1924 Chicago is a turf war: the North Side against the South Side. Booze, guns, money, and blood are all currency here.Prohibition is a breeding ground for the rise of organized crime in America, and for the ambitious, it means building a fortune. Mia Scalisi, a street-smart showgirl, has big dreams of leaving behind the small-time supper club she performs at night after night. She wants to see … She wants to see her name in lights—and maybe even on the silver screen. And her brother Nick, an ambitious Mafia capo determined to be the next underworld prince, promises to use the spoils of his new liquor deal to make it happen.
With the career of her dreams within her reach and friends like Al Capone and Johnny Torrio, Mia’s future has never looked brighter, and she turns a blind eye to Nick’s criminal activities and morally bankrupt ways…until it all catches up with them.
Too late, Mia discovers ambition always comes with a price, and that price must be paid—in blood.
When her world implodes, there’s only one thing she cares about after the dust settles.
Revenge.
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An orphaned brother and sister are trying to make it on their own within the streets of the large cities; New York and Chicago. The way to make money during the late 1920’s was to run with the liquor business which in turn outs you into the world of gangsters. Meredith does a great job of creating a storyline of life during the Prohibition era and learning that no one can be trusted, not even blood. The beginning was a little heavy with character introduction but they are all pieced together throughout the story. I thought it was well written and did not seem over the top even though a lot was happening. It made the story seem more realistic with known gangsters as characters.
I absolutely loved this book. The characters are wonderful, Mia, Nick, Gloria, Charlie, and even Sal. I loved the historical setting during the Prohibition era, the splash of the glitz of the stage and singing against the dangerous backdrop of the criminal elements. The bootleggers dreams of money and power. The loyalty of some, the betrayal of others and the closeness of family. Mia fighting against what had to be done and hating that she had to do it. The feeling of her loneliness , I could almost feel it. I could feel the nervousness of Mia as she stepped on the stage at the theater in Chicago and see her eyes light up when she saw her brother in the front row. I admired Nick’s love for his sister and his sense of duty as her protector. The book was good from the first page to the last, I wanted to keep reading after it was finished and now I await a sequel . I would recommend this book you will love it.
5 stars
This is more or less a family drama. But it is also so much more. Set in the 1920’s during the Prohibition Era we meet Mia Scalisi and her older by four years brother Nick. They are orphaned at an early age and Nick raises Mia.
Mia loves to sing and dance and dreams of being in the pictures one day. However life has different plans for her. She and Nick work at a club owned by Sal Belomo who is a volatile man. While Mia does her entertainment, Nick is a wheeler-dealer and is putting together high stakes deals for bootlegged whiskey. He is Sal’s Capo. Nick is also a hot head and gets himself in deep trouble.
Mia discovers another side of life and must plumb the depths of her strength of character and determination to rise to the top in what is definitely a man’s world. What matters over all is family – those who can be trusted and those who can’t.
I really liked this book. It is well written and plotted. Ms. Allison painted her characters in such vivid colors that this reader was transported to 1920’s Chicago with all the attendant sounds and smells. I liked Mia and wished she could have pursued her career in dance rather than turn the way she did. I liked the cameo appearances by such famous crime bosses such as Al Capone and others like him. This is my first Meredith Allison novel and I immediately went to Amazon to look at others of her books.
I want to thank NetGalley and Persnickety Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.
I thought this novel was extremely well written and Meredith blew me away with how well written it was and how thoroughly she laid things out and all the details that were given. I think it started a little slower then I would have liked, but as I really got into it and things started moving along, I couldn’t wait to keep reading and find out what was going to happen next and all the details that are given early on play a role/part in how the story unfolds. There are so many details that I actually feel like I learned something as well from this book about prohibition. This book is the story of one family, the Scalisi family and focuses mainly on Nick and his sister Mia. I felt like I really got to know these two characters extremely well as well as Nick’s wife Gloria and his best friend Charlie.
She wants more than what she is at the moment. She was to dance and her name in lights and even start in movies. Her brother is in the mafia and she turns a blind eye to what he does as she gets closer to her dreams but life is about to go change for the worse. Now all she has to do is get revenge. Will she get it? See how she gets on
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wow! This book blew me away!!
It’s been a long time since I’ve read a novel with a historical like setting. I’m glad Blood & Whiskey: A Scalisi Family Novel is the first one to bring me back!! I loved the characters and the setting from the first page!
Mia is a young, ambitious show girl, ready to make it big. You know from the beginning that she’s extremely strong.
Nick is her big brother who has always taken care of and protected her, even while going through his own life in less than legal ways.
The story follows their journey to protect each other and their little family.
Things get really dicey when their activities bring them into contact with less than favorable characters and it turns their world upside down! You’ll have to read the story to find out more!
Great job Meredith Allison on Blood & Whiskey: A Scalisi Family Novel! I absolutely loved it and I cannot wait for more novels from you!
Blood and Whiskey is the epitome of a strong female lead. Mia Scalisi is the woman we all dream of being. Her life is a series of hardships but she learns and adapts to her environment in a way we can all be envious of. This book had me turning page after page to learn what she would do next. I look forward to more from Meredith Allison!