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Maximum Rossi: A Las Vegas Crime Noir
He tried to escape his past, but his past came with him.When a game of high-stakes poker turns into a boxing match, Massimo "Max" Rossi, the son of mob "fixer" Boston Rossi, winds up with more than he bargained for. All eyes turn to him when the police find his opponent, a hitman from Chicago, dead. And if that isn't bad enough, his only alibi--the dead man's girlfriend--is missing.Now, if the cops don't get him, the mob will!Rossi is in the struggle of his life, where every turn brings him closer to an untimely end. He's got to find the girlfriend before his time runs out. But in fledgling Las Vegas, time is an abstract concept, and people can hide almost anywhere.Join the growing number of fans raving about the work of master storyteller Paul W. Papa, and find out why he's been called "someone to watch." Click the BUY button for a thrilling crime noir ride and see for yourself why Max Rossi has taken his place among hard-boiled detectives Philip Marlowe, Mike Hammer, and Sam Spade.2020 Next Generation Book Awards Winner!2020 IPPY Bronze Medal Winner!2020 Best Book Award Finalist!2020 Indies Book Award Finalist!What readers are "Paul W. Papa is someone to watch.""This book was hard to put down.""If you've longed to look back to the time when the mob ran the town, this is as good as it gets.""I was addicted from the first page.""Loved the historic, noir story line with all its mobster twists.""Great page turner, couldn't put it down.""I can't wait for more!""Kept my attention and made me not want to stop reading.""A fun Las Vegas who-done-it with interesting twists and fascinating characters."
- GenresCrime
367 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2019
13 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Paul W. Papa
26 books19 followersPaul W. Papa is an award-winning, full-time writer and ghost writer who has lived in Las Vegas for more than thirty years. He developed a fascination with the area, and all its wonders, while working for nearly fifteen years at several Las Vegas casinos. In his role as a security officer, Paul was the person who actually shut and locked the doors of the Sands Hotel and Casino for the final time. He eventually became a hotel investigator for a major Strip casino, during which time he developed a love for writing stories about uncommon events. When not at his keyboard, Paul can be found talking to tourists on Fremont Street, investigating some old building, or sitting in a local diner hunting down his next story.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 19, 2021
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
We all love the familiar and that is exactly what Paul W Papa has created with Maximum Rossi, a story of organised crime in Las Vegas written in a classic Crime Noir style. Although we are not told the time period involved, from the cars and music it would appear to be set in the mid-1950s.
As expected for the genre the story is narrated in the first person by the protagonist Max Rossi, the son of an Italian immigrant “fixer” who had a successful career tidying up after gangland murders in New York and Chicago. Max has moved to Las Vegas in an attempt to escape from a life linked to organised crime. Unfortunately for him the New York and Chicago mobs see Las Vegas, the growing gambling centre of the USA, as ripe for picking and rivalry is building over control of the casinos.
In true Crime Noir style Papa shows his skills by not just what he tells us but also what he does not tell us. Despite being constantly in Max’s head there are several basic things that we never learn about him; maintaining the mystery and fascination. For example, how does he support himself and if he is so keen to live a quiet life why does he spend so much time in the casino?
I read Maximum Rossi in a matter of hours and despite the familiarity of the genre Papa kept me totally entranced. His writing style is comfortable, the various characters were a believable mix and the plot was intriguing. I picked up a bit of a clue as to the culprit but the denouement still included enough curve balls to make it all very interesting.
The end of the book hints at further adventures and I note that a second book, Rossi’s Gamble was published in August 2020. It will be interesting to see if Paul W Papa can maintain the standard because I have awarded Maximum Rossi a maximum five stars.
We all love the familiar and that is exactly what Paul W Papa has created with Maximum Rossi, a story of organised crime in Las Vegas written in a classic Crime Noir style. Although we are not told the time period involved, from the cars and music it would appear to be set in the mid-1950s.
As expected for the genre the story is narrated in the first person by the protagonist Max Rossi, the son of an Italian immigrant “fixer” who had a successful career tidying up after gangland murders in New York and Chicago. Max has moved to Las Vegas in an attempt to escape from a life linked to organised crime. Unfortunately for him the New York and Chicago mobs see Las Vegas, the growing gambling centre of the USA, as ripe for picking and rivalry is building over control of the casinos.
In true Crime Noir style Papa shows his skills by not just what he tells us but also what he does not tell us. Despite being constantly in Max’s head there are several basic things that we never learn about him; maintaining the mystery and fascination. For example, how does he support himself and if he is so keen to live a quiet life why does he spend so much time in the casino?
I read Maximum Rossi in a matter of hours and despite the familiarity of the genre Papa kept me totally entranced. His writing style is comfortable, the various characters were a believable mix and the plot was intriguing. I picked up a bit of a clue as to the culprit but the denouement still included enough curve balls to make it all very interesting.
The end of the book hints at further adventures and I note that a second book, Rossi’s Gamble was published in August 2020. It will be interesting to see if Paul W Papa can maintain the standard because I have awarded Maximum Rossi a maximum five stars.
January 2, 2020
A fun Las Vegas who-done-it with interesting twists and fascinating characters.
