Celestin, Ray: The Mobster‘s Lament

‘A compendious, gripping book that captures the fizzing energy of New York at one of the most exciting points in its history‘ Sunday Express Like every other mobster, the longer he stayed in the life, the closer he got to a shallow grave . . . New York, 1947. Mob fixer Gabriel Leveson needs to leave this city behind. But his plans to flee are upset when he‘s given a job by the boss of all bosses, Frank Costello. A job he can‘t turn down . . . Meanwhile, a killing spree in a Harlem flophouse has left an innocent black man on Death Row. In order to save him, the man‘s father - ex-private investigator Michael Talbot - and his old partner Ida Young must track down the real killer. While across town, Ida‘s childhood friend Louis Armstrong is on the brink of bankruptcy, until a promoter approaches him with a strange offer to reignite his career. ‘ A vividly written crime thriller which is a contender for book of the year‘ Daily Mirror ‘A multi-layered mystery, and a dynamic portrait of a teeming city, rife with corruption‘ Guardian