Linda Stasi

Mariano was promised much in the new land, so once he gets to New York, then sent west and finds out what his signing his name away really meant, he knows this is worse than if they would have stayed in Sicily. With his wife and children already on the way, they can do nothing but do what they do best and that is make a life out of what they now have. When Maria arrives, with the kids in tow she can hardly believe that Mariano has once again let the family down. She knows that in order for show more them to survive it will be up to her. Life out west isn't easy and it takes everything they can to get out from under the company that Mariano sold them too. Knowing what they know best, they go back to liquor, the one thing that men cannot resists and the government no matter how hard they try to abolish it, it is always a want and there will always be men looking to pay for it. They are not the only ones bootlegging and soon there is a rival that is taking the lives of fathers and sons and it seems everyone is only out for revenge and profits. Maria knows she cannot rely on her husband and does what she does best, she takes the reins of the business when he disappears after a terrible flood. When things are finally running smoothly and they are living their best lives, Mariano once again does what he does best and it's all taken from them. Told to head back to New York, Maria and the family have no other choice but to go back east or risk death. Uprooting yet again, Maria heads back to New York where Mariano was supposed to find a home and work. But he hasn't changed his ways and they can no longer take it. Things come to a head when Maria gets sick and Mariano's true colors once again reveal themselves to his youngest children. What has this godforsaken promised and done besides bring nothing but hardship, death and heartache to the Barbera family? Based on a true family and the start of the mafia, this novel is quite fascinating with historical facts and all that this family endured after coming to America. This novel spanned decades of the Barbera family and yet they never gave up and always endured with what they had. Thank you to the author for the complementary ebook and for writing this novel about your family and sharing it with the world. Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the invite. This review is of my own opinion and accord. show less

Don't you hate when you see an author you really like (Nelson DeMille in this case) praise a book only to find out said book was not very good at all? That was the case for me and "The Sixth Station."

I got through half of it before I finally gave up on it. The writing was disjointed, and author Linda Stasi's attempt at a casual first person narrative was very unnatural. She's trying to write a Dan Brown book but it just didn't flow or work for me, unfortunately. It was something about the show more Second Coming of Christ because somehow a vial of Jesus' blood remained, thus, his DNA was used to clone a second Christ. In fact, even the protagonist references to similarities to how the dinosaurs were re-created in "Jurassic Park."

In the hands of a better writer, this might have worked. Disappointing. show less

The story of an Italian immigrant family in the Wild West whose crazy, brave, and magical women overcame impossible odds to become bootleggers, brides—and Mafia bosses.

This is full of drama! It is a family saga, historical fiction, and full of strong women! Plus it takes you all over the globe….from Sicily to the wilds of Colorado to the streets of Brooklyn.

Now I did feel like the author repeated herself a bit and spoke the obvious. But that is minor compared to the drama! AND…this is show more based on a true story. What is not to love!

Need a memorable family saga…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel for a honest review. show less

Alessandra Russo is back. When she shares her friend's good fortune as front page news, she never imagined that it sound send her into danger once again. Only this time, her son is also in danger. I praised Alessandra in the first book as being strong and smart. Yet, this time, she was still strong but I felt that she did do a dumb move by writing the story of her friend. Really. A friend tells you that he has come into a rare item but that it could bring Armageddon and your friend's father show more had stole the item; yet, you decide to write a story and tell everyone including starting to show people the item. Second, Alessandra did not pick up on clues as fast. Luckily, she made up for all of this when it counted most.

The second half of the story is where Alessandra finds herself really on a journey to solve the mystery while fighting to stay alive. The second half of my reading experience did go by faster as well. The mystery surrounding Judas was intriguing. While, I have never read Dan Brown's books I have seen the movies. This series kind of reminds me of The Da Vinci Code. I do look forward to seeing Alessandra again. show less