Gangster — Lorenzo Carcaterra

Born in the midst of tragedy and raised in the shadow of a shocking secret, young Angelo Vestieri chooses to flee both his past and his father to seek a second family--the criminals who preside over early-twentieth-century New York. In his bloody rise from soldier to mob boss, he encounters ever more barbaric betrayals, yet comes to understand the meaning of loyalty. As the years pass, as enemies are made and defeated, as wars are fought and won, the old don meets an abandoned boy who needs a parent as much as protection. By taking Gabe under his wing and teaching him everything he knows, Angelo Vestieri will learn, in the winter of his life, which is greater: his love for the boy he cherishes, or his need to be a gangster and to live by the savage rules he helped create.