Jersey Leo tries to stay on the clean side of the law. However, when his childhood friend Aaron Gravey asks him to share his last meal before his execution, he finds that Gravey has a favor to ask as well. In BLIND MOON ALLEY written by John Florio, it is 1931, and Jersey feels the pressure of helping a close friend who came across some bad cops, which is the reason he is facing death by execution. For shooting one himself.
Jersey is an albino who grew up being bullied in school for being different. His childhood friend who had his back growing up has asked him to help out another classmate of theirs Myra. Gravey was arrested for shooting a corrupted detective and now his partner, Reeger is hustling Myra for payments. It is up to Jersey to help find Gravey when he somehow escapes before execution with the plans to take out Reeger himself. Myra was a cripple when Jersey last saw her, but years later she is a different woman who now seems happy, except for Reeger's threats when payments are not received. Jersey has to figure out who he can trust, and learn which friends still have his back as he tries to stay on the right side of the law when it seems the law is corrupt.
John Florio's BLIND MOON ALLEY is a well-written novel that accurately exhibits the voice of that era. As someone who loves to occasionally read novels set in the past, I enjoy a really solid one that you can almost feel the atmosphere of the setting through the descriptions given. The characters are easily likable and each page came with the surprise of "Not seeing that coming"! I totally enjoyed reading BLIND MOON ALLEY and look forward to Jersey's next adventure.
It's Prohibition. It's Philadelphia. And Jersey Leo doesn't
fit in.
Jersey is an albino of mixed race. Known as "Snowball" on
the street, he tends bar at a speakeasy the locals call the
Ink Well. There, he's considered a hero for having saved the
life of a young boy. But when his old grade school buddy,
Aaron Garvey, calls from death row and asks for one last
favor, all hell breaks loose.
Jersey finds himself running from a band of crooked cops,
hiding an escaped convict in the Ink Well, and reuniting
with his grammar school crush--the now sultry Myra Banks,
who has shed a club foot and become a speakeasy siren.
Through it all, Jersey tries to safeguard the Ink Well with
no help other than his ragtag group of friends: his
ex-boxing-champion father, Ernie Leo; the street-savvy
Johalis; a dim-witted dockworker named Homer; and the
dubious palm reader Madame Curio. With them, Jersey digs for
the truth about his friend Aaron Garvey--and winds up
discovering a few things about himself.
No excerpt available.
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