I love mafia movies and was expecting something along the lines of The Godfather. While it has mob killings and rats, it is more a love story of two people in a difficult setting finding each other. Her husband pulls her into his world with varying results.įorgive me for quoting so much of the book but the language used is part of the charm of Lowdown. Eventually, she marries a made man and they have children. Milena rebels against this stereotype by making poor choices in men and getting involved in crime. Against the background of notorious NYC serial killers and the Vietnam war, her role is to get married and have children. She is an Italian teenage girl in the 1970s.

Milena is only thirteen when her story begins. You’re fifty-eight years old and a newborn.”īut this is not just Jimmy’s story about reinventing himself after being a stand-up guy for twenty-five years, it also the story of young Milena. Jimmy, a made man, is finally getting out of prison. That’s what twenty-five years in the calendar shop does to you.” You’re not even sure if you hate it anymore. Freedom is just a dream, something you imagine often but incompletely. People have died, gone to prison, disappeared. You know you want to be on the other side, but you don’t trust your memories. You want to get laid more than you want to get even. The next seven years you crave freedom and things you remember from before. “The first seven years you’re in the can, all you can think about is revenge. Lowdown, a romantic thriller set in the world of New York City’s mafia families, has the best first paragraph I’ve read in a long time: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Schneider will keep you reading to the very last word. Can they find redemption and happiness or is it too late. We come to care about Jimmy and Milena even though they have done things in their lives that are upsetting.

Love, danger, violence, crime and prison and perhaps fate determine the outcome of their lives. We follow Jimmy and Milena as they struggle in the life they have chosen. Combining a riveting crime drama and a moving love story in one book requires skill and Schneider is up to the task. Jimmy and Milena are the two protagonists in Anthony Schneider’s novel Lowdown. Marriage to Vincent, a mafia prince seemed to meet her needs. Milena is a young woman who has dreams and yearns for security. Intelligent and savvy, Jimmy was leading a dead end life. In mobbed up Brooklyn, Jimmy was struggling. Little did they know that they were looking at fire ant infested crab grass. We’ve all heard the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” For Jimmy Pacinni and Milena Cossutta the grass appeared greener to them.

Lowdown by Anthony Schneider