Margins
Gangsterland book cover
Gangsterland
2014
First Published
3.89
Average Rating
384
Number of Pages

Part of Series

Sal Cupertine is a legendary hit man for the Chicago Mafia, known for his ability to get in and out of a crime without a trace. Until now, that is. His first-ever mistake forces Sal to botch an assassination, killing three undercover FBI agents in the process. This puts too much heat on Sal, and he knows this botched job will be his death sentence to the Mafia. So he agrees to their radical idea to save his own skin. A few surgeries and some intensive training later, and Sal Cupertine is gone, disappeared into the identity of Rabbi David Cohen. Leading his growing congregation in Las Vegas, overseeing the population and the temple and the new cemetery, Rabbi Cohen feels his wicked past slipping away from him, surprising even himself as he spouts quotes from the Torah or the Old Testament. Yet, as it turns out, the Mafia isn't quite done with him yet. Soon the new cemetery is being used as both a money and body-laundering scheme for the Chicago family. And that rogue FBI agent on his trail, seeking vengeance for the murder of his three fellow agents, isn't going to let Sal fade so easily into the desert. Gangsterland is the wickedly dark and funny new novel by a writer at the height of his power – a morality tale set in a desert landscape as ruthless and barren as those who inhabit it.

Avg Rating
3.89
Number of Ratings
1,967
5 STARS
27%
4 STARS
43%
3 STARS
23%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
2%
goodreads

Author

Tod Goldberg
Tod Goldberg
Author · 14 books
Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen books, including THE LOW DESERT: GANGSTER STORIES, a Southwest Book of the Year, GANGSTERLAND, a finalist for the Hammett Prize, THE HOUSE OF SECRETS, which he co-authored with Brad Meltzer, and LIVING DEAD GIRL, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His short fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies, including PALM SPRINGS NOIR, LAS VEGAS NOIR, THE USUAL SANTAS, and BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY & SUSPENSE. His nonfiction appears regularly in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and ALTA and has been anthologized widely, including in BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS. He is the co-host of the popular podcast Literary Disco and is a professor of creative writing at UC Riverside, where he founded and directs the Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing & Writing for the Performing Arts. His next book GANGSTERS DON'T DIE will be released in fall 2023.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved