Sunburn (Key West Capers)

It's not easy being the Godfather. All those secrets and all that guilt add up to a terrible burden--a weight that's killing Vincente Delgatto. When the old man travels to Key West for a visit with his illegitimate son--Joey Goldman, the unlikely hero of FLORIDA STRAITS--Joey floats the idea of a conscience-easing memoir, to be written in collaboration with a local reporter. It's a well-intentioned but extremely dangerous idea, since no one--not the Mafia, not the FBI, not the legitimate heir to the Delgatto family business--wants to see that memoir published. Will Vincente live long enough to get a lifetime's worth of secrets off his chest? Will writer Arty Magnus ever actually finish a book? For that matter, will Bert the Shirt and his chihuahua Don Giovanni ever enjoy a completely successful walk, and are there punishments enough on earth for Gino, the ingrate son who'd rat out his own father? Balancing suspense and humor, double-crosses and tenderness, SUNBURN is both a full-throttle crime novel and a touching meditation on family, old age, and the many shades of human loyalty.