Lion on Fire: A casino-heist thriller

Book ReviewBasic Details:Book Title: Lion on FireSubtitle: A casino-heist thrillerAuthor: Ted GaldiGenre: CrimePart of a series? NoOrder in series:Best read after earlier books in series? N/AOverall score:I scored this book 4/5⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️Short Summary of the book:What do you do if your little brother gets into trouble selling drugs and getting into debt? Brian tries to help him by taking a job in a casino and is soon forced to realise just getting a bit of money is not going to cut it. He sets up a heist with one of his co-workers and all turns to hell from there.What I liked about the book:The book kept you turning the pages to find out what happens next.What I didn’t like about the book:I enjoyed the entire book.My favourite bits in the book:There is a lot of action and excitement in this book.My least favourite bits in the book:I enjoyed the entire book.Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?The author has written other books.What books could this be compared to and why?This book reminds me of other crime and mafia-type stories.Recommendation:In summary, I would recommend this book for the following readers:Children NoYoung Adult YesAdult YesIf you like crime novels, this book may be the book for you.I look forward to reading more by this author.

Fresh out of college and ready to set the world on fire, Brian's an upright citizen in the making and his father, an NYPD detective is rightly proud of him.Unfortunately, such is not the case with Brian's younger brother, in Ted Galdi's exciting thriller, Lion on Fire.Kip is the complete opposite of Brian - wild and reckless, the last thing he's interested in is ending up like his emotionally repressed (as he sees it), father or boring (by comparison) goody-two-shoes big brother, who's clearly their parents' favourite. Determined to make a quick fortune by whatever means available, legal or not, Kip gets into hock with D'Anthony, a local drug-dealer, for $30k worth of cocaine, only to literally blow a good bit of it treating his friends to a 3-hour private party at a lap-dancing club, then staggering out to find his car's been broken into and his stash flown from the place he left it! D'Anthony's not the forgiving type, so Kip has 60 days to make good what he owes - or else, he'll be 'sleeping with the fishes'!Naturally he turns to his big brother, afraid his Dad will cut him off to protect his own reputation and job, at the very least.Necessity is the mother of invention as they say, so Brian gets himself a job as stretch limo driver for the Mob, (as you do!) at their Big Hitter company, where he earns a wage picking up high rollers and taking them to illegal private pop-up casinos, where they can be fleeced of their money in private for high stakes.What will the brothers do as the time melts away quicker than snowflakes in Hell and Kip has only $12,000 and $18k still to find - or else? Brian's work colleague Dusty, (also a chauffeur), wants to see the world and comes up with what he thinks is a foolproof scheme - he and Brian will rob the casino's Russian Mafia boss, Igor and get out of town before he can realise what they've done. Does that plan work? Or have Brian and Dusty signed their own death warrants, trying to save Kip? Buy, borrow or get your copy of Ted Galdi's fantastic new novel, Lion On Fire today - you'll love it, I guarantee...it's a winner!

I enjoyed this book and even through it was quite short I read it in a couple of hours as I didn't want to put it down.It shows how easily a life can suddenly change direction. By trying to help his baby brother out of a difficult situation Brian find himself inhabiting the life he is trying to save his brother from. If you need big amounts of money in a quick amount of time where else do you go but the Russian mob. Brian's first mistake, his second mistake thinking he could rip them off. I think it could have gone into more detail on the heist as that was fun to read about the planning and execution (very clever) but otherwise I enjoyed it and will be looking out fir more books by this author.

Lion on Fire - Ted GaldiCollege graduate, Brian, drives a stretch limo but, wanting to save younger brother, Kip, out of a sticky situation, he is drawn into an illegal casino side gig that pays well, but turns him into an enabler of gang violence. The consequences of this side job become much more treacherous than just anxiety about his brother’s physical health.Without wanting to give too much away, I can certainly say that I enjoyed following the development of both characters and plot, which kept me reading well into the early hours!

Brian has recently graduated from college and is working as a stretch limo driver while he decides what to do with his life. When his brother admits he has been dealing drugs and accidently lost a bag and now has to pay for it Brian takes extra work ferrying people to illegal gambling games to help pay his brothers debt. What could possibly go wrong? A lot of action packed into a short book.

A young man trying to keep to life's moral compass but when Brian's younger brother is in trouble and needs his help he's there for him which unfortunately pushes him into the darker life his brother has already followed. Well written with the description of Brian's reactions keeping you on edge all the way through the book.

I found this book easy to read with a reasonable story line. It touched on involvement with the Russian Mafia, with Brian making decisions to protect family members by trying to do what was right, although he wasn't comfortable with it all. He is portrayed as being very naive in a world of violence and learns life the hard way, but in the end he saves the day.