Family Ties

August 1, 2014

When mobster boss Jackie Giovanni develops dementia, his disinherited son Cain, a nurse, tries to get dad into residential care. But greedy daughters Shannon and Kim scheme to get rid of Jackie and take over the business together with Edmund, the illegitimate son of Jackie's henchman, Francis. Soon overeager attacks and backstabbing among the young people set off a cascade of mayhem as Jackie's condition worsens. Tuazon's scratchy black-and-gray-wash art makes the story seem as dirty as the characters' hands and is especially ominous in depicting struggles and gunplay outdoors during the Alaskan winter. The rain and snow almost seem to dissolve as ink on the page, making artful murk of surroundings and sometimes characters. VERDICT Based on Shakespeare's King Lear, Hobbs's tight, nasty plot unrolls inevitably, one more example of how universal the Bard's characters still are, even with trappings recalling Mario Puzo's The Godfather. (Two film versions of a mobster Macbeth have been produced.) This makes juicy yet sobering reading for high schoolers and adults, many of whom will eventually confront dementia in the family themselves.--M.C.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.