The Bovaro family’s mantra is no loose ends. One of the most powerful mob families in New York, they know that
much of their influence comes from their enemies knowing that the family will
ultimately get their revenge, no matter how long it takes.
When the McCartney family of Montclair, New Jersey,
decided to go out for an early breakfast, they had no idea that it would change
their life. Mom, Dad, and pretty little Melody entered Vincent’s restaurant in
New York’s Little Italy just in time to see Tony Bovaro slit the throat of
Jimmy “the Rat” Fratello. The McCartneys drove off, but not before 10-year-old
John Bovaro caught sight of their license plate number. John was captivated by
the little girl, so when the cops came, he asked them if they knew whether the
girl was alright. That tipped the cops that there were witnesses; they found
the McCartneys and put them in the witness protection program. Mom and Dad
testified at the trial, the case was thrown out, and killing the McCartneys—all
three of them—became the Bovaro family mission.
Fast forward some 20 years. John Bovaro—now Jonathan—has
gone almost respectable. He owns a trendy New York restaurant, although his family
uses the place to launder money. Assigned by his family the task of killing Melody McCartney,
he has a Justice Department employee with a gambling addiction on his payroll,
providing Melody’s current identity and address in exchange for debts being
covered. Jonathan hunts Melody down wherever she is, telling his family he’s
planning to do the hit, while telling himself that he’s protecting her.
And here’s where the book got creepy. Under the guise of some weird unrequited love
for Melody, Jonathan became her stalker. He decided he would become “Man in
Produce Section and Stranger on Cell Phone and Jogger in Park” in order to keep
an eye on her. He finally makes contact and lets her know how long he’s been
watching her—decades, at this point. It wasn’t the tragic Mob version of the Capulets and Montagues that I
think Christofano wanted to portray. Instead, this was just sick. Had I been
Melody, I would have run as fast as I could the other way, although admittedly,
her options were limited. But I really, really didn’t like Jonathan. His
behavior gave me the jim-jams even when he was trying to seem normal and heartbroken.
The Exceptions
just didn’t do it for me.
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