Sweeney on the Rocks

by Allen Morris Jones

Ted Sweeney. Affable everyman in small town Montana. Tailgate hung on with baling wire, owner of his own business. Ten minutes ago, his biggest worry had been how to pay for the engagement ring rattling around in his pocket. But that was before he came home to find a corpse tidily arranged in his favorite recliner, his “old pal of a piece of furniture.” Is it a warning or a setup or what? A professional hit, Sweeney can’t help but admire the efficiency of the work, the slice deep across the guy’s throat. Somebody knew what they were doing. Sweeney dumps the body into the Yellowstone River without attracting attention. But over the next few days, as the corpse tumbles its way downstream, Sweeney’s complicated circumstances gradually start rolling into the unflattering light. His is a story that includes the waning days of Italian wise guys in Brooklyn, the rise of the Russian mafia, and his own reluctant retreat into the witness protection program. Throw in a bag of uncut "rocks" (diamonds), an ex-wife turned country sheriff, a beloved mentor that might or might not be dead and a former mistress cashing in favors, and we have a literary crime novel that shows how we can run from ourselves, but can never really hide.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Fiction

264 pages, Paperback

Published April 23, 2019

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ted Sweeney is a handy man type living in tiny Rockjaw, Montana. He seems affable. He is contemplating proposing to his girlfriend. He has an ex-wife who is now a sheriff’s deputy. But his life is not simple, not even close. He comes home one day to find a dead man sitting in his recliner. He has never seen the guy before, but it brings the past roaring into the present. For Sweeney is not who he seems. He is Cosmo Aniello, former mob guy from New York. He has been living in Montana in witness protection. Now it looks like someone has found him. He does what he thinks is best - he dumps the body in the river. But, of course, that solves nothing. A woman from his past shows up with millions of dollars in uncut diamonds. And another body shows up. Sweeney ends up back in New York seeking the Russian mobster who set all this in motion. Filled with stories from Sweeney’s past, showing how he came to be in witness protection, the story moves forward and backward through his life. I thought the book might be humorous, but it is not. It is filled with violence and the cavalier attitude about murder so prevalent in mob stories. Sweeney needs to be smart to figure out what to do to get rid of the diamonds, find his girlfriend, who has been kidnapped, and protect himself. The ending leaves Sweeney not quite accomplishing it all, but somehow you feel like he will handle the future.

[Jim Willse · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a reason why few if any authors from Brooklyn try to write a novel set in the Far West. There's just no way they're going to understand the territory. The same ought to hold true for writers from Montana setting their novels in Brooklyn. It's a long, long way from Bozeman to Bensonhurst. Which is too bad, because Sweeney on the Rocks is a neat treatment of a reliable theme -- ex-hood in witness protection program surfaces in unlikely location, has adventure. I'm sure Jones did some recon, but his grasp of the local speech patterns and mob scene isn't terrific. As a result, much of the gangster material reads like outtakes from a bad Joe Pesci movie.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot I liked about this book, but I got lost. Perhaps it was reading it in fits & starts over the holidays, but at some point I just couldn't connect the dots on the plot. There was some great dialogue that I could imagine as a terrific movie script, but I still have a lot of unresolved plot questions. But it kept me interested & I loved Sweeney & depictions of Montana seen & finally appreciated through the eyes of someone in the witness security program. We have a lot of people here for whom witsec seems the best explanation, & Sweeney fit right into that... ;) I particularly loved the homage to Paul Zarzyski's dog, Zeke... RIP.

[Noel Holston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vaguely reminiscent of "A History of Violence," "Sweeney" revolves around a low-level mobster, now in witness protection in Montana, whose past comes West to bite him. It gets off to a strong, intriguing start, and Jones has a way with words. There's a smartly turned phrase on almost every page. But his depiction of mobster life (and mobster talk) seems less authentic as the narrative moves along -- second hand, as if learned mostly from movies and TV shows. A quietly surprising ending almost makes up for it.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the end I had grown more fond of this story but throughout it was somewhat frustrating and hard to follow. My biggest beef was the mix of mobster-speak and higher level vocabulary. It wasn't usually in the dialogue (if it were I don't think I would have finished reading this) but even being I the narrative just made no sense with the story.

I bought this when I was out in Montana since I wanted to read fiction set there and I'm still glad I did! Nice to read a story set outside of the same 10 or so places they always seem to be set.

[Truff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. The premise was good. I don't usually read books about gangsters or ex gangsters.
But my complaint is that the flashbacks were inserted with just a little ~ to denote time change. I guess I missed some of them, because I found myself going back paragraphs to find out why the continuity was wrong. I guess I need a bigger signpost.

[Andy Weston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Organised crime comes to rural Montana, but this didn’t work for me. The action scenes woke me up and kept me going just about.. but the chief character introductions weren’t convincing enough for me to remember them, and it’s a plot which struggles for continuity.

[Midwest Geek · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend recommended it to me, and it started out well, but after a while I tired of Sweeney. The attempts at humor was lost on me, and I didn't care much about solving the mystery. Maybe just me.

[Reff · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not finish

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Nothing spectacular, just a quick read.

[David Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pulling for the main characters is sometimes tough, brutal confronts everyday

[Dana Vanderploeg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was lost half the time, the story was very jumpy and confusing. The reader voice was soothing but hard to hear for me.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow, but something for everyone! Angst, suspense, emotions, twists.

[Laura Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Seems like the author tried too hard on the Brooklyn accents. Stylistically choppy. Not worth recommending.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy vacation read; very light.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually a 3.5. Sweeney has been living a quiet, honest life in witness protection in Rockjaw, Montana for 12 years when people from his Brooklyn criminal past start showing up.