Virtuous Trepidation: The Black Hand of the Mafia

Dive deep into the complicated world of an internationally connected Mafia in Carl E. Prichard's new fictitious book, "Virtuous Trepidation: The Black Hand of the Mafia".

When low-level hit man and thief Antonio Spinelli stumbles into the wrong job, he loses his partner and fatally wounds an FBI agent who is on a mission to arrest the drug dealer Spinelli was robbing. He is fortunate enough to escape with his life, though, and enough heroin to buy a new identity and five years in the French Foreign Legion.

Upon his return to the United States, he takes a new wife, the beautiful Ruthie, and a new moniker, "the Frenchman." He meets up with another criminal known as Shaggy Dog and his beautiful, high-class hooker girlfriend in Las Vegas. The two men go into business together and complete some very successful heists, but run into trouble when a job leads them to Italy and they kill the only son and daughter-in-law of Gus DePhillips, the most powerful Mafia don in the United States.

When Gus learns of the deaths, he vows revenge. He and his second-in- command, Frank Tomasino, begin a country-wide campaign to seek out the guilty parties and make them pay.

Forced into hiding, the Frenchman, Shaggy Dog, Ruthie and Nancy Jean hide out in Las Vegas. In the meantime, the Detroit Mafia begins to crumble and the national organization suffers when Gus is assassinated. The equally ruthless Frank is set to take over in the United States, but he is soon beckoned to Italy by the Italian don who offers him control of the entire organization. While the Frenchman and Shaggy Dog are given great opportunities to advance within the organization, their inability to resist beautiful women leads to their eventual downfall.

"Readers who like nicely tied-up stories of ribbons and lollipops may quickly toss this book aside, for this is a book that takes you deep into the life and death, the power and the fear that is organized crime," Prichard says. "The action is fast-paced and the storyline uncomfortably plausible."

This complex tale of connections and killings will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Don't miss this thrilling story of betrayal, deceit and murder.

Prichard lives in the Rocky Mountain region in the western United States where he writes full-time. He has written two previous books, "Silent Agony" and "Fate's Left Hand"