The middle (at least I hope it only has 3 volumes) installment of the series falters a bit as it spends too much time focusing on characters other than the hitman-turned-rabbi. Since the other characters aren't as interesting, this is an issue. Also, Goldberg expounds on just about anything he can think of, seriously padding the length of the book. It isn't that what he says isn't interesting or able to induce head nodding, it's just that it delays the evolution of the real story. Clearly Goldberg has fallen in love with his lead character and is stretching things out as long as possible. It is well written, however, i.e., the language is good and the sentences are crisp. Johnny Heller's reading of the audiobook is just about perfect. But I'm ready to get to the end of this saga. Just downloaded Gangsters Don't Die. Why do I have the feeling the hitman will survive? ( )

I missed reading the first book, Gangsterland but had no trouble in picking up the story. Sal Cupertine is a well known hit man in Chicago disappears and reappears as Rabbi David Cohen in Las Vegas with a new career boy launderer for cash, raking off money from a Jewish private school. He planted his stash all over in lock boxes all over. It is a disconcerning that he can preside over weddings and funerals without ever making mistakes. That bothered me all the way through the book. He not even Jewish , he was a con man. The book was engrossing and kept me reading and I was partially interested in the part of Las Vegas that I was familiar with and now want to check out more of the history.

There is also ex-FBI man, Matthew Drew who although he didn't have much time in with the Federal Agency, was still pretending at first that he was still on the case. He becomes so wrapped up in it that he decides to just do what he wants and not worry about any consequences I start to hate him so much that I was relieved with the book would rotate back to other stories. The writing was direct and very dark. The details of Sal Cupertine's face collapsing and the demise of Ronnie Cupertine did not make for a steady stomach through this book.

I received this finished copy from the publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. ( )

"The sequel conducts extended discussions on how America is defined by crime, boldly linking gangland violence to the 9/11 attacks . . . Sal/David's mixing of Talmudic citations with Bruce Springsteen lyrics is still very funny. The sacred gets the stuffing kicked out of it by the profane in this wild and sometimes-shocking novel." —Kirkus Reviews
It's been two years since the events of Gangsterland, when legendary Chicago hitman Sal Cupertine disappeared into the guise of Vegas Rabbi David Cohen. It's September of 2001 and for David, everything is coming up gold: Temple membership is on the rise, the new private school is raking it in, and the mortuary and cemetery—where Cohen has been laundering bodies for the mob—is minting cash. But Sal wants out. He's got money stashed in safe-deposit boxes all over the city. He's looking at places to escape to, Mexico or maybe Argentina. He only needs to make it through the High Holidays, and he'll...

