Moonlight Mafia: A Dick Moonlight Thriller

By: Vincent Zandri

Narrated by: Robert Costales

Richard 'Dick' Moonlight is back!

In the best-selling Moonlight Falls (RJBuckley, 2009), he barely survived his own suicide attempt, not to mention numerous attempts on his life from a gang of Russian thugs operating an illegal organ harvesting operation out of a Saratoga Springs restaurant. Now the former Albany Police Department detective is forced to go through life (or in some cases, near-death) with a piece of .22 caliber bullet lodged in his brain. Since it's pressed up against his cerebral cortex, it often affects his decision making ability. On occasion it can cause him to pass out or erase his short term memory. He could also die at any moment should the bullet suddenly shift. In a word, Dick Moonlight is one train wreck of an individual.

In this digital short, the too often unemployed private detective is hired by an anonymous client ('John Smith') to bring down a Mafia wise guy who's using a used car lot as a front for illegal gambling activity. At least, that's what Moonlight is led to believe. According to the job description, he is to answer a want ad for a salesman position at the same used car lot and thereby secretly infiltrate the illegal operation. Sounds like a piece of cake.

Problem is, when Moonlight heads over to the used car lot to answer the ad, he decides to pay a quick visit to the bar next door and have a couple of quick "Jacks" to loosen himself up. But when he opens the big heavy door on his late father's pride and joy 1978 "Cadi" hearse, it gets away from him and dings the passenger-side of the brand spankin' new black Dodge Ram parked beside it. What Moonlight doesn't realize as he pretends to ignore the Ram's damage is that the door he just dinged belongs to his new would-be boss. And his would-be boss is not only in the Mafia, he's no stranger to torturing and killing people for fun!

©2011 Vincent Zandri (P)2012 StoneHouse Audio

An entertaining Dick Moonlight short story.

Ever wonder how Dick Moonlight PI became the owner of a Bar? How did he come to employ his young bartender? Or how much did it cost to procure said bar?

Well, if you grab a copy of Moonlight Mafia you will get answers to each of those questions and more. In my case I listened to the audiobook narrated with virtual voice. In this instance virtual voice does a more than acceptable job of delivering Moonlight’s story to the listener.

This is one of those short stories that is well suited for those times in life where you are stuck waiting or doing something where a distraction would be most welcome. In my case it was a perfect way to spend a half hour of what could have been interminable waiting for a shopping trip to end.