Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of Slip & Fall by Nick Santora. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Slip & Fall by Nick Santora
Non-Series
State Street Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-681-12749-X (068112749X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-681-12749-4 (9780681127494)
Publication Date: June 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Robert Principe’s law school graduation was supposed to be the moment that transitioned his family from its honorable, but often difficult, blue-collar roots to the supposedly easier white-collar world.
However, when faced with a struggling practice, a pregnant wife, and a sister in trouble, Rob realizes the white-collar world isn’t as easy as he thought. He needs money … and fast.
Desperate, he approaches his wiseguy cousin Jackie with an insurance scheme—a way for the Mob to collect from guys who owe but can’t pay and a chance for Robert to use his law degree to make a few quick bucks when he needs it most.
Rob thinks it will be a one-time thing. It isn’t. The scheme works well—too well. The money flows, the violence escalates, and Robert soon learns that getting out of a deal with the Mafia isn’t exactly easy … especially when the FBI is onto you.
Review: Slip & Fall, the debut novel by Nick Santora, a successful writer and producer of several television series, is the story of an honest attorney who, in trying to the do right thing for his family, makes a disastrous choice that threatens everyone he loves and everything he values.
Robert Principe could have followed his cousin Jackie into the Mafia but instead attends law school and makes his wife and family proud by opening a practice in the old neighborhood. His clients are friends who need to make a will, union men who are hurt on their job but don't know how to go about getting compensation for their injuries, and the like. But after only a few years his business starts slipping. His wife is pregnant, he's behind on his mortgage, and he has other financial obligations to his family. In an effort to make some fast money, he contacts his cousin Jackie and they come up with an insurance scam. Jackie knows a man who owes the Mafia boss a $50,000 gambling debt who would be willing to take a fall if it meant clearing his debt. Jackie also knows a chiropractor that would testify to the man’s injuries. The scheme nets them less than they were hoping before, but enough for Robert to pay some bills. Though Robert doesn't want to do it again, the Mafia insists he continue working for them. After trying to quit, he is threatened with his life, plus that of his wife, unborn child, his parents and his sister. When he is finally caught, the FBI offers him an opportunity to make things right. How Robert is able to extricate himself from the mob, protect his family and satisfy the FBI, is both powerful and bold.
At its core, Slip & Fall is a story about families and the love and bonds that bring and keep them together. It is easy for the reader to identify with Robert's need to take care of his family, and though it is regrettable that he chooses an illegal path to do so, it's completely credible that he chooses a path that's available to him, even if it conflicts with his morals.
Santora is a terrific storyteller and has created a very believable character in Robert Principe. His experience in writing for television comes through in a book that is well paced, descriptive, and keeps the plot moving forward. It's all very well done. (Note: the violence in Slip & Fall is very graphic and may not be suitable for all readers.)
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Slip & Fall and to Authors on the Web for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
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