War of the Dons / Black Mafia

by Peter Rabe, Rick Ollerman (Introduction)

WAR OF THE DONS The Guarda brothers run capo Messina’s territory. Pepe, the oldest, is the muscle. Nuncio, the younger brother, is the accountant. And Marco, he’s the wolf. Restless, hungry, he’s through taking orders. It’s his idea to get rid of Messina and take over. But to do that, the hit has got to look like an accident, or they risk the wrath of Messina’s boss, Don Angelo. So Marco hires a twitchy drug addict with a penchant for danger, a guy who knows how to turn Messina’s simple hospital visit into a fatality. It’s all going so well, so smoothly. Then Don Angelo steps in to take control, and the Guarda brothers really go to war. BLACK MAFIA Cutter used to be part of the movement, but got busted for knocking over a bank. He did his time, now he’s out. But things have changed. His former mentor is now a teacher, and wants nothing to do with him. It’s all Cutter can do to stay one step ahead of the Man. And now some white guys are coming into the Belt to stir up trouble, busting the local action and making it look like a Perrini job. But Perrini is quite happy with the status quo. Sure he skims the Belt, but he’s not looking for trouble. Trouble finds him anyway in the form of Don Santino’s nephew, Angelo, who’s got a hidden agenda all his own. And that’s when Cutter figures it’s time to make his move.

Genres: Crime

298 pages, Paperback

Published June 8, 2018

About the author

Peter Rabe aka Peter Rabinowitsch, was a German American writer who also used the nom de plumes Marco Malaponte and J.T. MacCargo (though not all of the latter's books were by him). Rabe was the author of over 30 books, mostly of crime fiction, published between 1955 and 1975.

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Stark House Press double-novel edition of The Box and Journey Into Terror which I enjoyed. This penultimate novel by Dr. Rabe (he had a Ph.D. in psychology and taught at a university) is a mob novel ("From The Publishers Of THE GODFATHER" reads the front cover blurb). The bloody narrative is the takeover attempt made by the three Guarda brothers from the creaky, old dons running the outfit. Lots of dead bodies, tough guy mob patter, double-crosses, and violent action are what you find here. Rabe uses an original voice that I found easier to follow in this novel. I liked the interactions between the very different Guarda brothers. The humor is dry much like Westlake's is. The great front cover art is uncredited.