November 25, 2020
This book was so cool! It had a few things I love: hat classic Vegas feel, mystery, and so many surprises, I couldn't put it down. I felt like I was going along with Rossi on this mystery to find the real killer and clear his name. I don't really want to give away details of this book because it's such a good mystery that needs to be experienced. I will say that Max Rossi is a tough son of gun with all he deals with, even quite a few bruises. If you want a mystery that will bring you into the book and make you feel like you are part of the story then this book is for you. I have an obsession with the 1950's/1960's era and mob history, especially in Vegas, so this book excited me all the way through. He did an amazing job with imagery making me feel like I was really there. I will totally be checking out more in the series and from this author! A must read for all mystery fans.
October 27, 2025
Paul W. Papa is an extremely good writer, and an exceptional student. He paid close attention to reading crime noir stories written by the masters, Chandler and Hammett (he even dedicated his book to them). And, as a writer, he was good enough to write a crime noir novel of his own. Unfortunately, there was nothing of Paul W. Papa's voice in his work. I understand that by writing in this genre there will be some cliches, but MAXIMUM ROSSI is flooded with one cliche after another.
MAXIMUM ROSSI is not a bad story, but I was hoping for so much more, something new, something surprising, but I was disappointed in Papa's lack of effort in letting us have (at least) a glimpse of his own voice. Even Ross Macdonald, who [unapologetically] lifted Chandler's writing style, added his own voice byway of masterful embellishments to the Chandler formula.
Papa's offering of Chandler-esque one-liners are deficient in the cleverness in which Chandler composed his masterful one-liners. Papa's fall flat, leaving no lasting impression. Papa is good at imitating but falls short at giving us the real Paul W. Papa's take on crime noir writing, which I very much wanted to read, but it just wasn't there in this story.
The casino card game scenes are a testament to Papa's knowledge of gambling with cards. Unfortunately some these scenes were florid to the point of tedium for this reader. Chapter 9 (a gambling scene) is a good example of overly written details that slow down the plot, and offer nothing to the plots intrigue. I couldn't find any reason for this chapter to exist. I skimmed over it a few times looking for something that anchored it to the plot. I couldn't find it.
Max Rossi's thinking is too simple for me, in that he reveals too much to the reader. What the story is in dire need of is complexity, something to twist it good, because I had the killer pegged three-quarters into the story, and had the accomplice figured out shortly after.
Papa did a great job at creating and describing his characters (I love Virginia James and Detective McQueeney)), and because of that I will give book two a read, in hopes that Papa had evolved into his own voice, and into some level of complexity in his storytelling. Like I said: MAXIMUM ROSSI is not a bad story, it's just that I've read it all, before Paul W.Papa came along with his straightforward takeoff on the real thing.
I liked MAXIMUM ROSSI but not enough to rate it five stars.
MAXIMUM ROSSI is not a bad story, but I was hoping for so much more, something new, something surprising, but I was disappointed in Papa's lack of effort in letting us have (at least) a glimpse of his own voice. Even Ross Macdonald, who [unapologetically] lifted Chandler's writing style, added his own voice byway of masterful embellishments to the Chandler formula.
Papa's offering of Chandler-esque one-liners are deficient in the cleverness in which Chandler composed his masterful one-liners. Papa's fall flat, leaving no lasting impression. Papa is good at imitating but falls short at giving us the real Paul W. Papa's take on crime noir writing, which I very much wanted to read, but it just wasn't there in this story.
The casino card game scenes are a testament to Papa's knowledge of gambling with cards. Unfortunately some these scenes were florid to the point of tedium for this reader. Chapter 9 (a gambling scene) is a good example of overly written details that slow down the plot, and offer nothing to the plots intrigue. I couldn't find any reason for this chapter to exist. I skimmed over it a few times looking for something that anchored it to the plot. I couldn't find it.
Max Rossi's thinking is too simple for me, in that he reveals too much to the reader. What the story is in dire need of is complexity, something to twist it good, because I had the killer pegged three-quarters into the story, and had the accomplice figured out shortly after.
Papa did a great job at creating and describing his characters (I love Virginia James and Detective McQueeney)), and because of that I will give book two a read, in hopes that Papa had evolved into his own voice, and into some level of complexity in his storytelling. Like I said: MAXIMUM ROSSI is not a bad story, it's just that I've read it all, before Paul W.Papa came along with his straightforward takeoff on the real thing.
I liked MAXIMUM ROSSI but not enough to rate it five stars.
October 31, 2024
Entertaining pastiche of '50s noir, has the son of a Mob fixer trying to lead a civilian life in Las Vegas when he gets sucked in as a prime suspect in a murder that might just start a gang war. This homage to the classics of the genre covers a lot of familiar ground, sort of like a Shell Scott novel without the goofiness. Max Rossi's quip-laden first-person narration is spot on. You can almost see Alan Ladd having a ball in the film version. On the other hand, the story has a lot of flab: Tightened to razor-sharpness, this really comes out as a short story. I would've liked to see more complexity in the story. The insider's knowledge of the casino world is nice, but the author assumes the reader is completely ignorant—we get explanations of the basic rules of blackjack and poker. The story seems very well researched, except that it's set in 1951 and Texas Hold 'Em didn't start up in Vegas until 1963.
December 31, 2022
Maximum Rossi a superb novel of Vegas in the '50s
Paul W. Papa's Maximum Rossi puts the reader behind the scenes of Las Vegas in the 1950s. The Sands is marvelously portrayed at its' dangerous and customer friendly height . Vegas as a mob town lives again in this tough noir.
Paul W. Papa's Maximum Rossi puts the reader behind the scenes of Las Vegas in the 1950s. The Sands is marvelously portrayed at its' dangerous and customer friendly height . Vegas as a mob town lives again in this tough noir.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews