Toughs

by Ed Falco

Overview

Set during the Great Depression and based in part on real characters and a series of historical events, Toughs follows the story of Loretto Jones as he finds his life intertwined with the fate of Vince Coll, a 23-year-old Irish gangster who for a brief moment rose to the level of a national celebrity during his war with Dutch Schultz, Owen Madden, and Lucky Luciano. Tagged “Mad Dog Coll” after killing five-year-old Michael Vengelli in a botched assassination attempt, Coll was the subject of a shoot-to-kill order issued by New York City Police Commissioner Edward P. Mulrooney, a $50,000 bounty offered by Dutch Shultz and Owen Madden, and $30,000 in reward money from by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the city’s newspapers. Loretto and Vince are bound to each other by years spent in an orphanage and on the streets, but in the summer of 1931, with Loretto in love with newly-divorced Gina Baronti, and Vince in thrall to the beautiful Lottie Kriesberger, their world of tough guys in tough times is hurtling toward disaster, and Loretto finds himself faced with impossible choices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609531119
Publisher:	Unbridled Books
Publication date:	08/12/2014
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	1,196,795
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Ed Falco most recently is the author of the New York Times best-selling novel, The Family Corleone, a prequel to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and subsequent saga.

Falco has received innumerable awards, prizes and fellowships, and is the author of four previous novels, four story collections, and numerous plays, poems, essays, and critical reviews, including the novels St John of the Five Boroughs (Unbridled 2009), Wolf Point (Unbridled 2006), and the story collection Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha: New and Selected Stories (Unbridled 2006). His stories have been published widely in journals, including The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, The Missouri Review and TriQuarterly, and collected in The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, and several anthologies, including, Blue Cathedral: Short Fiction for the New Millennium.

An early innovator in the field of digital writing, Falco's online work includes Self-Portrait as Child w/Father (Iowa Review Web), Circa 1967-1968 (Eastgate Reading Room), "Charmin' Cleary" (Eastgate Reading Room), and "Chemical Landscapes Digital Tales (with photographer Mary Pinto, in Volume I of The Electronic Literature Collection).

Editorial Reviews

08/04/2014
For this hard-hitting crime novel, Falco (The Family Corleone) draws on historical events involving Vince "Mad Dog" Coll, an Irish-American gangster who gained notoriety for, among other things, the accidental killing of a five-year old boy during a shoot-out in New York City in 1931. Set amid the poverty and despair of the Great Depression, Falco's unapologetically brutal narrative adeptly captures the dichotomy of the times—from the ruthlessness of life in the Bronx to the glittering revues of the Cotton Club—by chronicling the desperate lives of Coll and those around him, namely Loretto Jones, who met Coll at an orphanage when they were children and followed him into the world of organized crime. But as Coll rises to infamy and starts bloody conflicts with mobsters like Owen Madden and Lucky Luciano, Jones tries to leave the lifestyle and begin a new life with girlfriend Gina only to be pulled back time and time again. The story line takes a while to get up to speed, but patient readers will be rewarded with a satisfying albeit predictable conclusion. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

...a blistering pace, well-rounded characters, and moral dilemmas that are never pat....Recommend to fans of The Godfather books, historical fiction, and those who like their novels with a lot of action and a bit more substance.” —LJ Xpress

“This hard-hitting crime novel . . . adeptly captures the dichotomy of the times—from the ruthlessness of life in the Bronx to the glittering revues of the Cotton Club.” —Publishers Weekly

“Reminded me almost immediately of Dennis Lehane: really atmospheric and gritty, authentic sounding characters. . . fans of Dennis Lehane, James Lee Burke, and the Sopranos will love this. Perfect to hit the shelves at the end of a long hot summer.” —Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books

“A rip-roaring portrayal of Prohibition-era gangsters in New York. Falco knows the ins and outs of loyalty, greed, power, and failed love. He writes with power and verve. This is a novel that’s very hard to put down.” —Alyson Hagy

From the Publisher

2014-07-01
Falco (The Family Corleone, 2012,etc.) dissects a New York City ganglandwar over Prohibition speak-easies and rumrunning.In 1931, the Mafia didn't rule BigApple crime. The illegal booze trade was controlled by a loose confederationcalled the Combine, made up of a variety of Irish mobsters and the tightfisted,ever angry Dutch Schultz's gang. Falco's plot is anchored by historicalgangland figures such as Schultz and Vince Coll—the "Mad Dog" oflegend—but it's Coll's fictional friend Loretto Jones who provides perspective.Coll was a soldier in Schultz's gang, which led to his brother's death; inretribution, he wants to destroy the Combine, led by Owen Madden, anotherhistorical figure neatly fitted into the narrative. Coll's first shot is theattempted assassination of a hot-tempered subcapo. His fusillade kills a child;politicos grab headlines offering big rewards; and the Combine wants blood.With Loretto nearby, witnessing the shooting, the police and the Combine thinkhe was involved. The action moves from the mean streets of the Bronx tobasement speak-easies and the fabled Cotton Club, showing Falco's grip onenvironments from cold-water tenements to greasy spoons. Mad Dog is the moststriking character here, a charismatic psychopath. Loretto's loyal to him, buthe's also tied to the Baronti family, which gives him refuge after he witnessesthe shooting; he's also in love with Gina, their beautifuldaughter. Loretto grows into a somewhat sympathetic protagonist,considering the mean streets of his youth, through outside influences andintrospection. Coll is one-note, his only positive quality a twisted sense ofloyal. Madden, Schultz, Luciano and the rest of the historical gang are straightout of newspaper columns yet subtly nuanced. There's gunplay for action fans,some R-rated gore and PG-sex. Falco's style tends towardreportorial, which gives the book a texture different from classic noir yetprovides an intriguing read for crime-fiction fans.

Kirkus Reviews

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