Bella Mafia - Book Review

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Revenge, greed and love are at the heart of Bella Mafia, a novel by Lynda LaPlante where protecting family takes on a new meaning.



On a recent birthday, I received the 2024 edition of Linda La Plante's 1987 novel, Bella Mafia. With great anticipation, I couldn't wait to start reading it and here's what I discovered.

The Story
Not surprisingly, a story centred around the Italian mafia sees money, status and power as the centrepiece of the story alongside "family" in both a business and maternal sense. After a humble beginning on the streets, Roberto Luciano rises to senior levels as Don within the Sicilian mafia after inheriting the position and endorsement by his dear friend and mentor Don Carolla.

Roberto and his sons are integrated in leading and maximising their businesses while their wives are aware of the prestige, money and status that the marriage to their spouses has brought to their lives. While creating an empire of profitable and legal businesses, Roberto seeks justice for the unexpected drug-related murder of his eldest and adored son Michael by a jealous mafia rival.

While Roberto is certain that the man behind the crime is his rival Paul Carolla, he has no direct evidence so he spends years trying to prove his theory and seek legal retribution for the crime. In a cruel twist, Michael and his family were not made aware before or after his death, that Michael fathered a son named Luka who was given up for adoption by his young mother Sophia. The twists keep coming when Sophia marries Michael's brother, never revealing the existence of Luka.

Luka eventually grows into a young man having endured a difficult childhood of neglect and abuse and sides with Paul Carolla's "family". Here Luka embarks on a killing spree of mammoth proportions. In a pre-meditated attack, Luka murders Roberto Luciano, his 4 sons and 2 grandsons in a shocking and unexpected attack to help support Carolla.

From this point, the second key section of the book begins and focuses on the wives left behind. How will they survive without their wealthy, business-savvy husbands and the family business? Are they stronger together than trying to survive alone? What role will the matriarch, Graziella Luciano take in their future and what lengths will they go to your seek their own brand of revenge?

Analysis
Bella Mafia is a far departure from La Plante's English crime books for which she has been known. This book is set in Palermo, Italy and New York, unlike the usual London police stations with its police detectives which we have become accustomed to in stories from La Plante.

While this is a story about the Italian mafia, at its heart it is about family and the choices we make to advance and prosper their lives and our own. It is a sizable read at nearly 800 pages so it is a literary commitment to make your way through it but the story is gripping and filled with an interesting mix of characters with their own particular motivations which will keep you involved.

Was it violent? Yes, it's inevitable with a story about mafia crime families that there will be scenes of violence but I didn't find it overwhelming and it didn't detract from the story. Moments of violent confrontations were dealt with swiftly and with some sensitivity.

Overwhelmingly, I was left with the message that love is a powerful emotion and so is revenge.



Film Adaptation
If the name of the book and the story sound familiar to you that is because Bella Mafia has been adapted into a popular film starring Vanessa Redgrave (as Graziella), Dennis Farina (as Roberto) and Nastassja Kinski (as Sophia). Redgrave was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her role as Graziella Luciano. The film was directed by David Greene.

About Lynda La Plante
Lynda La Plante is an English author, screenwriter and former actress. She is best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series. In 2024 she was honoured with the Crime Writers' Association of Britain's Diamond Dagger award for her outstanding lifetime's contribution to the crime and mystery fiction genre.

If you like crime drama exploring an understanding of the mafia then this one is for you.

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