Gangsters Don't Die: A Novel

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The "gloriously original" and critically acclaimed crime series starring a Chicago hitman hiding out as a rabbi in the desert suburbs of Las Vegas comes to a thrilling conclusion (The New York Times) Mafia hit-man-turned-rabbi Sal Cupertine is ready to get out of the life. But it's not going to be easy. His once-brilliant plan to pass himself off as Rabbi David Cohen is unraveling. Enemies on both sides of the law are hot on his trail. His wife and son are unreachable in witness protection and are probably in danger. In order to find his family, get out of the desert alive, and salvage his long-sought-after happy ending, Sal is going to have to confront some very bad people from his past. Native American kingpin Peaches Pocotillo has wrested control of Chicago's mob family while expanding his criminal empire in the west, and now seeks to settle an old score with Sal. These two antiheroes have a history that stretches back decades, and the blood feud between Peaches and Sal will lead them to a violent showdown deep in the heart of the low desert. As complications cast old revelations in a new light, including one that stretches back to the long-ago death of Sal's infamous gangster father Dark Billy Cupertine, Sal must team up with some unlikely allies-and confront the reality of who he has become-in this stunning conclusion to the popular and critically acclaimed Gangsterland trilogy.

Reviews

The Washington Post, A Most Anticipated Title

Theres a machine gun in this book, the rat-a-tat-tat prose that punches page after pagebut dont let it fool you, theres also true wisdom in here. In the midst of the mobsters, rabbis, shysters, Springsteen, and of course the Torah, you will get an educationabout family, about murder, and about having a code. Gangsters Dont Die is delicious. Tod Goldberg is part-Chandler, part-shaman, and all-killer. Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The Lightning Rod

Tod Goldberg concludes his smart, irreverent, and bloody Gangsterland trilogy with a bang. Gangsters Don't Die is a tour-de-force that is witty, violent, and brilliantly observed. With these three novels, Goldberg has forever changed the crime genre for the betterelevating it with unforgettable characters, humor, and style to spare. I didn't want it to end. Ivy Pochoda, author of Sing Her Down

"Tod Goldberg's Gangsters Don't Die is one of the best books I've ever read. Gripping Yes. Gonzo-violent. Uh huh. Stuffed just right with pathos and hope, humor and despair, this story about a rabbi-slash-hitman aims for your head and explodes in your heart." Rachel Howzell Hall, bestselling author of We Lie Here and These Toxic Things

Only thing better than the smell of napalm in the morning is the heavy rain of body parts Tod Goldberg gives us here. That includes the heart, on every page of this conclusion to the Gangsterland series. I want Sal Cupertine to be my spiritual advisor now, please. Stephen Graham Jones, author of Dont Fear the Reaper

Gangsters Don't Die is a highwire act of plot and character, filled with criminals whose deadpan sense of humor and willingness to kill for family, always for family, exists alongside the voice of Sal Cupertine, hitman turned rabbi, offering advice on belief and loyalty through the sage counsel of the Talmud. I found myself thinking all day about families, and love, at the heart of a thriller with the most inventive ways to describe killing I've read in a long, long time. Just stunning. Susan Straight, author of Mecca and In the Country of Women

Author Bio

TOD GOLDBERG is the author of more than a dozen books, including Gangsterland, a finalist for the Hammett Prize, Gangster Nation, and The Low Desert- Gangster Stories, named Southwest Book of the Year and a finalist for several literary prizes. He lives in Indio, California, where he directs the low-residency MFA in creative writing and writing for the performing arts at the University of California, Riverside.