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The Winter of Frankie Machine

by Don Winslow



      The Winter of Frankie Machine is one of the best books I have read this year. It is a thoroughly entertaining yarn about charismatic ex-mafia hit man, Frankie Machianno, who is now living a quiet, respectable life in southern California, running a bait shop and a linen service in Ocean Beach. He also supplies numerous restaurants with fish, taking it upon himself to visit these establishments and making sure his customers are happy. He's a workaholic, and still finds the time to enjoy the surf and the ocean.

Unexpectedly, Frankie gets pulled back into the dangerous world he left behind; someone is trying to kill him. Through flashbacks, the reader gets to know how Frankie got his nickname and what his life was like before he retired to his more honorable life as a businessman. Frankie tries hard to figure out why anyone would want to kill him now, as he goes over past hits, making a mental list of all those who would want him dead.

Despite his criminal past, Frankie Machine's complex character, his love for his daughter and his duty toward his ex-wife will endear readers, while his escapades during his Mafioso days will thrill fans of this genre. This story has been optioned for movie rights and it appears that Robert DeNiro will play the title role.

The Power of the Dog and The Winter of Frankie Machine have secured Don Winslow's place among the world's great crime writers. Winslow is a great storyteller, and Frankie Machianno's story is more than a personal account; it tells the story of the west coast mob and its relation to more powerful eastern arms of the Mafia. Crackling dialogue, unrelenting action and a multi-level plot kept me reading all night, and guaranteed that I will be first in line to buy Don Winslow books. Nobody does it better.

The Book

Random House/Knopf
September 4, 2007
Paperback
0307277666 / 978-0307277664
Mystery / Detective
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Beverly J. Rowe
Reviewed 2007
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