Jimmy Bench-Press: A Novel of Crime [Hardcover]

Charlie Stella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2002

Jimmy Mangino figures he's overdue. Already he's done two stretches in the joint. But he's back, and he's still a good earner for the family. You got a loser you need to lean on, Jimmy lends his strong arm, and he doesn't flinch at murder, not for the Vignieris. He also bench-presses four hundred pounds. Jimmy wants to be a made man. Alex Pavlik wants to take Jimmy down. Pavlik, the edgy Polish cop who tailed Eddie Senta in Charlie Stella's enthusiastically reviewed debut, Eddie's World, has been transferred to Organized Crime from Homicide, where his short temper, keen sense of justice, and too-ready prizefighter's fists have proved to be a volatile combination. Tough-talking, taut, and craftily plotted, Stella's second novel takes Pavlik and his new partner, another New York police detective, John DeNafria, into the shifty world of Jimmy Bench-Press when wannabe-mobster Larry Berra hires Mangino to collect on a bad loan to a sixty-three-year-old Italian barber with a Cuban girlfriend. Jimmy's got his fingers in any number of illegal pies, from extortion to murder, among purveyors of drugs and porn. Enough to get a man made, maybe. "Fresh, fast, and darkly funny."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Readers may be reminded ... of George V. Higgins's underworld thrillers.... Stella stacks up well against the master. "—San Diego Union Tribune

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jimmy Mangino can bench-press 400 pounds or maybe more after spending time jerking iron in the pen, and now he's back on the streets and moving to establish himself in the New York-New Jersey turf in Stella's second fast-paced, brutal crime novel (after 2001's Eddie's World). Looking to become a made man with the local Mafia and to line his own pockets as quickly as possible, Jimmy gets in on various scams involving loans that are due and porn movies, leaving a wake of maimed and cooling bodies behind him. Cops Alex Pavlik and John DeNafria with Organized Crime know his history, but he's just another head buster as far as they're concerned. Anyway, they have their own problems: Pavlik, shuffled from department to department because he can't control his fists, haunted by images of the victims of a child-murderer he nabbed; DeNafria, caught up in a divorce he can't accept. To the cast add a would-be tough guy, the wannabe's beautiful girlfriend, some Russians and Koreans, swingers and porn stars and more. Stella moves confidently into territory staked out by Elmore Leonard, though he isn't quite as funny or as adept at interlacing his plot lines. Stripped down to essentials, the completely lean prose style-"She spit fragments of her front teeth onto her lap"-ought to do the job for fans of unrelenting underworld fiction, while the squeamish may wish to give this one a pass.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Stella follows his impressive debut (Eddie's World) with this second novel featuring hard-edged but likable cop Alex Pavlik. Recently transferred from Homicide to Organized Crime, Pavlik is trying to take down Jimmy Mangino, an enforcer and all-around bad guy. Mangino is a wannabe made man working for Larry Berra, a wannabe mobster. When Mangino is told to lean on a barber who owes Berra money, he quickly makes the situation work to his advantage. Mangino becomes involved in the businesses of sex and drugs, plays people against each other, and uses brute force, all in an attempt to become a made man. Pavlik spends most of his time retracing Jimmy's footsteps in an effort to bring him down while also trying to get accustomed to a new partner. This is a grittier effort than Stella's first and one with a much more subtle payoff than most crime novels. Recommended for public libraries where crime fiction is popular.
Craig L. Shufelt, Lane P.L., Oxford, OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; 1st Carroll & Graf Ed edition (November 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710578
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710577
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,879,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Manhattan and brought up in Canarsie in Brooklyn. I attended public and catholic schools in Canarsie until going to Minot, North Dakota on a football scholarship. I was hooked as a reader/writer of modern crime fiction after Dave Gresham (my mentor and English teacher) read the opening lines from the George V. Higgins classic, The Friends of Eddie Coyle.

I have worked as a paperboy, watermelon loader, soda-jerk, dishwasher, McDonalds cook, hallway buffer, porter, security guard, UPS laborer, sheetrock carrier, hallway buffer, porter and bouncer, as well as a union window cleaner on 50-story scaffolds and a word processing operator/supervisor/manager.

