Between The Lines

An Upstate New York Mafia Trilogy

Author: Nicholas Denmon

Released: June 2011 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Category: Crime/Thriller

A Mafia crime thriller (my first) opens with a very graphic and descriptive scene of someone getting shot which drew me in immediately.  Not because it was a shooting, I hasten to add, but because of the detail and the feeling it evoked.

Alex Vaughn, a New York police officer, saw his friend’s murder and wants revenge.  So he goes undercover in order to infiltrate the crime family in Buffalo he believes responsible.

Rafael Rontego is the mafia’s hit man and the two men are on a collision course.

There’s lots of action, suspense and tension and the insight into the workings of the underworld is detailed and interesting if somewhat scary.

The chapters are written from the point of view of two characters which works well. The ending is a cliff hanger leading onto book two..

Thoughts

I was really surprised to learn this is a debut novel, the writing is so good.  The details and descriptions make the story jump off the page and is very visual, the characters are intriguing and decidedly believable.

Book 2

Buffalo Soldiers is another action packed, bloody and tense tale of mafia and mobsters. following on from Nicholas Denmon’s debut novel, For Nothing.

It’s a complex tale with lots of twists and turns and really good character development. The action starts with the abduction of the assassin, Rafael Rontego and doesn’t let up until the final page.

We’re introduced to FBI Agent Sydney Price, who is on Rontego’s trail because she believes she can bring down the Ciancetta family with his evidence.

Ivan Ninsky is another new character, just released from jail and sucked back into the murky world of  the mafia crime families.

I like to be able to visualise scenes in a story, the writing is very descriptive and evocative, quite graphic too, and so lends itself to visualisation very well. I also like the way the suspense is built with each chapter coming from a different character’s perspective.  Kept me guessing all the way!