Paradise City (Charnwood Library) [Import] [Hardcover]

Lorenzo Carcaterra (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd; Large Print Ed edition (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184395690X
• ISBN-13: 978-1843956907
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes Revenge is Justice, May 13, 2008

By 

Vesta Irene (the Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paradise City: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

While born in New York City, Giancarlo Lo Manto now is a cop in Naples, Italy. He ended up in Italy as a teenager after his father was killed by a don of the Camorra -- a known criminal organization. He made a promise to himself to get revenge for his father's death. He was working to stop illegal drug trafficking of drugs and other similar crimes with the intention to try and save families from the grief he himself had experienced.

Pete Rossi, who is the son of the man who had ordered his father's death, decides he wants to lure Lo Manto back to the city to die. He does it by having Lo Manto's niece Paula (an exchange student) turn up missing. Jennifer Fabini, a New York detective, is then assigned to help Lo Manto and realizes it puts her in the middle of something bigger than she expected. Lo Manto is a guy who always seems to know exactly what to do and has the right connections to get what he wants done.

A romance does end up developing between Jennifer and Lo Manto, but it's done in a way that I wondered why Carcaterra added it to the plot. Lorenzo Carcaterra is a producer and writer for the TV series Law & Order which makes sense of why some of the narrative reads like a TV script. It ends with an obvious showdown between Lo Manto and Rossi, but even though I saw it coming, was expecting it, was waiting for it I enjoyed it very much, probably because I like a good story about Revenge.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Middle aged housewife who wouldn't be caught dead watching Matlock (or the Simpsons )strikes back and says, November 23, 2005

By 

L. Schofield - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paradise City: A Novel (Hardcover)

this is an enjoyable read. Not great but good enough to have me search out his other novels. The ending is a bit much and the romance is gratuitious. Not all that orginal in plot or character but well written withal and some page turning invloved. Must go now and gnaw on my bone

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action, Revenge and Thrills Galore, November 19, 2010

By 

Tracy Oshima (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paradise City: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

This is an action packed thriller that revolves around the Camorra crime family and an Italian homicide detective. What I really enjoyed about this book was the similarities between the good guy (Giancarlo Lo Manto) and the bad guy (Joe Rossi). I couldn't help but get the feeling that these two characters could have been friends under different circumstances. Their main difference, of course, is the side of the law on which they stand. Gian being a homicide detective in Italy and Rossi being a mobster.

Gian became acquainted with the Camorra, run by Don Nicola Rossi, at the tender age of fifteen, when they shot down his father in New York. Gian's mother decided it would be best to return to Naples, and this is where he saw the daily operations of the mob, the power they had and the killers they produced. In Gian's desire to make things right, he becomes a homicide detective on what is called the most dangerous beat in all Europe. His goal is to stop the Camorra before they can have a chance to leave Naples, therefore never making it over to New York.

This does not make the New York faction of the Camorra happy at all. Joe Rossi decides he must take out Gian and devises a plan to get him to New York, by the kidnapping of Gian's niece. Gian goes to New York to rescue her, but also to take out Joe Rossi once and for all.

What follows is a lot of great action, witty dialog, revenge, thrills galore, and even a little romance. PARADISE CITY will pulled me right in and kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. If you are a fan of crime thrillers, this is a book for you.