The Family

(Paperback)

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Description

Under cover of darkness, an American family moves into a villa in Cholong-sur-Avre in Normandy. Fred Blake tells everyone he is writing a history of the landings. In fact Blake is Giovanni Manzoni, an ex-Mafia boss who grassed and is now in the FBI Witness Protection Program. Having blown his cover a number of times in the US, the FBI finally sends him to France. Things happen to this thuggish family: a plumber who angers Fred with delays and exorbitant estimates 'falls down the stairs' and breaks both arms, the manager of the local supermarket insults Maggie behind her back so that afternoon his supermarket burns down, Warren, the son, starts a gang in his lyce, to intimidate and extort other pupils. A coincidence beyond belief blows Fred's cover yet again and, with the arrival of the shooters from Newark, he is able to dive back into the violent life of crime he misses so much.

Reviews

"A sharp vengeance thriller filled with charm and humour." Times "Savagely funny and surprisingly touching." Guardian "What would happen if a mafia boss took FBI protection in return for grassing and settled in with his folks in Normandy A queasily-comic, stylishly-executed romp." Independent

Author Bio

After being, in turn, a museum night-watchman, a train guard on the Paris-Rome line and a professional parasite on the Paris cocktail circuit, Benacquista now a highly successful author of fiction, film scripts and even graphic novels. 'Holy Smoke', 'Someone Else' and 'Framed' were previously published by Bitter Lemon Press.