Reviewed by Dan

TITLE:    Mitch Rebecki Gets a Life

AUTHOR:     Julie Bozza

PUBLISHER:  Manifold Press

LENGTH:     140 Pages

BLURB:

Investigative journalist Mitch Rebecki loves his job and loves New York. He doesn’t mind making enemies, either. When a crime boss threatens retaliation, Mitch’s editor sends him out of harm’s way to Sydney. In exile and resentfully working on lifestyle pieces, Mitch is miserable. But he makes a friend or two, meets a man … and discovers that Australians do organized crime, too, in a small way. Mitch soon finds himself in too deep on all counts, and trying to head home again seems the only solution.

REVIEW:

Warning: This book contains a suicide of a main supporting character, that doesn’t have any resolution as far as I was concerned. Having lost a cousin to suicide and served on the Board of a local Suicide Prevention Group, I know that we don’t always know why someone completes suicide, but, in my personal opinion, I felt in this book that the subject of the suicide was dropped too quickly.

Mitch Rebecki has been spending a lot of time investigating a mobster in New York. More time than he should have been. Everyone wants him to back off, including his boss at the New York Times and the FBI. When Mitch gets a very disturbing delivery in his office one day, the NYPD and FBI are called, but they say there is nothing they can do, and again warn Mitch off the story.

That night he finds a similar package on his doorstep, but his time with what looks like unassembled bomb parts in the box! What’s next a real bomb?  It is time for Mitch to get out of town and lay low!

When Mitch’s editor sends him to Sydney, Australia to work temporarily for the editor’s cousin until things die down in New York, Mitch will slow down and write fluff pieces, correct? Wrong. Even before he gets into the country Mitch is already in trouble with the guys at customs. Can you say body cavity search by a sexy young officer? Keep that officer in mind because he will show up for another cameo later in the book!

Mitch instantly jumps into areas he is warned against. Tackling the Australian version of the mob. Again he is warned off, but again doesn’t listen. It would have made a very short book if he had!  Along the way he will draw the suspicion of the cops and the mob alike.  He might also take a little time for himself as well…but he sucks at relaxing and taking time off!

This was an interesting read and take on a reporter’s life. I liked the story, but still felt a little disconnect with the characters, as more of the story seemed to be circumstantial rather than character driven.   If you’re looking for sex scenes and romance, look elsewhere because this book didn’t really have either.

I enjoyed the book.  It was well edited and I would say the writing is above average.  It was an interesting afternoon’s read.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon

ARe