Guest Post: Ted Goeglein

From the author of Cold Fury and the upcoming Flicker and Burn - out August 20th. I really enjoy these books featuring the Chicago mob, danger, and lots of action. Welcome Ted!

Hiding in Plain Sight 
Sometimes the best way to preserve a place is for the general public to ignore it. If enough years pass and a location doesn’t alter its appearance too much, people get used to it to the point of invisibility.
 
Throughout the COLD FURY trilogy, I use many real Chicago locations that have existed for decades. Few rival the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge for pure, undiluted criminal history.
 
Originally opened in 1907, The Green Mill was secretly owned by Al Capone less than twenty years later. In FLICKER & BURN, I mention a thug named ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn who served as Capone’s chief enforcer. He was an Outfit killer who enjoyed his work, pressing a nickel into the hands of his victims as a trademark.
 
Although unproven, it’s believed that McGurn planned and carried out the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre on February 14^th, 1929, when seven members of a rival gang were lined up and shot, execution style. As a reward for being such a skillful murderer, Capone gave McGurn part ownership of the Green Mill. The place became renowned for Jazz and the famous musicians who performed there.
 
Capone was sent to jail in 1932 and McGurn’s end came soon afterward. On February 13, 1933 – one day before Valentine’s Day – he was gunned down in a bowling alley. A valentine card was pressed into one of his hands; the other held a single, cold nickel.
 
The Green Mill has lived on through a succession of owners who’ve barely changed a detail from McGurn’s day. The sign, bar, bandstand, booths, murals, and Jazz are the same as the day he died. Passing through the door is like drifting into 1927. Most Chicagoans don’t notice the Green Mill because it exists; if it were gone, the absence would be glaring.
 
It’s an apt metaphor for the criminal world that my protagonist, Sara Jane Rispoli, is a part of in FLICKER & BURN. The Chicago Outfit is here, there, everywhere, and nowhere, all at the same time. 

This just in...Ted's in Trouble. Again.

Review: Cold Fury

Sara Jane comes from an Italian family full of secrets.It isn't until her parents and her brother goes missing after her grandparents die that she figures out the truth. Her family's part of the mob.

Her uncle and his wife wanted more of the family business. Sara Jane suspects her uncle of taking her family. Men are coming after her, wanting the family notebook. A notebook she never knew existed, but a notebook she must find if she wants to survive.

Now Sara Jane's gone into hiding to try to figure everything out. A handful of clues lead her to discover a world hidden right under everyone's nose. Determination and the Cold Fury that runs through her veins are the only things keeping her alive.

My Thoughts: It took me a couple chapters but then I was hooked! One of my favorite books is The Godfather. Sara Jane's story reeled me in and I'm so happy it's the first of a new series. I loved watching Sara Jane figure out the mysteries within her family. I loved watching her fight the bad guys and tame the guys in the mob. I liked her interactions with her two friends and their love for movies. Lots of action, lots of danger, and lots of fights make this debut heart pounding and almost impossible to put down. 

Cover Thoughts: Interesting
Source: Sent for review by the author

Other Teen Books about the Mob:
Son of the Mob
Mob Princess