Gangsterland, Goldberg - B

                                               This is a very good read and, yet, one very difficult to characterize. It's not a laugh-out -loud, but rather a dry, witty, dark chronicle about Sal Cupertino, a  Chicago-based hit man for the mob. Sal is at the top of the pyramid in his chosen profession when he makes a mistake and the mob determines he is too capable to dispose of. So, they recycle him in LasVegas as a Rabbi. As the author is Jewish, one assumes he can take such liberties, as the now-Rabbi David Cohen combines a life of tending to his flock and doing the mob's bidding in his free time.  However, the responsibilities of the particular temple and its related funeral home are not what one associates with a religious life. Indeed, it is a mob front and one very close to being exposed. This is the authors first book and I believe he flubs the ending.