Jack Schiavone wants to rebuild his life after an embezzlement scandal saw him drummed out of his high-paying advertising job. So he’s reinvented himself as “Mr. Mattress,” a discount bedding franchisee in Ebbets Beach, Brooklyn. Running a mattress store is a nice, quiet life—until Jack gets sucked into a simmering mob war that pits an ambitious Russian crime boss against a softening Italian don.
Soon everyone is “going to the mattresses.”
Jack falls for the don’s gorgeous black-sheep daughter, a legal aid attorney, making him the target of a jealous wise guy/lounge singer who’s fixated on her too. And his new store manager—the don’s gentle, stamp collecting, cottage cheese–eating former consigliere—proves as good at selling mattresses as he was at cooking the books for the mob. Then the Russians put on a show of force, and the don’s only recourse is to call on the world’s worst hit man: a mild-mannered chiropractor with an innovative killing technique.
When the smoke clears, who will be the don of Ebbets Beach?
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"After a scandalous leave from an advertising agency, Jack Schiavone opens a Mr. Mattress store on Ebbets Beach. Other characters are members of the mob led by Don Donato and his twin daughters. Hilarious characters, very nicely developing plot, I am enjoying the read very much." — Nese (5 out of 5 stars)
"After a scandalous leave from an advertising agency, Jack Schiavone opens a Mr. Mattress store on Ebbets Beach. Other characters are members of the mob led by Don Donato and his twin daughters. Hilarious characters, very nicely developing plot, I am enjoying the read very much."
" A quite amusing little mob tale. A bit slow at times, bogged down by a lot of back stories, but very full of different characters and it all comes together in the end. A fun book. "
" A light, fun read. Definitely the funniest book I have ever read about organized crime. "
" Enjoyable, quick, light reading. I love his Slate podcast. "
" Well written. Funny story. If you like Michael Moore, but wish he was a more intelligent writer, this is a good book for you. "
" Not bad. Not great. Just "medium." "
" A romp through a latter-day New York mobette. Great fun and i amI so glad I learned of this thru author Bob's Slate podcast on language. "
" ....funny funny funny...great characters...could be a fun TV show "
Bob Garfield is the cohost of NPR’s On The Media and a columnist for MediaPost. Previously at Advertising Age, he has been a prominent commentator on and analyst of advertising and marketing for thirty years. He lives outside Washington, DC.
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