**"One can't help but think of such greats as Mario Puzo, Jimmy Breslin, Elmore Leonard, and Donald E. Westlake while reading this witty, brutal, vital book. Goldberg is a master." -- *Mystery Scene Magazine***
**"Sal Cupertine is back - and better than ever. I love this guy." -- Lee Child, *New York Times* bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series. **
** **
**"Gangster Nation is a razor. It will slice you open and reveal your insides. And like the best of Tod Goldberg's work, it'll show you everything you are at your core." --Brad Meltzer, *New York Times* bestselling author of *The President's Shadow***
It's been two years since the events of *Gangsterland*, when legendary Chicago hitman Sal Cupertine disappeared into the guise of Vegas Rabbi David Cohen. It's September of 2001 and for David, everything is coming up gold: Temple membership is on the rise, the new private school is raking it in, and the mortuary and cemetery--where Cohen has been laundering bodies for the mob--is minting cash. But Sal wants out. He's got money stashed in safe-deposit boxes all over the city. He's looking at places to escape to, Mexico or maybe Argentina. He only needs to make it through the High Holidays, and he'll have enough money to slip away, grab his wife and kid, and start fresh.
Across the country, former FBI agent Matthew Drew is now running security for an Indian Casino outside of Milwaukee, spending his off-time stalking members of The Family, looking for vengeance for the murder of his former partner. So when Sal's cousin stumbles into the casino one night, Matthew takes the law into his own hands--again--touching off a series of events that will have Rabbi Cohen running for his life, trapped in Las Vegas, with the law, society, and the post-9/11 world closing in around him.
*Gangster Nation* is a thrilling follow-up to *Gangsterland*, an unexpected, page-turning examination of the seedy foundations of American life. With the wit and gritty glamor that defines his writing, Goldberg traces how the things we most value in our lives--home, health, even our spiritual lives--have been built on the enterprises of criminals.
**
### Review
**Praise for *Gangster Nation***
**Named 1 of 6 Crime Must-Reads This September by LitHub**
**Named One Of The Favorite Crime Fiction Books of 2017 by The Rap Sheet
A *Desert Sun* Holiday Gift Guide Pick**
"Sal Cupertine is back―and better than ever. I love this guy." ―**Lee Child**
"*Gangster Nation* is a razor. It will slice you open and reveal your insides. And like the best of Tod Goldberg's work, it'll show you everything you are at your core." ―**Brad Meltzer**, *New York Times* bestselling author of *The President's Shadow*
"The sequel conducts extended discussions on how America is defined by crime, boldly linking gangland violence to the 9/11 attacks . . . Sal/David's mixing of Talmudic citations with Bruce Springsteen lyrics is still very funny. The sacred gets the stuffing kicked out of it by the profane in this wild and sometimes-shocking novel." ―*Kirkus Reviews*
"Goldberg's new novel is every bit as entertaining and at least as quirky as its predecessor―not an out-and-out comedy but certainly lighter than most books featuring organized crime figures and crazed law enforcers (although there are moments of memorable darkness). The book can be read as an installment in a series or as a stand-alone; Goldberg provides enough background to allow newbies to pick up the important plot threads." ―*Booklist*
"One can't help but think of such greats as Mario Puzo, Jimmy Breslin, Elmore Leonard, and Donald E. Westlake while reading this witty, brutal, vital book. Goldberg is a master, expertly building upon the grim goings-on of *Gangsterland*, merrily pursuing plot points set up there to their logical, wicked ends. And, as if the impressive buildup of tension weren't sufficient, he ends the current installment on a cliff hanger of truly epic proportions, setting up what appears to be the forthcoming and final installment of the Gangster trilogy. This reviewer is already getting itchy, waiting for that welcome denouement." ―*Mystery Scene Magazine*
**
*"*Offbeat doesn't begin to describe Goldberg's impressive sequel to 2014's *Gangsterland...*Fans of clever mixes of dark humor and violent crime by authors such as Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen will be pleased." -- *Publishers Weekly*
"It's thriller that walks a neat path from funny to frightening, its characters motivated by the overlapping codes of criminality and religion." --* Los Angeles Daily News*
"Not only religion but family (what is the mafia if not a family?) and community are dissected in Goldberg's sharp satires, which also happen to be excellent crime novels." ―LitHub, 1 of 6 Crime Must-Reads This September
"[A] fast-paced, addicting novel." ―*San Diego City Beat*
"Fans of Elmore Leonard will quickly devour Tod Goldberg's latest novel, *Gangster Nation* . . . This worthy follow-up sees Goldberg fine-tune his signature mix of dark humor, violent crime, Talmudic wisdom and suburban satire." ―*Orange Coast Magazine*
"Written with humor and the same type of dark, up-close-and-personal style of dialogue that Don Winslow is known for, Goldberg also mixes in some eyebrow-raising historical facts about how criminals (of all types, but especially gangsters) have shaped and changed America throughout the country's history. A touch better than its predecessor (*Gangsterland*), Goldberg's latest novel is a bold and daring adventure that hits hard early on and never lets up. The story twists and turns its way to a surprising ending, setting things up nicely for the planned third and final book in the Sal Cupertine trilogy, The Death of a Gangster." ―*The Real Book Spy*
