the two ill-fated lovers never forget each other.

Schneider uses flashbacks to tell his two-pronged story. Jimmy spends a quarter- century behind bars, keeping his mouth shut and earning respect from other mobsters for his loyalty. Milena finds her marriage a prison of its own, under the emotional control of Vinnie who turns vicious in his relationship with her. The author is adept at telling their stories as each life unfolds under totally different circumstances. Jimmy’s life behind bars is the usual mix of subtle threat and violence that, somehow, he manages with a cool-headed style that keeps him safe.
Milena finds herself becoming more involved with criminal activity as a means to neutralize the ineptitude of her booze and drug-swilling husband who sinks ever deeper into despondency that threatens both her and their two children.

So what’s the result here? As you read the book, and you should, these disparate difficulties will merge together with a surprising outcome. You will find yourself becoming more intrigued with Schneider’s work as the book progresses. There is clear writing, good dialogue, and clever characterization. Even the abundance of Italian names never got tedious or cumbersome for me. The atmosphere was realistic, perhaps assisted by the beautiful language adaptations.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Via my book blog at https://cavebookreviews.blogspot.com/

I, like many moviegoers, have seen all the films about mob figures. I'm sure I've seen The Godfather more than twice. I even grew up in an area of New Jersey where those guys, in real life, aspired to be cool 'made' men like Jimmy Paccini. I remember the slicked down hair and the black leather jackets. I only knew them from afar as I came from the other side of town, the side that was not on the border with Newark.

Many years later, my husband and I lived on the Upper East side of Manhattan. The man who ran the parking garage in our building told us we were safe (this was during the dangerous era of the eighties) because the small businesses in the area paid for protection. He pointed out that once a week a guy in a black Cadillac idled on the street while another guy visited all the bars and pizzerias in a two-block area. It made me feel both safe and afraid. The eighties in New York were so different than the city of today.

I enjoyed Anthony Schneider's take on the mob lifestyle. He added Milena Cossutta to the narrative. Milena was beautiful and smart. The novel was suspenseful, but with the extra twist of a love story that lasted many years and added a heart-wrenching element to the violent lifestyles of criminals.

As I have never been to Sicily, I enjoyed the scenic descriptions and a taste of the lifestyle. Milena is a feminist character in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world. She deserved much more than what she got from her husband, Vinnie DeNunzio, and as I read what happened after the many years that separated Milena and Jimmy, I was satisfied in the end. Lowdown is a unique novel in the genre, and I highly recommend it to all readers.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Lee Husemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this classic crime/mafia story centered around the Brooklyn mob with Jimmy Paccini falling in love with Milena Cossutta who happens to be married to Vinnie DeNunzio. Their love affair spans 30 years and 2 continents. The story begins with Jimmy's release from prison after 25 years for ordering the murder of a rival mob member. The story alternates between going back to the beginning of his mob career and now as he tries to adjust to life on the outside. I would not call this book a thriller but it is more of a romantic mystery in my opinion. There were some places where it was rather tedious reading; however, it is an overall good read. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this very interesting book.

[Caren-Ann Monty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. This is one of those rare books that is both violent and tender, a real page turner and also quietly profound.

A love story set in the world of the East Coast Mafia, spanning four decades and two countries, it’s an evocative and broad tale, as well as an intimate and highly effecting one. I found myself thinking about the characters and ideas long after I finished the last page.

With a nod to The Sopronos (there’s a funny scene where Jimmy, the mobster imprisoned for 25 years, is asked about Big Pussy and Tny Soprano). It also harkens back to Love in the Time of Cholera (although there are no overt references), in its evocation of the mutability of love plus time.

Read it. You may weep. But you’ll be glad you did.

[Otto Kingsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerizing. A love story and a gripping thriller. The story of Jimmy who spends 25 years in prison for arranging a mob hit and then gets out and returns to Brooklyn... and Milena, his star-crossed lover whose life is also shattered by being "married tot he mob" it is a riveting crime drama and a moving love story, in one book, and I, for one, couldn't put it down.

A bit of history, a lot of Mafia insight, love, danger, violence and fate collide in this affecting book about love inside the Mafia, a woman on the run, and life, love and survival in prison and after release. It's a big canvas but an intimate story that will leave you laughing, loving and a little bit wiser.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTF

[Diogenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Remarkable in many ways; an intimate look inside the East Coast mob, an insightful look at a man's quarter century in prison, a picturesque look at a stay in Sicily, a look at expatriot life, and a tale of a romance, both illicit and proper. The character development is superb, the prose subtle, intelligent and absorbing.

