Crime Fiction | Self-Publishing Review

Dinner at Tony Napoli’s by Edward Izzi

A hard-nosed Chicago mob thriller written with Edward Izzi’s signature grit, Dinner at Tony Napoli’s is the latest gripping novel from this skilled storyteller.

A legendary Italian restaurant in Chicago is set for demolition after more than five decades of serving the powerful, famous, and dangerous denizens of that underworld. Rather than die in prison, the restaurant owner, Tony Sorrentino, must break his code of silence and share the dark secrets of his place of business with his nephew – a no-nonsense CPD detective. Dennis Romanowski wants to protect the man he’s known all his life, while also being a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-07-12T12:43:22+02:00July 11th, 2023|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Crime Fiction, Edward Izzi, Thriller|

Review: When A Rook Takes The Queen by Edward Izzi

When A Rook Takes The Queen by Edward Izzi is an intense urban thriller, taking its name from the Chicago Gambit, an opening used in chess that is widely thought of as a daring way to open the board for the game. The seamy streets of Chicago are the setting here, and the author weaves a set of similar moves into the story with his characters, creating an intriguing assassination puzzle for the reader to unravel.

When a Chicago Tribune reporter, the stubborn Larry McKay, investigates the murder of the city’s mayor, an African-America woman who had been seeking a […]

SPR2021-03-12T06:05:36+02:00February 1st, 2021|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction, Edward Izzi, Thriller|

The Mob Zone by Joseph DeMatteo

A wise-guy wonderland of seedy deals, savage violence, and loyalty to the family, The Mob Zone by Joseph DeMatteo is a bold and entertaining collection of stories from the world of organized crime.

The three stories are unique in their own way, but fall in line with classic gangster narratives: untouchable tough guys with sharp comebacks and quick trigger fingers. These surprisingly complex, small-cast tales are driven by intense, multilayered dialogue – or other forms of communication, as in the case of the two mute assassins from “Driving in Silence,” one of the standouts in the collection. Perfectly polished for […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-12-08T07:13:50+02:00December 5th, 2020|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Crime Fiction, Noir, Short Stories|

Review: Tokyo Traffic by Michael Pronko

Detective Hiroshi returns for another tantalizing dive into the underbelly of Japanese culture and crime in Tokyo Traffic by Michael Pronko. From the seedy dungeons of pornography rings to the beating heart of Tokyo’s moneyed class, this detective thriller is raw and gripping, told by a confident, complex, and creative author.

The gruff sleuth at the center of these mysteries is pursuing a new case- a brutal murder tied to the insidious porn and human trafficking rings of Tokyo. It is clear from the start that this is a triggering topic for Hiroshi, something that brings out a primal rage, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-07-09T02:55:19+02:00June 21st, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Michael Pronko|

Review: Where’s… Eli? by Alex S. Avitabile

The disappearance of a less-than-trustworthy lawyer kicks off a hectic crime-solving spree in Where’s… Eli? by author Alex S. Avitabile. This second book in the Al and Mick Forte crime series is just as authentically penned and suspenseful as the first, but can also stand alone as an entertaining piece of crime fiction.

Al and Mick are cousins who go way back, their childhoods, neighbors, lives and relatives tangled up in the complex social web of Brooklyn in the 50s and 60s. Having your bloodline brush up against organized crime is far from unusual, and despite Al now being a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-28T04:45:24+02:00February 5th, 2020|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction, Thriller|

Molls Like It Hot by Darren Dash

Molls Like It Hot from author Darren Dash is a fast-paced and oddly heartfelt thriller, featuring a cabbie with a surprising toolkit, a worldly gangster, a trigger-happy target, and a decidedly dangerous offer.

A young woman lies at the heart of this tangled mess of a story, as one so often does, but Toni is far from a plot device. She’s a hard-drinking badass with a psychopathic soft spot for violence and a dangerous temper. Protecting this gangster’s lover in the seedy streets of South London leads Eyrie Brown into a weekend of gunfights and bloodshed that he’ll never forget […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-12-09T07:18:56+02:00December 6th, 2019|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Crime Fiction, Darren Dash, Thriller|

Review: The Detour by Travis Pearson

In The Detour, a new novel by rising author Travis Pearson, readers are led down the dark roads of America into a nearly forgotten town, where evil is not only pervasive, but also boasts a badge.

The story starts innocently enough, as recently unemployed Dan Icor decides to take a trip across the country to clear his mind and figure out his next steps. However, it’s not long before the novel takes a savage turn, as Dan must defend an innocent Native American family from a brutal gang of local thugs at a gas station. In the process, Dan […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-07-02T07:24:22+02:00June 1st, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction, Travis Pearson|

Review: The Case of the Blonde with the Bad Nose Job by Carlo Armenise

Creating an engaging and unique PI is far from an easy job for an author, but in The Case of the Blonde with the Bad Nose Job by Carlo Armenise, this genre niche gets a fresh new face with an attitude that’s hard not to love. Sam Razor is a hard-nosed private detective with something to prove, and this first case of his is a sparkling and sharply written tale that should earn this author plenty of new fans.

When Margaret, a wealthy debutante with a banged-up nose and a worried sister, is kidnapped, there are plenty of potential suspects […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-03-10T12:35:02+02:00October 29th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Carlo Armenise, Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction|