Reviewed by me for Reader’s Favorite.
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The Consigliere – A Mafia Lawyer’s Quest To Choose Love Over Revenge by Donna Masotto is the story that would enforce its readers to sit down and really put their lives under the microscope. The protagonist, Declan, witnessed a violent death of his mother at the hands of his own father when he was only thirteen years old and his sister, Shannon, was of only eight years. He saw his sister sitting in the pool of his mother’s blood. This sight could have changed even angels, and Declan was only a child. He vowed to take revenge by killing his father. He didn’t know it then, but this promise transformed him in a manner that created not only a hell of a life for him but also separated him from his loved ones: Shannon, his grandfather, and his one true love — Judy. He made many terrible choices and ended up becoming a lawyer of a Don. Being a consigliere to a mafia proved good on his back account but very bad for his conscience. He struggled in his personal life and began blaming himself for an accident that took away his daughter’s life. When his son pushed him to analyze his life, he realized that the only way to fill the void in his heart is by finding Shannon, whom he had abandoned some thirty years ago. He also realized that he did not want to be a part of this criminal life and that he must quit his job to be able to live a decent life. However, nobody ups and quits a Don.
This is not just another mafia story — you know, the kind of stories that glamorize the mafia world and celebrates murder as if that’s a rite of passage. No, Donna Masotto’s The Consigliere – A Mafia Lawyer’s Quest To Choose Love Over Revenge is an eye-opener to everyone who has strayed far from love. When Declan’s mother was murdered, he had a choice to make: either surrender to his anger and hatred for his father and choose the path of revenge or allow his love for his sister to embrace him and move on to live a good life unlike his father’s. Many of his well-wishers tried to counsel him but he tuned them all out. His act of vengeance did not bring him the peace that he had anticipated to receive because you cannot fight the darkness with darkness. The story-telling is really smooth and engaging. Declan’s journey from keeping secrets to “removing the thorns with telling” is fascinating and enlightening. Honestly, I had not expected a book with the mafia background to be this gripping; however, that is what it turned out to be and much more.
