Destinies

Young, beautiful, and hardworking, Nina Iorizzo discovers her quiet world has been turned on its head after coming in contact with mobster Santangelo Furri. She must find the strength to approach her sudden threat head-on.

Santangelo Furri, the cunning and ruthless soldier-turned-boss overnight, must face new challenges from rival factions while balancing his own “real” family.

Lastly, Tommy Roberts, a successful attorney and proud father, soon discovers that his paternal father is really Santangelo Furri—the head of the mafia.

Each of their own actions creates a domino effect with shattering repercussions.

“Nick Christophers is an exceptional writer. He was the editor of my publication Mob Candy Magazine and proved to be an encyclopedia of knowledge when it came to the mob. Even though this is fictional he has the know-how about the mob to make the story feel like it’s factual.”

• — Frank Di Matteo, Publisher of Mob Candy Magazine

“This was a terrific read. And I am not a reader of books but scripts and I enjoyed this. Nick has the know-how of the mob and was able to produce a fictional story around that world. The ending leaves you wanting to know what happens next.”

• — Sean King, Film director of web stories “Brooklyn Ties”

“Nick knows a hell of a lot about writing and the Mafia. He’s written for my blog, Cosa Nostra News. I couldn’t wait to read Nick’s novel. I am glad I did and so will you.”

• — Ed Scarpo, publisher of Cosa Nostra News

Running Stop Signs

Los Angeles super sleuth Natalie North is fed up with catching cheating husbands red-handed and reporting back to their wives, complete with incriminating photos. Quick-witted and sharp, Natalie yearns to use her investigative skills to solve real crimes, the grittier the better. When a dead body is discovered in the Brockstone Tire parking lot in San Pedro, Natalie puts her life on the line to find the killer, determined to outdo the LAPD.

While also investigating the tangled marriage of Melvin and Ramona Evanski, hoping to catch Ramona in a compromising position, Natalie’s resolve to crack the Brockstone Tire murder case overrides her common sense. Add in Natalie’s tumultuous love life, torn between prosecuting attorney Darren McAllister, LAPD Officer Vincent Sherburne, and the enigmatic taxi driver Alfonso Di Paolo, and discover what happens when betrayal, greed, passion, and murder collide.

Spa Day - Be Careful What You Ask For

Caroline Chandler and her best friend, Abby, spend a Sunday afternoon at their favorite Day Spa. They leave the spa relaxed, refreshed, and rejuvenated, but Carli soon discovers an unexpected result from that spa visit. A microchip capable of two-way communication has been implanted behind her right ear. When it is activated, it instructs Carli to perform private courier tasks. The tasks are simple pickup and delivery of anonymous items on behalf of anonymous clients.

Over the next several months, Carli searches for the source of the unintended technology that is now taking over her life. Her search quickly takes her into the world of high-value art and antiquities. The more information she uncovers, the more confused she becomes as to the source of “the system”. Are the tasks legal? Are the tasks safe? The rewards are great, but at what personal cost? How far will she go without compromising her own integrity? Who will she trust in her search for answers?

Caroline has worked in the Harvard hospitals of Boston for most of her career. She has had an interesting life of work-related travel and has met an array of scientists and researchers. But none of her experiences could have prepared her for what she is being asked to do.

Spa Day is set in the present day, amid the historical sites of Boston and the Massachusetts shore, just coming out of a pandemic. The main characters are based on actual people, their experiences, and their expertise. The people that Carli meets along this journey change her life forever. Her story begs the question: What would you do?

Story 1: The Delights of Sean Jr.

Sean Jr. had a tough life—as his mother told him, he had the ‘forbidden illness’: lusting for men. His uncle took him in, yet Sean lived a criminal lifestyle ingrained in the family business. Thug life meant trouble was Sean’s middle name; the drugs and jail did not help much either.

Now Sean had two loving parents. Yet his uncle was in conflict, wanting to protect Sean from the evils of their family’s work while disapproving of his player lifestyle. Meanwhile, the body count from their criminal exploits continued to rise.

Those Amazing Mafia Wives

It was in the 1950s that mafia boss, Don Amato Rizoso, determined it was time to enter the lucrative human trafficking business. Five dedicated Rizoso mafia wives stepped up to work tirelessly for one desperate purpose: to rescue innocent girls their cutthroat husbands were trafficking in for modern day sale.

While, operating in a netherworld teeming with greed and corruption, the wives officially opened business after their daring rescue of multiple sex slaves from a mafia-owned opium den. As they adjusted to their life of vigilante justice, they faced near rescue misses, they helped set-up a daring underground railroad, and they took down the notorious Cocaine Queen. Amidst betrayal, mass slaughter, forbidden love, and a son whose secret threatened his life, they learned that fighting for what they believed in was anything but easy. Nevertheless, those amazing mafia wives worked doggedly to take down a family empire built on the bodies of children – even if it meant their own lives.

Trouble Rumbles at Dawn

Welcome to the tranquil yet precarious town of Indigo Flats, nestled in the vast expanse of west Texas. Its peaceful façade shatters when a prominent businessman is brutally murdered, unearthing a cache of guns and drugs that send shockwaves through the region, putting the feared Mexican Ortega Cartel on high alert. However, the stakes intensify exponentially when a second murder rocks the town—a member of the cartel’s own family falls victim, igniting a relentless race against time for determined Detective Sharon Case.

With the relentless cartel crossing the border into Indigo Flats, Detective Case finds herself thrust into a perilous battle on multiple fronts. She must navigate the treacherous landscape of solving the murders while combating the vicious intruders and scrambling to safeguard her own family. As the clock ticks relentlessly, the line between right and wrong blurs, forcing Detective Case to make harrowing choices to uphold justice and protect all that she holds dear.

First Active Shooter

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, life doesn’t go the way we want. We either roll with the punches or go down and never get up. At a young age, Miles had his future all planned out. So when his life started to spin out of control, he accepted the inevitable and kept his eye on his dream. The one constant in his life was the truth. Miles would never lie. Helping those in need and living honestly were values ingrained in him by his late father. But when life and death decisions have to be made, only the smart and strong survive. Like a cornered animal, Miles fights fiercely for his loved ones and their future. In a dramatic turn of events, Miles reluctantly becomes implicated in the First Active Shooter.

Ozark Justice

The year is 1938, and it’s a beautiful Indian summer day in the Ozark Mountains. Yarnell Cates, his wife Thelma, and his father are returning home with a wagonload of stove wood when they discover the sheriff’s car in their front yard. Sheriff J. D. Hawkins is there to arrest Yarnell on trumped-up charges concocted by the prosecuting attorney and his brother, the circuit judge. The charge is part of an ongoing feud between their families and the Cates. In a twist of fate, Yarnell is forced to kill the sheriff in self-defense. This act incites the prosecuting attorney to form a posse with orders to burn down the Cates’ home, slaughter their livestock, and shoot Yarnell on sight. A bounty of five hundred dollars is placed on Yarnell’s head, later increased to fifteen hundred dollars, driving Yarnell and Thelma to seek refuge in a cave in the mountains. Throughout the winter, they endure harsh conditions while evading the men of Sycamore County in a desperate bid for survival.

A Tale of Prima Facie

Murder. Deception. Abandonment.

Mila Taylor is a commander in the Chicago Detective’s Bureau. The recent murder of Sullivan Maxwell, a local bookstore owner, leaves Mila with little detail and no obvious suspects. Mila’s initial investigation leads her to Davis Parks, the former partner of Sullivan, and a search for a woman that none of Sullivan’s family and friends have ever met.

Growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, in Sycamore, Mila’s family life was chaotic at best. Raised by her father, after her mother’s passing, Mila and her sister were left fending for themselves, until a disturbing event sent her on an unexpected path.

Through years of working on the police force and then the Detective’s Bureau, Mila built a credible career on solving cold cases. However, as her current case evolves, Mila is confronted with the twisted and terrifying secrets buried within the recesses of a merciless and sadistic mind.

An Accusing Finger

A man’s violent, early-morning death on the freezing pavement of a west-end convenience store parking lot in Canada’s capital city appears at first to be just another random act of gang violence. But is it?

The dead man has no identification, and his associate has mysteriously vanished. One of the victim’s fingerprints is linked to the unsolved murder of a young woman more than twenty years earlier. When Inspector Matt Armitage begins investigating the cold case, he uncovers a second, identical, unsolved murder. This one took place years later, in another city, in another country. As he works to close the case, Armitage discovers that cutting through red tape can cause serious, self-inflicted wounds.

Even if he were not a police officer, Inspector Matt Armitage of the Ottawa Police Service would be an imposing figure. He stands seventy-six inches tall in his dress socks, with a big-boned athletic frame, a thick shock of dark hair, and intense, piercing eyes the colour of Antarctic ice. He has an unblemished service record, but Armitage will probably never be promoted. His bosses believe he has one unforgivable flaw: he puts people first. He is a cop’s cop, operating in a milieu that rewards careerism and mediocrity, and punishes anyone who threatens the system’s status quo or the self-interest of the top brass.

An Accusing Finger was a Chanticleer Clue Awards finalist.