"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Omertàis the Sicilian code of silence, the essential element by which the Mafia has maintained its power over the centuries. Puzo is interested in the way in which changing times have forced organised crime to adapt, however painful the process. The code is tested when a mob boss, Don Aprile, is brutally murdered in New York. Both Astorre, Aprile's nephew, and Cilke, the New York FBI chief, launch investigations into the killing. It soon becomes clear to both men that a grim conspiracy has spread its tentacles across rival gangs, corrupt bankers and even the courts. Much blood must be spilled before the killers are found--there are many (on both sides of the law) who will do their best to stop this happening.
Puzo's favourite theme--the interchangeability of big business and organised crime--is handled with his customary panache. However much we may disapprove of the horrifically violent Mafiosi, we remain riveted by their implacable cold-bloodedness. Astorre has all the complexity of Michael Corleone (even if we've been here before) but Cilke is a new departure for the author--a lawman who is quite as powerfully characterised as Puzo's criminal protagonists.
It goes without saying that the grisly set-pieces are handled with the usual élan:
The car sped up and stopped as the Don reached the last step. Stace jumped out of the back seat--in one quick move he rested his gun on the roof. He shot two-handed. He only shot twice. The first bullet hit the Don square in the forehead. The second bullet tore out his throat. His blood spurted all over the sidewalk, showering yellow sunlight with pink drops.--Barry Forshaw
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Book Description hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 0375502548-11-30485529
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. 1st Edition. Seller Inventory # ABE-1700344188996
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. First Edition. THE FINAL CHAPTER IN MARIO PUZO'S LANDMARK MAFIA TRILOGYMario Puzo spent the last three years of his life writing Omerta, the concluding installment in his saga about power and morality in America. In The Godfather, he introduced us to the Corleones. In The Last Don, he told the wicked tale of the Clericuzios. In Omerta, Puzo chronicles the affairs of the Apriles, a family on the brink of legitimacy in a world of criminals.Don Raymonde Aprile is an old man wily enough to retire gracefully from organized crime after a lifetime of ruthless conquest. Having kept his three children at a distance, he's ensured that they are now respectable members of the establishment: Valerius is an army colonel who teaches at West Point, Marcantonio is an influential TV network executive, and Nicole is a corporate litigator with a weakness for pro bono cases to fight the death penalty. To protect them from harm, and to maintain his entrée into the legitimate world of international banking, Don Aprile has adopted a "nephew" from Sicily, Astorre Viola, whose legal guardian made the unfortunate decision to commit suicide in the trunk of a car. Astorre is an unlikely enforcer-a macaroni importer with a fondness for riding stallions and recording Italian ballads with his band.Though Don Aprile's retirement is seen as a business opportunity by his last Mafia rival, Timmona Portella, it is viewed with suspicion by Kurt Cilke, the FBI's special agent in charge of investigating organized crime. Cilke has achieved remarkable success in breaking down the bonds between families, cultivating high-ranking sources who in return for federal protection have violated omerta-Sicilian for "code of silence," the vow among men of honor that, until recently, kept them from betraying their secrets to the authorities.As Cilke and the FBI mount their campaign to wipe out the Mafia once and for all, Astorre Viola and the Apriles find themselves in the midst of one last war, a conflict in which it is hard to distinguish who, if anyone, is on the right side of the law, and whether mercy or vengeance is the best course of action.Rich with suspense, dark humor, and the larger-than-life characters who have turned Mario Puzo's novels into modern myths, Omerta is a powerful epitaph for the Mafia at the turn of a new century, and a final triumph for a great American storyteller. Seller Inventory # DADAX0375502548
Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 0.85. Seller Inventory # bk0375502548xvz189zvxnew
Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published 0.85. Seller Inventory # 353-0375502548-new
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0375502548
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0375502548
Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0375502548
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Brand New Copy. Seller Inventory # BBB_new0375502548
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0375502548