[CloudOfThoughts_Books Keirstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lowdown by author Anthony Schneider is a gritty look into the lives of a mob family and forbidden love. It's running from the feds and loving someone locked up in the federal penitentiary. I absolutely loved this book as well as characters in it! I greatly recommend this novel!!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Lowdown in exchange for an honest review.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed me at page one and didn't let me go, as it was well written. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be honest – I wasn’t loving this book through the first 60 pages or so. If you feel the same, keep reading!!

Jimmy Paccini is a smart guy, but he made some bad decisions, including falling in love with a mobster’s wife. This story spans decades and the descriptions of life in prison, life in the mob, the importance and devotion to family, and life in Italy are excellent. This novel is actually a love story, with tough guys and murder and mystery thrown in. I think the ending will surprise you! I highly recommend this book by Anthony Schneider.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is truly nothing like getting lost in a love story with a backdrop of the grittiness of the mob and the resilience of strong women. I felt nostalgic as I read about NYC, Taormina, and Palermo over time. There was so much I loved about this story! I was drawn to Milena too- her beauty, strength, and focus - a woman determined and grounded but also beautiful and loving. And I grew to love Jimmy- especially in his moments with Molly! A wonderful read!

[A. H. Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Permanent Press for the opportunity to read Lowdown by Anthony Schneider, recently published this November.

I always love the chance to read books that’s settings and characters are new for me. In this case, I got nice and cozy with the Brooklyn mob. A dynamic story that reaches across thirty years and two continents, I found this book interesting, gritty, sexy, and authentic.

Have you seen the episode of Inside the Actor's Studio that features Bradley Cooper? I’ve always remembered James Lipton asking him what his favorite phrase was, and Bradley answering in this stream of Italian. Of course, it turned out that every other word was essentially a swear, but I think we can agree that no one swears as beautifully as the Italians. Perhaps watch Bradley’s interview before you sit down for this gripping crime novel.

Jimmy Piccini is a part of the infamous Ruggiero family in Brooklyn in the late 1970s and throughout the 80s. Climbing his way up the ranks of the family, Jimmy is capable, intelligent, and reserved. He’s not afraid to complete the jobs he’s assigned, but he’s smart enough to do them in a way that utilizes the least amount of violence. In the mafia, a wrong move meant war. Discord amidst and between the five families was a recipe for not only a breakdown in the organization, but also for the wrong kind of attention from the federal government and men such as Rudy Giuliani, US attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983-1989. At a time when RICO (The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) cases are becoming more common and are crippling the mafia’s constructs, Jimmy has to be more careful than ever, working to legitimize the dirty money coming in to the family.

Milena Cossutta grows up in an Italian family, and she eventually marries into the family when she weds Vinnie DeNunzio at nineteen years old. For a few years, Milena lives her best life, partying and getting high and socializing with other members of the family. For what Vinnie lacks in big-picture scheming and tact, Milena is there to take up the slack. Never taking credit for her ideas, Milena secretly revels in several of the family's successes.

Milena and Jimmy become acquainted at a party, and they form an immediate attachment. He’s a part of the family, but he’s smart and he speaks kindly to her. As Vinnie’s temperament devolves, she finds herself looking to Jimmy for comfort and friendship, until a rainy night in 1985 when it becomes clear that there is more between them.

As the years pass, Jimmy and Milena remain close, often hypothetically discussing what it might be like to have a life together outside of Brooklyn.

But Milena and Jimmy don’t have the chance to explore any reality of a future together. Jimmy orchestrates the hit on the head of another family, but a rat within the families exposes the hit to federal intervention and recompense, along with all its conspirators.

Jimmy finds himself separated from Milena, their romance cut short by prison, secrecy, and an entire continent, as Milena and Vinnie are forced to flee to Sicily to escape the long reach of RICO, while also avoiding the imposing task forces of the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia.

Will Jimmy and Milena ever be reunited again? Will he ever have his revenge on the man who cut their time short? When he finally is free, what will be left remaining of his prior life?

What a thrilling novel! Suspenseful, gritty, romantic. It's a Brooklyn transformed into the time of the mobster. It's secret meetings at Casa Altobelli. It's a chaotic yet organized time of assassini, consiglieri, blow, and booze. It's made men on the run from Uncle Sam.

It's Sicily the way I have always pictured it, the Sicily I long to one day visit as another of my ancestral homes. It's Via San Luca and Taormina—stone buildings and cobblestone streets, gelateria, pasticceria, pizzeria, orange blossoms and olive trees, oleander and jasmine, churches older than our own country, and picturesque piazze.

Schneider has beautifully captured not only the settings, but also the attitude and essence of the Brooklyn mob during a time of change. The beautiful love story between Jimmy and Milena is an intertwining of their separate lives and the moments they are together, both romantic and melancholy.

