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Review
Boisterous black comedy writer - funny and good-hearted, with much incident and expert enthusiasm for sex, food and drink.A" Literary Review A wonderful observer of everyday life, petty evil and the ordinariness of crime. One of France's leading crime and mystery authors.A" The Guardian
Product Description
Under cover of darkness, an American family moves into a villa in Cholong-sur-Avre in Normandy. Fred Blake, the father, tells everyone he is there to write a history of the Allied landings. But Fred Blake's real name is Giovanni Manzoni - and ex-Mafia boss who has grassed and is now part of the FBI's witness protection program. Violent, pacy and saturated with black humour, Benacquista's story explores what would happen if, say, the Soprano family were to move to Normandy - and the consequences are hilarious.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This excellent novel deservedly made the short list for
the CWA 2010 International Dagger(best crime fiction
translated into English).
Fred Blake--aka -Giovanni Manzoni,ex-mafia from Newark,
USA,is under a FBI portection programme,and has just moved
to a small town in Normandy with his wife ,son and daughter.
His evidence led to the long-term imprisonment of the mafia
boss,and there is a 20 million dollar bounty on his head.
As the family settle into provincial life,Fred writes his
mafia memoirs,his wife engages in charity work ,whilst
the 2 children make an impression at their school.Then
mayhem arrives!
In this highly innovative novel the author does not glorify
the mafia or violence,rather uses satire and black humour with
telling skill.A delightful read.
the CWA 2010 International Dagger(best crime fiction
translated into English).
Fred Blake--aka -Giovanni Manzoni,ex-mafia from Newark,
USA,is under a FBI portection programme,and has just moved
to a small town in Normandy with his wife ,son and daughter.
His evidence led to the long-term imprisonment of the mafia
boss,and there is a 20 million dollar bounty on his head.
As the family settle into provincial life,Fred writes his
mafia memoirs,his wife engages in charity work ,whilst
the 2 children make an impression at their school.Then
mayhem arrives!
In this highly innovative novel the author does not glorify
the mafia or violence,rather uses satire and black humour with
telling skill.A delightful read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
None of the Blake family are particularly happy to be moving to a quiet town in Normandy. However, as they're really the Manzoni family from New Jerse,y and are in the Witness Protection Programme after Fred ratted out of his former Mafia colleagues, the family don't really have a great deal of choice. So they settle into small town life...somewhat. Fred decides he's going to be a writer, his wife Maggie assuages her guilt by doing charity work and watching the neighbours (with the help of the FBI men who have moved in nearby to protect them and to make sure they don't do anything stupid), and children Warren and Belle do what they need to do to get by at school. And each of them does their thing more or less on their own. They could not be described as a cohesive family unit. Much more cohesive is the Family (best said with cotton wool balls in the cheeks) who are trying to track them down. This would make a great film - there are some scenes that made me grin from ear to ear and the whole book is a pacy black comedy. For me, however, the characters were just too lightly drawn. They held my interest but I didn't really care about them one way or the other.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Pacy Black Comedy
18 Mar 2011
Format:Paperback
None of the Blake family are particularly happy to be moving to a quiet town in Normandy. However, as they're really the Manzoni family from New Jerse,y and are in the Witness Protection Programme after Fred ratted out of his former Mafia colleagues, the family don't really have a great deal of choice. So they settle into small town life...somewhat. Fred decides he's going to be a writer, his wife Maggie assuages her guilt by doing charity work and watching the neighbours (with the help of the FBI men who have moved in nearby to protect them and to make sure they don't do anything stupid), and children Warren and Belle do what they need to do to get by at school. And each of them does their thing more or less on their own. They could not be described as a cohesive family unit. Much more cohesive is the Family (best said with cotton wool balls in the cheeks) who are trying to track them down. This would make a great film - there are some scenes that made me grin from ear to ear and the whole book is a pacy black comedy. For me, however, the characters were just too lightly drawn. They held my interest but I didn't really care about them one way or the other.
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