"Tod Goldberg's brilliant *Gangster Nation* is hilarious, complex, and a total page-turner. It's also a little insane, in the best possible way." ―Lisa Lutz, *New York Times *bestselling author of *The Passenger*
*"Gangsterland* was compelling in every way, and in *Gangster Nation*, its sequel, Tod Goldberg has written an enthralling portrait of consequences―emotional, physical, moral, you name it. Amid all the expertly choreographed violence and intrigue is a moving, thought-provoking story about the fluid nature of identity, spirituality, and love. I enjoyed every page." ―Vu Tran, author of *Dragonfish*
"*Gangster Nation* punches even harder than the excellent *Gangsterland* did: against the backdrop of 9/11, everybody's roughed up and bleeding, and nobody's hiding it well. Tod Goldberg's weird world is getting *The Sopranos*-good, and *The Sopranos*-funny: he can hit you high, low, or straight in the gut. Meshugener wiseguys. It'll make you a better killer―and a better rabbi." ―Bill Beverly, author of *Dodgers*
"Rabbi David Cohen has some problems. His face is caving in due to bad jaw surgery. He hasn't spoken to his wife or son in years. Also, he killed someone he shouldn't have. I should really mention that he's not a normal rabbi. He's a hit man in disguise. Still, he's good at what he does. He knows how to guide preteens to Bar Mitzvah manhood, counsel troubled members of his congregation, and shut down Kabbalah frauds―and maybe shake them down while he's at it. Sound like the best premise for a novel you've ever heard of? Well, it is. *Gangster Nation* is a delight. A mitzvah, even. The plot's got every twist and turn you could want, the jokes are Woody Allen good, and the writing (if you can slow yourself down to admire it) is beautiful. I couldn't recommend this book more." ―Lily Meyer, events manager, Politics & Prose
**Praise for *Gangsterland***
"Complex characters with understandable motivations distinguish this highly unusual crime novel...Goldberg injects Talmudic wisdom and a hint of Springsteen into the workings of organized crime and FBI investigative techniques and makes it all work splendidly." ―*Publishers Weekly*, Starred Review
"Sal's transformation―and intermittent edification―into Rabbi Cohen is brilliantly rendered, and Goldberg's careening plot, cast of memorably dubious characters, and mordant portrait of Las Vegas make this one of the year's best hard-boiled crime novels." ―*Booklist*, Starred Review
"Clearly influenced by the great Elmore Leonard, Goldberg puts his own dry comic spin on the material...Clever plotting, a colorful cast of characters, and priceless situations make this comedic crime novel an instant classic." ―*Kirkus*, Starred Review
"In his plotting, dialogue, and empathy for the bad guys, Goldberg aspires to the heights of Elmore Leonard. For those who miss the master, *Gangsterland* is a high-grade substitute." ―*New York Times*
"For many of us, *The Godfather*, book or movie, ushered us into a second boyhood, teaching that the incorrigible vitality of a first-rate gangster story could temporarily inoculate us against adult sanity. For readers of a like mind, Tod Goldberg's *Gangsterland* will arrive as a gloriously original Mafia novel: 100 percent unhinged about the professionally unhinged...torridly funny...the novel swells with a spiritual but jazzy tone."―*New York Times Book Review*
"As sharp as a straight razor. But a lot more fun. Count me a huge fan." ―Lee Child, *New York Times* bestselling author of *Personal: A Jack Reacher Novel*
"*Gangsterland* is rich with complex and meaty characters, but its greatest strength is that it never pulls a punch, never holds back, and never apologizes for life's absurdities. If this novel were a person, you could ask it for a bookie." ―Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of *The Fifth Assassin*
"Tod Goldberg is a one-of-a-kind writer, and this is his best novel to date. Harrowing, funny, wise, and heretical, *Gangsterland* is everything a thriller should be." ―T. Jefferson Parker, author of *Full Measure*
"Tod Goldberg has long been one of the most interesting writers around, and *Gangsterland* is his biggest and best book so far." ―Thomas Perry
"With his eye for human detail and trademark wit, as dry as a desert breeze, Tod Goldberg charts Sal Cupertine's unlikely transition from stone-cold mob hitman to Las Vegas rabbi. This tale of witness relocation-by-mob―part Elmore Leonard, part Theatre of the Absurd―is a compelling examination of salvation, which comes in various guises and moves in elusive ways. A wholly unique tale from a wholly unique voice." ―Gregg Hurwitz, New York Times bestselling author of *Don't Look Back*
"Infinitely readable, infinitely funny, and infinitely better than anything else you'll read this year!" ―Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries and
### About the Author
**Tod Goldberg** is the author of the crime-tinged novels *Living Dead Girl*, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, *Fake Liar Cheat, * and the popular Burn Notice series. His essay ''When They Let Them Bleed'' was selected by Cheryl Strayed for inclusion in Best American Essays 2013. He is also the author of the story collections *Simplify * a 2006 finalist for the SCIBA Award for Fiction and winner of the Other Voices Short Story Collection Prize, and *Other Resort Cities.* His short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, twice receiving special mention for the Pushcart Prize as well as being named a distinguished story of the year in *The Best American Mystery Stories 2009.* His essays, journalism, and criticism appear regularly in many publications, including the *Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, * and *Las Vegas CityLife, * and have been featured in *E!*, *Salon, **Jewcy*, and the *Wall Street Journal*, among many others. ( )

I won this kindle edition in a GOODREADS giveaway ( )