This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite
Bobby Valentine is sitting in a comfortable recliner, watching Fox News and feeling sleepy. His granddaughter Lynn comes in with espresso and doughnuts, and a lot of questions about a story from the previous day. Thus the novel The Starlight Club II, by Joe Corso, unfolds. What follows is a revelation of colorful stories that center around Big Red Fortunato, the most powerful mobster in Queens, New York in the 1960s and his newly reopened Starlight Club. Red has his hands full with running and protecting his empire. Like any businessman, he is always looking to expand his operation, too. From manipulating his boxer Swifty’s career, to protecting his turf from the Detroit Mafia, and blackmailing Larry Bernstein who heads Columbia Pictures, Red goes about his business like a benevolent dictator, that is, if you don't cross him.
The Starlight Club II is the second book in a series and, regretfully, I have not read the first one. In the early 1960s, Mafia families in the US were at the height of their power. It is obvious that the author knows his subject well as he successfully draws the reader into the life and times of Mafia boss Red Fortunato. Told by the narrator, Bobby Valentine, the plot comes out somehow tight and consistent, considering the many sub-plots that could cause confusion on the part of the reader.
This is an action-packed novel that reveals the manipulation and deceit behind a glittering façade like the newly renovated Starlight Club. With so many characters in the story, some are not as well developed as that of Swifty, who is clearly one of the main characters here. However, as the novel’s epilogue seems to hint, there will be more installments in this series and we may get the chance to know the other interesting characters better.
