Gangster Nation, Tod Goldberg
Gangster Nation, Tod Goldberg
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Gangster Nation

Author: Tod Goldberg

Narrator: Johnny Heller

Unabridged: 11 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/12/2017


Synopsis

It’s been two years since the events of Gangsterland, when legendary Chicago hit man Sal Cupertine disappeared into the guise of Vegas rabbi David Cohen. It’s September 2001, and for David everything is coming up gold: temple membership is on the rise, the new private school is raking it in, and the mortuary and cemetery—where Cohen has been laundering bodies for the mob—is minting cash. But Sal wants out. He’s got money stashed in safe-deposit boxes all over the city. He’s looking at places to escape to—Mexico or maybe Argentina. He only needs to make it through the high holidays, and he’ll have enough money to slip away, grab his wife and kid, and start fresh.Across the country, former FBI agent Matthew Drew is now running security for an Indian casino outside Milwaukee, spending his off-time stalking members of the Family, looking for vengeance for the murder of his former partner. So when Sal’s cousin stumbles into the casino one night, Matthew takes the law into his own hands—again—touching off a series of events that will have Rabbi Cohen running for his life, trapped in Las Vegas, with the law, society, and the post-9/11 world closing in around him.Gangster Nation is a thrilling follow-up to Gangsterland, an unexpected examination of the seedy foundations of American life. With the wit and gritty glamour that defines his writing, Goldberg traces how the things we most value in our lives—home, health, even our spiritual lives—have been built on the enterprises of criminals.

About Tod Goldberg

Tod Goldberg is the author of the crime-tinged novels Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Fake Liar Cheat, and the popular Burn Notice series. His essay “When They Let Them Bleed” was selected by Cheryl Strayed for inclusion in Best American Essays 2013. He is also the author of the story collections Simplify a 2006 finalist for the SCIBA Award for Fiction and winner of the Other Voices Short Story Collection Prize, and Other Resort Cities. His short fiction has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, twice receiving special mention for the Pushcart Prize as well as being named a distinguished story of the year in The Best American Mystery Stories 2009. His essays, journalism, and criticism appear regularly in many publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Las Vegas CityLife, and have been featured in E!, Salon, Jewcy, and the Wall Street Journal, among many others.

About Johnny Heller

Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kemper on April 19, 2022

I'm fairly irritated at this point. I tried the first book, and while I didn't love it, it was just good enough to get me to check out the second part. Now I've been cliffhangered by a story I'm only mildly interested in and gotta wait if I want to continue. It's got stuff I like, but most of it is j......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on October 12, 2017

This may sound odd, given the subject matter, but Tod Goldberg achieves a certain sophistication in his language while writing about all that murder and mayhem in Gangster Nation. Obviously he could have gone the total full frontal shoot ‘em up. But instead Goldberg got inside his protagonist’s mind......more

Goodreads review by Kate on August 28, 2017

I won an ARC of Gangster Nation from Goodreads. I read and enjoyed Gangsterland and I also enjoy listening to Tod Goldberg as a host of the Literary Disco podcast. This novel picks up a couple of years after Gangsterland and Rabbi David Cohen is continuing to minister to his flock in Las Vegas while......more

Goodreads review by Rory on February 24, 2018

Some readers found all the Judaica in this story a drag. I did not. I thought it went hand in hand with all the black humor, which I enjoyed. At first I thought Tod Goldberg was aping Don Winslow, and though they do have a lot in common stylistically, there is more than enough to separate them (the......more

Goodreads review by Cees on November 05, 2017

[RECENSIE] Gangsterstaat van Tod Goldberg Origineel, interessant met soms wat trage voortgang Oorspronkelijke titel: Gangster Nation ISBN: 9789021407845 Uitgeverij: Q (Singel Uitgeverijen) Pagina’s: 415 Beoordeling: 3,5 ster In 2016 verscheen Gangsterland van de Amerikaanse journalist en auteur Tod Goldber......more


Quotes

Gangster Nation is a razor. It will slice you open and reveal your insides. And like the best of Tod Goldberg’s work, it’ll show you everything you are at your core.” Brad Meltzer, New York Times bestselling author

“Tod Goldberg’s brilliant Gangster Nation is hilarious, complex, and a total page-turner. It’s also a little insane, in the best possible way.” Lisa Lutz, New York Times bestselling author

“Impressive…Fans of clever mixes of dark humor and violent crime by authors such as Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen will be pleased.” Publishers Weekly

“Goldberg’s new novel is every bit as entertaining and at least as quirky as its predecessor.” Booklist

“The sequel conducts extended discussions on how America is defined by crime, boldly linking gangland violence to the 9/11 attacks…Sal/David’s mixing of Talmudic citations with Bruce Springsteen lyrics is still very funny. The sacred gets the stuffing kicked out of it by the profane in this wild and sometimes-shocking novel.” Kirkus Reviews

“An enthralling portrait of consequences—emotional, physical, moral, you name it. Amid all the expertly choreographed violence and intrigue is a moving, thought-provoking story about the fluid nature of identity, spirituality, and love. I enjoyed every page.” Vu Tran, author of Dragonfish