Sometimes Your Past Won't Let You Go...

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"With less than five days left in the expiring millennium,
the patrons of Evangeline's were in the mood to celebrate.
They were at the precipice. The promise of a new age was
littered with the apprehension of the unknown where the
religious zealots were having a field day. Vague predictions
combined with a feeling of ambivalence by those who feared
the future and the change it could bring set the stage for an
undertone of repressed hysteria. On a more legitimate scale,
computer experts worldwide warned of a systematic shutdown
at the stroke of midnight..Still, most of the population didn't
take any of these premonitions too seriously. For them,
this was going to be the party of a lifetime..."

Table 21




T. Rafael Cimino






What were you involved with when the year was 1999 and 2000 was just around the corner? I was one of those individuals who were caught up in preparing computer systems for the predicted "crash" that never happened! Surprise! For the characters in Table 21, there was the normal concern of small businesses, but for Roman Sabarese, in particular, a lot more was being planned before the end of the year...

Sabarese, the owner of Evangeline's, the hottest restaurant in Tribeca, is also, according to a regional computer site for mob bosses, now head of a criminal enterprise, covering three states, that was formerly run by his father. That mob kingpin had been indicted and was now in prison. But, in reality, even before his father had been put in prison, Roman Sabarese had willingly taken over Evangeline's and had little to do with anything his father was involved with. Secrets of his past haunted him, while secrets in the present were forcing him to take actions faster than planned.

Because Zoe Greene, a TV and movie star had come to visit Evangeline's and disappeared. She had sat at Table 21 with Roman, but apparently had not been seen since! Zoe was part of the restaurant family since she had worked there to make her way through college, so her mother contacted Roman right away when she never came home. But did that mean that Roman should order his own staff to search for her? Especially when Bones, who had just gotten out of prison, was one of the men searching? With many suspects later turning up dead?

But everything they had tried had not worked in picking up the trail to find Zoe...

Official eyes were on Roman, not only as the owner of the restaurant where she had been last seen, but because recent scandal newspapers had linked Zoe and Roman, with a picture of the two talking at Table 21 on that day she had disappeared...

Strangely enough in this tale of the mob, it is a member of the police force that Roman finally goes to, officially reporting her disappearance and asking for help. That had caught the whole force off guard, for surely a member of the mob family had never willingly visited their building! Captain Stan Fitzgerald had known Roman for many years. While fighting cancer and heading up his unit took up most of his time, he chose to personally go back out on the streets to respond to Roman's request for help.  Which immediately got the Internal Affairs in to investigate what the mob boss had wanted...

Cimino takes readers into the personal life of the heir apparent of a mob leader... Was he in too deep to ask for police help? Or was he simply a local business owner naturally expecting help when someone has apparently disappeared? Can you ever escape your past? This totally unexpected drama grabs you and holds you until the end! For those who enjoy crime novels, You'll also get a large measure of "heart" softening the incidents of crime. This is unique in sharing both sides--both the police perspective and the life within a criminal organization. I had mixed feelings for the ending, since it was somewhat disappointing, but still it proved to be quite satisfactory given the overall story...Highly recommended!

Book Received Via
Akula Media Group




GABixlerReviews

"Roman Sabarest walked the busy sidewalk towards the precinct house. Every fifth or sixth pedestrian
turned back to look at him as though this was Hollywood and he were an A-lister himself. His profile
had been featured on the front page of The Observer and every other underground newspaper that
specialized in celebrity gossip. His image had also maintained a permanent place within the masthead
of the popular mafia website, Mob-boss.com. If Roman was anything in the city, he was now one of its
most mysterious celebrities..."
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tribeca_greenwich2.jpg

About the Author: T. Rafael Cimino is an internationally recognized screenwriter and novelist.

His first book, Mid Ocean, was an instant success and became an overnight bestseller. He lives

in North Carolina with his family.