With a 4 out of 5 rating from yours truly, I highly recommend you pick this one up and experience it for yourself!

And, my friends...stei sano come un pesce. Be as healthy as a fish.

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book "Lowdown" had some very solid writing. I am a huge fan of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" and I found myself constantly comparing Anthony Schneider's writing to that masterpiece. I am Italian American and unfortunately this book just rubbed me the wrong way in a strange way that "The Godfather" just didn't--I guess I just did not like the constant references to the main character's and their friends and families illegal activities not limited to heinous acts like heroin trafficking and murder. I still enjoyed the forbidden romance between the two major characters of Jimmy and Milena. I also liked that the story took us from Brooklyn to Italy. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading crime thrillers.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lowdown by Anthony Schneider
If you like to read about Mafia, love and blood this is the book for you. This book was interesting and easy to read, did not keep me on the edge of my seat but it tells the tale of Jimmy Piccini and Milena and Vincent DeNunzio and the gangster life they were leading and how Jimmy ended up in jail for 25 years...thank you Netgalley and the Publishers.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very different book about life in New York City and that of someone connected to the mob. You follow different people and different story-lines, as well as time periods. Jimmy Piccini, who after being in prison for twenty five years is paroled. When he comes out everything is different, cars, streets, music, cloths, language, even the men he was with are either dead, or are no longer with the family. His family is being run by someone totally different. He went in because of a rat, snitch. During the time when Giuliani used the Rico Act and the time in the 80’S when he took down the five families. If you had read or were around from the time period you will recognize how the author came up with a very good way of tying all of the characters to these different eras. You are told Jimmy’s story from when he gets out and his looking back on if he could have seen the signs and done something different as to not be arrested. You are also given a story of Vinny and Lila which actually was a good story and intersects with Jimmy’s. This too is a good part of the book and keeps you going from the 70’s and to the present. The way the author has Jimmy though looking at things when he comes out of prison and how he is adapting for me is the main part of the story. That real feeling and emotion he has at the beginning helped sell me on the character, and made me want to continue with the book to see what will happen to him. The rest of the book is good, along with the characters. The book kept me entertained from the beginning to the end and had a few twists along the way which was good. Overall a very good book. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crime novel that is a story of the Mafia and characters who are a part of that life. Jimmy wanders in out of greed and being attracted to that life. He takes the fall for a crime and spends the next 25 years in prison for it. When he is released he has a lot of trouble trying to understand and adapt to this world that he has reentered. I liked this story. His life intersects with the wife of a mob boss who he had been in love with as young people. Milena wanted out of her poor and strictly traditional family she was looking for wealth and excitement and participated in a crime as well as a marriage. Jimmy and Milena meet up again and a love story begins. The back and forth in time sometimes doesn't work but Schneider is a master at it.
This is a crime and slow-paced thriller for the most part. But, more importantly, it is about forgiveness, love and the search for redemption.
All in all, a story that will hold your attention.
Many thanks to NetGalley for the Arc.

[Sherry V Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

,This book is really great! It grabs you from the very beginning and never lets go. Jimmy keeps his head down and tried to stay under the radar but he gets sentenced to fifty years for planning a hit on a mob boss. In the meantime other gangsters are rounded up while others leave the country. Including Milena,his bosses wife and the woman he is in love with. The story plays out over twenty five years and had a bittersweet ending..

[Robin Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mixture of mobster life, both real and fiction. It’s also a love story that shows a lot of reality in the life of a mobster wife. It’s well researched and takes place of a period of over twenty-five years, both in the US and Sicily. The characters are very complex. I thought it was a good read, a bit different from others I’ve read in this genre.

[Joey Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful love story with a mob twist

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s a great story about a gangster, his girlfriend and how love has a way of redeeming our lives. Not many books make me cry. But I had tears streaming down my cheeks as I finished this one. Well done!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lowdown was different than I expected. I definitely wouldn't call it a thriller. The story was more character-driven and slow paced, following both Jimmy and Milena from when they were young to when they were old and their life both together and apart.

For me it's a hard to classify novel because the focus was so much on their lives, the decisions they made over time, and how everything turned out for them as time went on. There was no overarching goal. The novel was like someone telling you the story of their life - which was both interesting, because both Jimmy and Milena were smart and likable characters who I was curious about; and boring, because some of it was uninteresting and seemed to meander without a larger purpose.

Normally I'm irritated by the divergence between what I expected to read based on the description and the novel I actually read, but this was a pleasant surprise. No, it's not a fast-paced thriller, but Jimmy and Milena had unique lives and viewpoints involved with the mob, and a beautiful love that's a rare find, even in novels.

I received a review copy.