“1924 Chicago is a turf war: the North Side against the South Side. Booze, guns, money, and blood are all currency here.
Prohibition is a breeding ground for the rise of organized crime in America, and for the ambitious, it means building a fortune.
Mia Scalisi, a street-smart showgirl, has big dreams of leaving behind the small-time supper club she performs at night after night. She wants to see her name in lights—and maybe even on the silver screen. And her brother Nick, an ambitious Mafia capo determined to be the next underworld prince, promises to use the spoils of his new liquor deal to make it happen.
With a promising career within her reach and friends like Al Capone and Johnny Torrio, Mia’s future has never looked brighter, and she can turn a blind eye to Nick’s criminal activities and morally bankrupt ways…until it all catches up with them.
Too late, Mia discovers ambition always comes with a price, and that price must be paid—in blood.
When her world implodes, there’s only one thing she cares about after the dust settles.
Revenge.”
Blood & Whiskey by Meredith Allison was a thrill a minute, drawing the reader into the lost world of intrigue and violence that was Prohibition. Mia Scalisi is the younger sister to Nick. She works at Stems, a supper club owned by Sal Bellomo, who took her and Nick in five years previous. Nick was brought into Sal’s criminal operations. He rose to second in command and was working to secure a lucrative liquor deal when things go sideways. Nick is murdered, leaving Mia alone, but with enough knowledge to navigate the criminal underworld. Using her contacts, Mia sets out to avenge her brother. In doing so, she begins to discover the depths of her true self.
Confession: I love stories set in this era, and this was no exception. I’m looking forward to continuing the series! Mia was a fascinating character, and I enjoyed seeing her evolution. What I truly relished, though, was the seeing big name, ruthless gangsters in ‘normal’ situations. To see them as… people. Al Capone making tea. Not exactly the fierce image his name usually conjures. We are left with the legends, and it’s easy enough to forget that they actually were people, with all the hopes, dreams, and desires of such.
Unsurprisingly, family is a big theme. Mia’s tie to Nick, as his sister, is what prompts the whole story. But there’s more. These weren’t just criminals. They did help people, mostly immigrants. The residents of Torrio’s tenement building seem to love him, and Nick. Goldberg treats Mia like family, even when engaging in business negotiations. Beyond that is the notion of the Family, though they’d put the drow families of Menzoberranzan to shame. My biggest hope for the next in the series is that we get to see Luciano. He’s a personal interest of mine. He was mentioned once or twice, but never interacted with.
***Many thanks to the author for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Silver Dagger Tours
Have you read this or any other Prohibition centred historical fiction? Do you enjoy stories about the Mafia/ gangsters? Any favourites?
