Author

NEW FROM CHARLIE STELLA

TOMMY RED

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“The reader would have a struggle to find a hero to root for on either side of the law in this latest mob novel from the King of the gangster fiction genre. Charlie Stella, a craftsman at work, does not deal in sentiment. Tough, spare, raw edged, from the first page to the last.

The raw, brutal and at times darkly humorous dialogue on each page burns with authenticity. The violence when it comes is sudden and shattering. There are no phantom punches in this sequel to Joey Piss Pot, each one is a knockout.” – Marvin Minkler, Modern First Editions

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“There is no one writing more realistic, violent, gritty, hard-boiled and streetwise dialogue, laced with brutal humor, and featuring mob wise guys, their women, killers and corrupt cops, in contemporary crime fiction, than New York’s Charlie Stella. There is also no more powerful a return to crime fiction than with his latest unflinching novel, Joey Piss Pot. From the highly acclaimed debut, Eddie’s World in 2001, through Joey Piss Pot, his tenth, the author has raised the bar so high only window cleaners can reach it. Charlie Stella now owns the gangster fiction genre. The pasta e fagioli got cold on my dinner plate and sat there uneaten while I raced through this utterly gripping crime family saga.” .”— Marvin Minkler, Modern First Editions From the Back Cover

THE VOICES IN MY HEAD

Charles is born into the American Catholic Dream. Father is cruel to be kind (“Charles was good this week. Charles was bad this week.”), pitting him against his sister in the battle for affection. Momma, in her native Italian language, calls him piccolo Gesù (Little Jesus). In his personal battle of good versus evil, Charles turns to daydreams. Can he be saved? Seeking redemption requires more than good intentions. It requires luck too, the kind that places the exact right person in the exact right time and place. It requires love that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with finding a soul that has been petrified by lifelong emotional rejection. A woman to the rescue? Or is the voice of a saint that does the trick? Or maybe it’s the voice of young political activist, or is it the voice of the Archangel Metatron? Little Jesus tells his tale in the second person voice of “You” … just one of the many voices in his head.

tommy red

Tommy Dalton’s ex-wife is on an honesty kick with their daughter, Alysha. She tells her that her dad kills people. Which, of course, he does. But that’s not the kind of information he wants shared with his kids. Particularly now that he’s working on a new job. Dominick Farase, ready to testify against the Cirelli family, needs silencing. An ex-cop spots him and lets Gasper Cirelli know where to find him. Not a difficult job for Tommy Red. But the Cirellis get nervous about this one, and decide to remove all evidence of the hit including Tommy. More hits are called, and some of them get sloppy. A couple of FBI agents get involved. Frank Cirelli, Gasper’s son and acting head of the family, has to make some tough decisions. Sacrifices must be made. But as far as Tommy is concerned, the Cirellis make their biggest mistake when they fail in their efforts to take him out. A fatal mistake. Now he’s after the family–still trying to keep his daughter out of it, too, of course because when you threaten Tommy or his family, the only response is retribution.

NEW FROM CHARLIE STELLA

This taut, compulsively readable tale of mob life in and around New York City, Stella’s first novel since 2012’s Rough Riders, has the smack of authenticity on every page … Stella serves up a tasty goombah stew with a splash of Guinness, and no one can make this recipe simmer better than he does — Publishers Weekly

Holy crap. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Why the hell isn’t Stella on every mystery lover’s must-read list. . . . This taut, tightly presented story of misplaced loyalties and retribution is nicely tied up in a fast-paced tale that, once you get used to the rhythm of the dialogue, just begs you to turn the next page. — MenReadingBooks

Stella was often compared to George V. Higgins and Elmore Leonard at the beginning of his career, but now the world of East Coast gangster fiction is all his. — Mysterious Bookshop

Tommy Red by Charlie Stella. Mob hit man gets into a snafu. This novel is only 165 pages long. Since this is a Stella novel you can bet it’s 165 pages of greatness — Lake Mills Library

While Stella’s name is not as well-known as other current crime authors whose works immediate land on national best-seller lists, he is every bit their equal and deserving of the attention. For those who have yet to discover the joy of Stella’s work, TOMMY RED is a good a place start as any. — Alan Cranis (Bookgasm)

Tommy Red builds to an explosive climax that should satisfy readers looking for action, while at the same time offering complex characterisation and thematic complexity that is beyond the reach of most crime novels. — Crime Fiction Lover

There are few writers (except possibly Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins), who can write mob dialogue as well as Charlie Stella … Charlie makes navigating my way though the plot fun. And funny. How can you not laugh at this line. It was a little after one o’clock in the morning when he was thinking he’d like to bite the ass of that Mother of Dragons broad about to take a bath. (Game of Thrones). — Patti Abbott

No one writes better dialog, nor allows it to carry the story more than Stella, nor pulls it off better. Tommy Red could deteriorate into a series of scenes of guys bullshitting, but every sentence is an insight into a character’s mind, and one never knows when a prime plot point will emerge from a discussion about the merits of hockey versus football … Tommy Red a riveting tale told in an engaging manner. You know, just as you’d expect from Charlie Stella. — Dana King (One Bite at a Time)

NEW FROM CHARLIE STELLA

TOMMY RED

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joey piss pot

THE VOICES IN MY HEAD

tommy red

NEW FROM CHARLIE STELLA

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED CRIME NOVELS