Hollywood Bilker by Leopold Borstinksi

Today it’s back to Mandie who has a review of Hollywood Bilker, book six in the Alex Cohen series by Leopold Borstinski. With thanks to the author for the advance review copy and Zoe-Lee O’Farrell for hte blog tour invite. Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

Is building another casino worth dying for?

Jewish gangster, Alex Cohen returns to America and settles in 1960s California to build a drug and prostitution empire in LA. When he gets a call from the mob to help the CIA invade Cuba, Alex must decide between family and his business associates.

If he helps Uncle Sam and the Mafia then he puts his life on the line fighting for freedom and the chance to rebuild his Havana casinos. If he refuses the favor then death will call on him, his ex-wife and their sons. Once he agrees to one accommodation then others are sure to follow, in a decade where even presidents, assassins and presidential candidates were whacked at a terrifying rate.

The sixth book in the Alex Cohen series is an historical thriller novel, which rips open Jewish organized crime involvement in Lee Harvey Oswald’s death and the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. Leopold Borstinski’s searing crime fiction lays bare the making of today’s USA.

Mandie’s Thoughts

It’s hard to believe that we are now at book 6 of the Alex Cohen series and this time we are transported to the Kennedy era. Having lost most of his business interests on his hasty exit from Cuba, Alex decides to set up shop in Los Angeles using his old contacts in order to build up a new clientele for his drug and prostitution interests. As he crosses paths with the likes of Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and Marylin Monroe his charm and contacts see him drawn into some pivotal moments in American History.

Alex Cohen has certainly grown on me over time. With his line of business, he would normally be the type of character you would take an instant dislike to. There is just something about him that although he is heavily involved in some unsavoury activities and he is regularly at the beck and call of the mob, he is still essentially a family man and will do absolutely anything to protect them, even to the point of ensuring that his sons are only involved in the more legitimate aspects of his business life. True this is as much about protecting himself from being betrayed by them, but he also wants better for them.

When he is put is a position that he knows he can’t refuse you can see that finally he is starting to wonder if maybe now is the time for him to retire and enjoy his family but there is also a part of him that just isn’t sure that if that is really him. It is the first time we have really seen Alex contemplate life outside of the Mob and all that his association with them and you do have to wonder what life will have instore for him.Whilst I know there is another in the series due next year, what Alex is likely to get involved in is a mystery I can’t wait to resolve. 

Leopold Borstinski has created a series that has that perfect blend of fiction and fact that will have the reader immersed in American history in the blink of an eye and I have enjoyed revisiting some of the more memorable events of the time whilst feeding my addiction to a darn good read. Whilst I know there is another in the series due next year, what Alex is likely to get involved in something I can’t wait to read about and to see if he gets to live the quiet life his family would like.

About the Author

Leopold Borstinski is an independent author whose past careers have included financial journalism, business management of financial software companies, consulting and product sales and marketing, as well as teaching.

There is nothing he likes better so he does as much nothing as he possibly can. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the US and has visited Asia on several occasions. Leopold holds a Philosophy degree and tries not to drop it too often.

He lives near London and is married with one wife, one child and no pets.

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