Book Review: Nunzio's Way
Nunzio’s Way. Nick Chiarkas, Three Towers Press, 30 September 2022, Hardback, Paperback, and eBook, 294 pages.
Reviewed by Robert H. King, Jr.
The time: the early 1960’s. The place: the boroughs of New York City, where neighborhoods were like extended families, and juvenile gangs laid claims to certain street corners. Nunzio Sabino, affectionately known as “Uncle Nunzio” to his family and associates, rules over an extensive criminal enterprise predicated upon influence and power, backed, when necessary, by lethal force. If you are Uncle Nunzio’s family or friend, there is nothing that he will not do for you; if you are his enemy, there is nothing that he will not do to you. Against this backdrop, a young woman assassin, believing (erroneously) that Nunzio had ordered the killing of her family in Italy, comes to New York seeking revenge. Through subterfuge, betrayal, and even romantic entanglement, the assassin worms her way into Nunzio’s extended family, and as she does so, the bodies begin to pile up. Misdirection muddies the picture as the assassin makes some of her killings appear to be the work of rival gangs, sparking more violence. The question is, will Nunzio fall prey to the assassin’s revenge?
Nunzio’s Way is the second in a series the author refers to as the “Weepers Series.” I have not read the first installment of this series, but I believe that the author of a series has a responsibility to his readers to make each installment stand on its own, providing sufficient backstory to allow the readers to know and understand the characters. There are various ways to accomplish this, and here the author employs a prologue that quotes verbatim a segment of dialogue from the first Weeper’s book. Nunzio’s Way stands on its own, and the reader does not have to read the first installment of the series to have a full understanding of the book and its characters. Although, in some ways, such an approach is the lazy man’s way out, I found that the prologue here was effective in introducing the characters and providing an understanding of at least some of their motivations.
Any novel about New York City Italian mafia families unavoidably invites a comparison with the Godfather. While this book is well written and introduces a new plot element with the woman assassin, it otherwise adds little insight into mafia life that is very different from what the Godfather revealed. Because of the author’s background in law enforcement and organized crime, I had hoped that something new would be presented. Maybe the Godfather’s portrayal is just so accurate and complete that there is little left to add to it. But for fans of this genre, Nunzio’s Way will still be an enjoyable and worthwhile read.