"A Member of the Family" by Nick Vasile

Publisher:Tom Doherty Associates 1993
Edition:First Tor edition.
Copyright Date:©1993
ISBN: 0312853491
Characteristics: 320 pages

This book is a fascinating look (albeit fictional) at the world of the Mafia. I found it to be well researched, and the characters very believable. In some instances it might be compared to "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, however I believe it is superior to that work in that it tells a concise story rather than telling you the history of a family. This is not to put down Mr. Puzo's work which was also very good, but which is also very long.

Mr. Vasile is a Washington D.C. undercover police officer and New York City private eye and used his experiences in the telling of this story. This same background was also been given to the lead character Paul Dante.

The story revolves around Dante who is hired by the Washington D. C. Mafia to locate a missing person, the newly married son-in-law of the Benedetti Family's underboss Santo Benedetti, and brother to the godfather.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this novel which I believe is why I enjoyed it so much as the author gets you thinking about why things happen the way they do, and then as many good authors do he'll throw you a curve that you never expected.

The only bad thing I can say about this book, is that it seems to be the only one that Mr. Vasile has written, which is a shame as I would love read more of his work.

High recommended.