The sensuality of Ellroy’s L.A. Confidential meets the swagger of Top Gun in this riveting sequel to Mafia Summer, again based on true events from the author’s life.

The extraordinary life of Vinny Vesta continues in this sexy, suspenseful follow-up to the unforgettable Mafia Summer, which New York Times bestselling author Jack Higgins called “one of the best books on the Mafia I have ever read.”

Late summer, 1957, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville. Seven years have passed since the events of Mafia Summer and Vesta, a dashing navy pilot in Fighter quadron 176, is living the bachelor life at an antebellum mansion he calls “The Snake Ranch.” But when a torrid affair with his copilot’s widow—the Hepburnesque Caitlin (Kat) Pennington—pulls him away from his beloved all-night revels, it pulls him, as well, back into the family business. Kat’s father is the lawyer for the entire L.A. Mob syndicate, and he’d rather see his aspiring starlet daughter perched on the arm of Hollywood legend Victor Marino than holed up with some fighter pilot deep in the Florida bayou. Machinations to undo their relationship grow to involve the L.A., New York, and even Chicago Mobs. A gripping page-turner, Black Widow is at its heart a passionate and unlikely love story and an indelible portrait of an era.

A thrilling, glamorous Las Vegas story from the former executive producer of Spelling Television.

Nick Conti, producer of the successful Las Vegas T V show The $trip, is a busy man. Spending fifteen-hour days on the set and long nights drinking cocktails and cavorting with the fastest women in Vegas, he is hardly looking for extra work. But when a local mobster begins plotting to extort money from the show, Nick realizes it’s going to be a long week.

The small-time blackmail operation stirs up old demons, and the big bosses in Chicago and Kansas City begin asking questions. Nick’s own Mafia history suddenly becomes relevant again—his boss, a Napoleonic figure who resembles a certain real-life T V executive, is holding it over his head. What’s more, Nick’s old flame has recently appeared on the scene, holding the arm of the mysterious Allie Saltieri, a man with Mob ties of his own. With the budget of The $trip in serious trouble and local journalists beginning to smell a story, Nick will have to rely on his guile and charm to escape with his money, his job, and his life.

The acclaimed and endlessly entertaining novel about a Navy pilot, based on real events from the author’s life.

Vinny Vesta, the hero of Mafia Summer, returns as a dashing Navy pilot in Fighter Squadron 176 in the late 1950s, living a glorious bachelor’s life. But a torrid affair with his copilot’s widow, Kat Pennington, pulls him away from his beloved all-night revels—and back into the family business. As Kat’s mafioso father tries to poison her new relationship, Vinny finds himself at the heart of a major Mafia feud. A gripping pageturner that brings to life the decadent fighter pilot lifestyle, old-Hollywood grandeur, and the changing face of the New Y ork Mob, Black Widow is a passionate love story and an unforgettable portrait of an era.