Book description
From "a singular voice in fiction" (USA Today) comes a remarkable new novel about one of the most infamous murders in Florida history.
Tampa, Florida, 1955: a city pulsing with Sicilian and Cuban gangsters, smoky clubs, cigar factories, light and voices and rum. The bludgeoning death of mob boss Charlie…
Why read it?
1 author picked White Shadow as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Tampa is my hometown, and Ace Atkins and I were both reporters for the Tampa Tribune.
He uses the 1955 murder of Tampa mob kingpin Charlie Wall as a peg to tell a story that moves from the cigar factories of Ybor City, downtown Tampa, and even pre-revolution Havana. Atkins gets the setting right and reveals the seamy underbelly of a southern port city where crime and corruption were rampant for much of the 20th century. I can’t resist a novel based around a cynical reporter and a determined cop.
From Paul's list on quirky characters and exotic scenery.
If you love White Shadow...
The Everlasting Life of Charlie Wall
It’s 1985, and Ronald Armstrong, known in the magic mushroom trade as “Trip,” takes a “sober” job as a driver for a retired Tampa mobster. His boss, Charlie Wall, has survived four attempts on his life, the last one in 1955. When Charlie falls into depression, Trip rebuilds his boss’…
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