From My Cousin Vinny :MonaLisa Vito : Well I hate to bring it up because I know you've got enough pressure on you already. But, we agreed to get married as soon as you won your first case. Meanwhile, TEN YEARS LATER, my niece, the daughter of my sister is getting married. My biological clock is [taps her foot] TICKING LIKE THIS and the way this case is going, I ain't never getting married. Vinny Gambini: Lisa, I don't need this. I swear to God, I do not need this right now, okay? I've got a judge that's just aching to throw me in jail. An idiot who wants to fight me for two hundred dollars. I got slaughtered pigs. I got giant loud whistles. I ain't slept in five days. I got no money, a dress code problem, AND a little murder case which, in the balance, holds the lives of two innocent kids. Not to mention your [taps his foot] BIOLOGICAL CLOCK. My career, your life, our marriage, and let me see, what else can we PILE ON? Is there any more SHIT we can pile on to the top of the outcome of this case? Is it possible?Lisa: [pause] Maybe it was a bad time to bring it up.Now that's what you call a MOMENT OF MAXIMUM TENSION which is a phrase that came out of a holiday I once had. We went to Minorca with Jane and Russell, another couple. We both had 5 year old daughters at the time. So we were late getting to the airport going back. Helen and Russell went off to return the hire car and me and Jane were left at the check in with a MOUNTAIN of luggage and two excited 5 year old kids. And Jane and Russell just… didn't come back for what seemed like hours. This was just before everyone had a mobile phone, which would have solved the problem – why weren't they invented sooner? Anyway, they were so long that we were the only people left to check in and we couldn't until they came back - they had the passports! - and they were just not there. And the check in lady said "We're closing this station in ten minutes" which would mean we're missing the flight. So Jane got really stressed and went marching off to find a Spanish phone & phone the hire company which was an expedition unlikely to bring forth much relief, I thought. So then they were gone and now she was gone and the two little kids running around screaming and me trying to control the luggage mountain and making sure Georgia and Milly didn't injure themselves or hide somewhere amusing and the check in lady saying "We WILL be closing in FIVE minutes, sir" – so that was myMOMENT OF MAXIMUM TENSIONOf course at FOUR minutes to go, Helen & Russell breezed around the corner languidly ambling towards the mountain of luggage, and saying hey, what's the problem, you look a little frazzled. Sorry we got held up. Where's Jane?In Casino Moon, thirtyish Anthony Russo is the son of a made guy who is wanting to live a straight life but getting nowhere with his straight contracting business in Atlantic City. His marriage is on the rocks. He already owes 50 grand to the boss of his father's mafia crew. He's trying to get out from under by promoting a big boxing contest, but he has to borrow another 50 grand to get that set up. Around about the same time, his dad's crew knocks off some rival gangster and Anthony gets dragged into a situation in regards to the son of the deceased, who he knows, and who thinks Anthony was the shooter. Which he wasn't, but his father has put it about that he was, because his father, bless his little gangster socks, is trying to get Anthony made, which he doesn't want to be. So Anthony and this son have a beef and the son ends up dead under the famous Atlantic City boardwalk, because in this instance, Anthony did in fact perform the transaction. In the middle of this he's met a considerable female wrestler who may be – are you laughing? don't laugh, she's good, she could snap your arm like a twig, but she's real sexy too – who may be the one true love of his entire miserable life. At the point when Anthony finds out Richie Amato has been picked up by the police who have found the disgustingly blood drenched clothes of Larry DiGregorio in his trunk, Anthony experiences a MOMENT OF MAXIMUM TENSION.But it isn't actually the maximum. It just seems like the maximum at the time. In time he gets to the real maximum moment.This is a great crime novel which is like a slice of the Sopranos before they existed. Recommended.
A Casino Moon: 'I looked up and saw there was a half moon hanging over Bally's Grand [a casino]. It was what I used to call a casino moon, because the yellow casino sign was so bright, the moon looked cheap and unimpressive by comparison.' Casino Moon packs a punch both in crisp dialogue and hard hitting story telling, with each chapter sure to bruise and batter your imagination. Anthony - a good guy in the world of goodfellas is married to the niece of a mob boss and trying to make a living on the right side of the law. Of course having an adopted father who happens to be the boss' right hand man doesn't help matters. Not one to shy from opportunities, he hitches a ride on the back of a washed up has-been boxer on the comeback trail for one last fight. Seeing this as his ticket to independence and a way to disassociate himself from his mafia ties (albeit half ties), he rolls the dice and lets it ride, knowing he's staked everything on one bet - the fall of the cards likely to determine if money or breathing is to be his biggest concern. Blauner's tale of a man seeking the straight and narrow while navigating across rough and rocky terrain is a joy to read. This was more of wrong man tale rather than crime with mafia connotations - the Soprano-esque backdrop paled to Anthony's scheme and hard-done-by life. That being said, there were hits, bar room brawls, dames, and bribery - all the hallmarks of a classic mob piece with a hint of police corruption thrown in for that added spice of noir. 4 stars.
What do You think about Casino Moon (Hard Case Crime #55) (2009)?
This is a good boxing-themed story, although I don't usually like this setting as they are always predictable. The boxing angle is just a part of this story, which follow a young Italian guy who wants to break free from becoming part of the family "business" (think stereotypical "Goodfellas" characters from Atlantic City). Loved the character of the lady wrestler/stripper/hooker he befriends, and has an affair with. She has a strong survivor personality and she's a single mom struggling to make a better life for her daughter. The ending is not much of a surprise, but it was an enjoyable read.
—Annick Rodriguez
Working man with mob connections (but no involvement) finds himself down on his luck in Atlantic City. He sees a chance to better himself, but digs himself into a hole.This one started out slowly, but gradually (and successfully) picks up the tempo through the book. There are some unbelievable elements, and some of the plot points seem a little contrived, but overall the book successfully tells the tale and conjures the environment.Workaday prose, but that fits the workaday characters and situations. The characters are rounded enough, though nobody will gain your sympathy.Rated MA for some graphic violence, pervasive language, adult themes and moderate sex scenes. 3/5Question: Why is Atlantic City always home to these sorts of stories? Does nothing good ever happen to anybody there?
—Nathan
If the boxing world even remotely mimics what Peter Blauner describes with intense detail in the pages of CASINO MOON—a world filled with intimidation and manipulation, where the main objective becomes the knockout, completely immobilizing your opponent both inside and outside the ring, where a cutting board with several large knives serves as the negotiation table, where greed is the only concept that brings men together in the name of a twelve round beat down—then I’m glad I’m a lover, not a fighter. It’s this world filled with ornate detail, where the good guys are bad and the bad guys are even worse that the reader finds himself engrossed in from the opening bell. A world where women go panty-free, fucking the hero on the rails of the boardwalk, where killing is just another word expunged between breaths and guns are touted around with as much precision as metal lunchboxes. It’s a world I’m unfamiliar with, and yet I was immediately intrigued by it.This world has no beginning and no end: it lives on with its own life force. And yet I felt as though I had a brief glimpse into it between the pages, savoring every moment of exploding flesh, hard rights, and intense uppercuts. While I certainly understood the needs and desires of Anthony Russo and his ploy to go legitimate, or at least break himself away from his mob ties, most of my sympathies rested with Rosemary. She’s as tough as any male character that haunts the pages of this novel, and without her, this book might have been a shell of itself. This proves an ongoing point that many good and great authors recognize: strong males need strong females. It’s a codependent relationship, and this hard-case crime novel is better for it.If you’re into interesting reads where you get a glimpse of the street life, along with the high life, and you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, then you might want to check out this book. I know I’m glad I did.Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
—Robert
