Shooting Bogies

Monti’s first novel (after the memoir I Remember Brooklyn) is an amusing crime caper in the vein of Elmore Leonard. Rocky Delmonico, a New Jersey golf hustler, gets into trouble with mobster Gino Lofaccio during the funeral of Gino’s father. As the casket is being lowered into the ground, Gino’s mother leaps on top of it, and Rocky can’t stifle his laughter. Afterwards, an infuriated Gino tells Rocky that, to make up for his faux pas, he’ll become the golf pro at Fair Play, a course run by slimy businessman Pincus Bogalinsky. Gino hopes to buy the property Fair Play sits on and turn it into a “condo goldmine.” He instructs Rocky to earn Pincus’s trust and gather any information that might help him make the purchase. Rocky reluctantly accepts the assignment, but soon discovers that Gino is not the only person looking to take Pincus down. As Rocky stumbles into ever more dangerous dealings, he struggles to keep a target off his own back. The premise’s familiarity ends up being more of an asset than a demerit as Monti manages to puts his own droll twist on the travails of small-time Jersey mobsters. For readers who like their crime with a side of comedy, this gets the job done. (Self-published)