My favorite crime authors include George V. Higgins, Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy, Ken Bruen, Daniel Woodrell, George Pelecanos, Craig McDonald, Vicki Hendricks and Rick Marinick.

My novels are considered hardboiled and are dialogue driven. I write about small time operators and their dreams. While I do not condone (or agree) with what some of my characters might say during the course of a novel, I defend their right to be idiots and bigots. If you are looking for politically correct crime novels, skip mine.

Three of my novels are now available on kindle (Eddie's World, my 1st novel), Charlie Opera (my third novel) and Mafiya (my 6th novel). Jimmy Bench-Press (my 2nd novel) and Cheapskates (my 4th novel) will be available on kindle shortly.

I have lived in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Long Island in New York and Perth Amboy in New Jersey. I currently reside in Joisey (once again). I have three children (all grown now), a wonderful tomata (wife--the Principessa Ann Marie) and the most fierce bichon-friese in the world--Rigoletto.

I am an American-Italian and never confuse the two. I was born in America and will never be apologetic about that.

I treasure the time I spend with Ann Marie and Rigoletto like you can't believe.

You can also find short stories of mine in the following anthologies/crime fiction collections:

Plots with Guns Anthology, edited by Anthony Neil Smith: Young Tommy Burns (Dennis McMillan)* Available now.

Dublin Noir, edited by Ken Bruen: Tainted Goods (Akashic Books, March 2006)

Hardboiled Brooklyn, edited by Reed Farrel Coleman: Waiting for Gallo (Bleakhouse, May 2006)

Baltimore Noir, edited by Laura Lippman: Ode to the Orioles (Akashic Books, May 2006)

The Adventure of the Missing Detective: And 25 of the Years Finest Crime and Mystery Stories! (edited by Ed Gorman & Martin Greenburg): Father Diodorus (Carroll & Graf)* Available now.

Bloodlines: An Anthology of Horse Racing, edited by Maggie Estepp & Jason Starr: The Cynical Breed (Vintage, Fall 2006)

Reviews of my work can be found on my web page at www.charliestella.com

Feel free to write me at any time at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lean and Mean, April 22, 2003

By 

Michael Rhodes (Fords, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jimmy Bench-Press: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

Jimmy Mangino, aka "Jimmy Bench-Press", is one of those characters that just gets under your skin. Author Charlie Stella does a great job of laying out the day-to-day ugliness that defines the real world of organized crime while at the same time showing that the characters that operate in this world aren't really so removed from the average guy on the street. Jimmy Bench-Press is everyman's worse nightmare -- a guy you wouldn't want to be your enemy or your friend for that matter. Great prose style, interesting story, plot twists and super dialogue made this a quick and entertaining read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rock em Sock em Great Read, February 7, 2003

By 

Jean Fleming (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jimmy Bench-Press: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

This take-no-prisoners follow up to Eddie's World takes you deep inside the life of street-level wise guys and the cops who chase them. Luckily, both sides of the justice equation get equal treatment in Stella's gritty prose.

When a loan goes south, a bit player with a big ego hires a couple of goons to shake down a hapless barber. This sets in motion the man's undoing, as Jimmy Bench-Press soon has the man's voluptuous girlfriend enthralled and double-crossing him. Meanwhile, the cops on the case, new to each other, recovering from bruises in their personal lives, set the wheels in motion that bring the roof down around the scam.

But this doesn't do justice to Stella's wickedly funny and blunt prose. This book is not for the faint of heart, but it will reward readers with a thirst to see an honest portrait of cops and robbers.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, February 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jimmy Bench-Press: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

I'm usually too busy to finish a book quickly, but I finished this one in two days -- I just couldn't put it down! Who cares if I didn't get much sleep?! It was well worth it. What impressed me most was Stella's ability to keep the reader reading, despite the late hour. He really gets you involved with his characters, anxious to find out what will happen to them next. I also gave this book to a few of my friends to read, and they all agree with me. I was so impressed with Stella's work that I purchased his first novel, Eddie's World. I feel the same way about Eddie's World as I do about Jimmy Bench Press; they're both great novels. This would be an excellent read for someone who truly enjoys Sopranos-like entertainment, or for someone who merely appreciates really good writing.