The Winter of Frankie Machine

by Don Winslow

The mob guys know it. They know that you bribe a politician only once. After that, you blackmail him.

There’s trouble that you’ve had, trouble that you presently have, and trouble you’re going to have—that’s the world.

Every man has a fatal flaw. Bap had taught Frank that. Not in those words exactly, but the point was that every man had a chink in his armor, and it was just a matter of finding it.