4 out of 5 stars
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Salvatore Luzani's psychiatric evaluations showed that he had criminal tendencies as a teenager. While in high school, he was bullied and picked on by other kids until an incident occurred on his 15th birthday, which turned everything around. Sal then goes from being the bullied to being the bully, causing trouble and even selling weed in school. Even at home, he becomes a menace, almost burning down his parents' house due to his mischievous activities.
Salvatore leaves home at an early age to go into weed sales and to deal with other drugs with some friends he had already made in childhood. Together, they form something of a gang, distributing weed and killing people who want to jeopardize their business. Although he did not want to get involved with the mob, the syndicate he was a part of grew, and eventually, they entered into business with them. Sal vows to get even when his best friend, Joey, betrays him in a position. This he does by stealing a shipment belonging to his boss and friend. When his boss orders everyone to get ready for a polygraph test, Sal realizes that this could be a problem, and he decides to take very drastic action, but this action would later have severe repercussions. What action did he take? And how is his girlfriend, Lisa, related to this deliberate action?
Criminal Tendencies by Steve Stanley was an enlightening read into the life of a mobster and his dealings in a drug syndicate. I'm not usually a fan of books dealing with organized crime, but after reading this, I truly appreciate Steve's work. Based on a true life story, Salvatore (Sal) is like an everyday kid, facing bullies and being bullied until he reaches a turning point in his life; at that time, he becomes the bully. However, I have to admit that the "bad guys" are usually some of the smart ones. Salvatore's accomplishments as a jailhouse lawyer were quite impressive, which made me believe he had turned his life around, but he was always full of surprises.
I had a beautiful time with this book; it was a fatal blend of action, mystery, suspense, and humor. The dialogue was simple and easy to follow; I'm sure the audience would agree when they read this book. For a book based on the mob, its characters seemed duly represented; there were not plenty of characters and gangs to confuse the story. The book was relayed from Sal's perspective, helping us get into and maybe understand some of the inner workings of a criminal's mind. Sal was not the best of individuals, but I must commend his intelligence.
The only thing I did not enjoy about this book was the existence of loopholes in the plot. For instance, after he double-crossed Joey, we hear nothing about that again throughout the story. Does that mean Joey just let him go? I felt he had to be mentioned at least once. The book did not end properly; there needed to be more from the storyline; for instance, after he sold the company, what became of the mafia under which he was working? In all, it was a nice read.
Due to its incomplete plot, highlighted in detail in the above paragraph, I'd have to deduct a star, so this book receives 4 out of 5 stars from me. I picked up about two errors while reading, but this book was professionally edited. I recommend it to audiences who enjoy crime thrillers, action thrillers, mysteries, and suspense books.
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Criminal Tendencies
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