Comparable to 450 printed pages, this 60-year saga of romance, crime, and intrigue reveals the Americanization of an Italian family, from immigrant bootleggers and coalminers to proud winemakers and ambitious priests, but only a chosen few will encounter the chameleon-like Black Angel who shows up when least expected to offer advice or merely observe. After all, there’s only so much one family angel can do.
Petty bootleggers Carlo Baggio and his brother Jake are enjoying the good life in 1925 Prohibition Chicago until Carlo enters into an arranged marriage with a bride from Italy and Jake gets run out of town for cheating on the boss’s daughter. In the ...
Comparable to 450 printed pages, this 60-year saga of romance, crime, and intrigue reveals the Americanization of an Italian family, from immigrant bootleggers and coalminers to proud winemakers and ambitious priests, but only a chosen few will encounter the chameleon-like Black Angel who shows up when least expected to offer advice or merely observe. After all, there’s only so much one family angel can do.
Petty bootleggers Carlo Baggio and his brother Jake are enjoying the good life in 1925 Prohibition Chicago until Carlo enters into an arranged marriage with a bride from Italy and Jake gets run out of town for cheating on the boss’s daughter. In the aftermath Carlo takes a bullet for Jake and is ready to cash in his chips until a black angel Carlo dubs Angelo Nero convinces him otherwise. Later Angelo Nero comes to Carlo’s rescue when he’s trapped in a house fire. For the next fifty years the Baggio brothers and their families will experience hardship, tragedy, rewards, and the unwelcomed honor of Carlo’s son becoming a priest.
When Angelo Nero finally returns, it is to visit Carlo’s grandson Frank, the only survivor of a multi-fatality accident. The life-altering experience prompts Frank to follow his uncle into the priesthood. Eventually, with help from the uncle, Frank winds up in Rome training for the prestigious Vatican Diplomatic Corps. He encounters the angel again, along with a mysterious warning. Later, while awaiting his first post, Frank becomes involved with a secret society within the Vatican that assigns him the task of delivering a renegade-priest to Romepreferably laid out in a coffin. Frank’s covert mission brings him back to the family farm in Illinois and to his grandfather Carlo. Angelo Nero shows up too. But neither Carlo nor the angel can help Frank choose between the diplomatic career he has coveted for years and sparing the life of a priest defying Catholic tradition.
THE FAMILY ANGEL will appeal to readers who enjoy the TV series EMPIRE BOARDWALK, fiction by Andrew Greeley, Howard Fast, and Colleen McCullough (The Thorn Birds).###
Loretta Giacoletto divides her time between the St. Louis Metropolitan area and Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks where she concentrates on writing fiction while her husband cruises the waters for bass and crappie. Their five children have left the once chaotic nest but occasionally return for her to-die-for ravioli and roasted peppers topped with garlic-laden bagna càuda. An avid traveler, she has visited numerous countries in Europe and Asia but Italy remains her favorite, especially the area from where her family originates: the Piedmont region near the Italian alps.
Loretta's novels are filled with bawdy characters caught up in problems they must take responsibility for having created. In LETHAL PLAY a grieving widow is suspected of killing her son's coach, a man with more enemies than friends. FAMILY DECEPTIONS follows two generations of earthy characters who learn to thrive and/or survive through a series of misdeeds, the worst against those they love the most. FREE DANNER features a cynical young man whose troubled past and deadly encounters hinder his search for the father he has yet to meet. THE FAMILY ANGEL is a paranormal saga about the Americanization of an immigrant family of bootleggers, coalminers, winemakers and priests, and a mysterious black angel who enjoys sticking his nose in the family business.
In addition to the horror anthologies, Damned in Dixie and Hell in the Heartland, Loretta's short stories have appeared in a number of publications including The MacGuffin, Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, The Scruffy Dog Review, Allegory and Literary Mama, which nominated her story "Tom" for Dzanc's 2010 Best of The Web.
Customer Reviews
Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution
5 Star
(0)
4 Star
(0)
3 Star
(0)
2 Star
(0)
1 Star
(0)
Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules
Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked,
or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to
Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original
and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you
and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not
violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help
ensure that your review can be posted.
Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13
We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer.
However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or
to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.
What to exclude from your review:
Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the
information on the product page, please send us an email.
Reviews should not contain any of the following:
- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation
Reminder:
- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its
sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the
review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly
those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com
also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend
Create a Pen Name
penname is available!
By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the
Terms of Use.
LendMe™
Overview
Comparable to 450 printed pages, this 60-year saga of romance, crime, and intrigue reveals the Americanization of an Italian family, from immigrant bootleggers and coalminers to proud winemakers and ambitious priests, but only a chosen few will encounter the chameleon-like Black Angel who shows up when least expected to offer advice or merely observe. After all, there’s only so much one family angel can do.Petty bootleggers Carlo Baggio and his brother Jake are enjoying the good life in 1925 Prohibition Chicago until Carlo enters into an arranged marriage with a bride from Italy and Jake gets run out of town for cheating on the boss’s daughter. In the ...