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Once Upon a Time in Chicago

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It's Prohibition time in Chicago and Sicilian-American Sal Scavuzzo takes full advantage of the underground activities. At 22, he drinks at the speakeasy, gambles, and is a hit with the dames. When he gets in too deep with the local organized crime, his pleasurable lifestyle turns upside down.

Does he continue his careless ways or does he eventually settle down and go the straight and narrow?

Paperback

Published February 28, 2021

4 people are currently reading
10 people want to read

About the author

Mary Walsh

17 books40 followers
I'm a multi-genre award-winning author of 17 books with a few more in the works. I am also a co-host of Books Books Books Event where 120+ authors are on hand to meet readers and sell their books.

Let's connect!

www.marywalshwrites.com
[You can also buy my signed books here for less than the price on Amazon.]

FB & IG: marywalshwrites

I am also an editor and have helped dozens of authors improve their books. If your WIP needs some TLC, hit me up!

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Ray Pace.
Author 15 books38 followers
March 17, 2021
Mary Walsh has a knack for taking the reader back to the Chicago of the thirties and the forties. This well-researched book puts the reader in the city back when an Italian accent or an Italian phrase was as common as hearing rock music today. References to the way the new arrivals in our country balanced their lives between the church and the less than savory paisanos who carried knives and guns is dealt with in an honest, straightforward manner.
Just as important, this book is an entertaining read that makes the reader want more.
Profile Image for MizFig.
624 reviews7 followers
March 12, 2021
The Life of Sal

Oh what a book!!
First of all it’s in Chicago - my home
It’s got the mob and the one and only Al Capone
It has a very large Italian Family that I can absolutely relate to!
What an amazing journey we take with Sal!! I loved it. It was like a movie and then the way it ends! Amazing. I will joy spoil that for you because that was the biggest surprise and I loved it even more!!
A new author to me but I will read more!!
Once Upon A Time In Chicago is a history lesson that I will read again and again!!
1 review
April 28, 2021
I finished Once upon a Time in Chicago. I really enjoyed it. The characters came alive for me. I think it would make an interesting made for TV movie.
1 review
December 10, 2025
Once upon a time in Chicago was a very good read. I felt like I was in Sals neighborhood. Im looking forward to reading many more books by Mary Walsh.
Profile Image for Mary Walsh.
Author 17 books40 followers
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April 6, 2021
** AUTHOR NOTES **

After almost a year of research, interviews, writing, and re-writing, this book is finally LIVE! It's based on actual events during Prohibition Chicago and centers around a young Sicilian-American Sal Scavuzzo. For most books, I go to the city in question, take lots of notes, and add them into the story. This wasn't the case since the urban descriptions in the book were either demolished or renovated. Fortunately, I acquired a lot of old family photos that helped build the world. The language from the time was also very different. Much to my good luck, I found a great website that listed a lot of phrases from the 1930s and added them to my dialog. Good thing women are no longer called dames!

I hope you enjoy the story!
Be sure to read the Author Notes at the end.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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