Description
Early November 1958 — New York City
Cantor Gold, art thief and smuggler with a sharp mind and sharper instincts, steps into the shadows of the city’s underworld to find the truth—and justice. Her latest caper begins at the birthday celebration of Nick Fortunato, a powerful bookie and longtime friend. But Nick is nowhere to be found. Instead, Cantor discovers blood staining his living room carpet. It’s not Nick’s blood yet, but danger is closing in fast.
Despite the best efforts of crime lord Sig Loreale—who has much at stake in Nick’s survival—a ruthless killer hunts down Nick, hidden away in a seedy hotel tied to Sig’s empire.
At the heart of this web of betrayal and ambition is Abbey O’Brien—beautiful, deadly, and once Nick’s trusted right hand. With Nick’s fate hanging in the balance, Abbey stands to either claim a throne or fall into ruin.
The bookmaking world spins on the edges of this murder: Freddie Holmes guards the betting parlor’s doors with a sharp eye; Mike Leandro runs the phoned-in bets with precision; Chickie D’Andrea posts the odds on every race and game; Harry “Horsehide” Lanz, a legendary gambler, watches from the sidelines; Sylvia Georgiadis, the aging but formidable matriarch of the scene, keeps her cards close. Each has secrets, stakes, and motives tangled in Nick’s downfall.
By Cantor’s side are her fiercely loyal confidantes: Judson Zane, her quick-witted Guy Friday; Rosie Bliss, the cabbie whose wheels—and heart—can get them out of any scrape; and Esther “Mom” Sheinbaum, the seasoned mentor whose guidance has kept Cantor alive through it all.
In a city where trust is scarce and power shifts like shadows, Cantor Gold must decide: who are her true friends, and how far will she go to avenge them?
Native New Yorker Ann Aptaker’s Cantor Gold Crime series has been the recipient of Lambda Literary and Golden Crown Literary Society Awards. Her short stories have appeared in several editions of the crime anthology Fedora, Switchblade Magazine’s “Stiletto Heeled” issue, and the Mickey Finn crime anthology. Culminating a career as a curator for museums and galleries and a professor of Art History, Ann is currently an art writer for various New York clients.
