ROAD TO PARADISE is the third leg of Max Allan Collins’ trilogy, which began with ROAD TO PERDITION, the graphic novel that became an Oscar-winning movie. Whether or not you’ve seen the film or read either of the books before PARADISE, relax: You’ll be fine, since Collins does a masterful job at playing catch-up with the characters’ history.

This novel – non-illustrated, mind you – picks up with Michael Satariano enjoying life as a the head of the Cal Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe, putting his past as a mob enforcer – like his late father – behind him. PARADISE is set in 1973 and is very much of that time, with Michael’s son serving in Vietnam, a daughter who can’t forgive Dad for letting her brother join up, and a wife who is only dreading the worst of what could happen to their only boy.

Collins gives us a very clear picture of this family life, and by switching gears every so often in the storyline, you’re sucked into the world more emotionally as the pages go by, especially with the discovery that their son is considered missing in action. Then there’s the issue of Michael’s past coming back to haunt him via Sam Giancana asking him to perform an action for him. Michael’s refusal sets the rest of the book in motion.

Once he is framed for the killing of a mob leader, Michael just wants to play it straight, going to an early form of the Witness Protection Program, causing even more strain on the family life, with his daughter rebelling to the point of running away. Michael has to contend with his killing ways, knowing full well they are skills that hopefully will keep his family alive.

Once you reach the end, it’s clear PARADISE pretty much offers closure to a bigger circle in this trilogy. Collins not only gives you a great mob novel, but a serious family drama that blows away anything THE SOPRANOS does on TV. And without all the crappy dream sequences. –Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.
Discuss it in our forums.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• DICK TRACY by Max Allan Collins
• THE LAST QUARRY by Max Allan Collins
• MY LOLITA COMPLEX AND OTHER TALES OF SEX AND VIOLENCE by Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens
• QUARRY’S LIST by Max Allan Collins
• THE WAR OF THE WORLDS MURDER by Max Allan Collins