The sensuality of Ellroy's L.A. Confidential meets the swagger of Top Gun in this riveting sequel to Mafia Summer, again based on true events from the author's life. The extraordinary life of Vinny Vesta continues in this sexy, suspenseful follow-up to the unforgettable Mafia Summer, which New York Times bestselling author Jack Higgins called "one of the best books on the Mafia I have ever read." Late summer, 1957, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville. Seven years have passed since the events of Mafia Summer and Vesta, a dashing navy pilot in Fighter quadron 176, is living the bachelor life at an antebellum mansion he calls "The Snake Ranch." But when a torrid affair with his copilot's widow—the Hepburnesque Caitlin (Kat) Pennington—pulls him away from his beloved all-night revels, it pulls him, as well, back into the family business. Kat's father is the lawyer for the entire L.A. Mob syndicate, and he'd rather see his aspiring starlet daughter perched on the arm of Hollywood legend Victor Marino than holed up with some fighter pilot deep in the Florida bayou. Machinations to undo their relationship grow to involve the L.A., New York, and even Chicago Mobs. A gripping page-turner, Black Widow is at its heart a passionate and unlikely love story and an indelible portrait of an era. Read Less