White Shadow

In Tampa in 1955, a time of Cuban neighborhoods and cigar factories, Sicilian and Cuban gangsters competed to control the city's illicit activities. One of the most colorful characters was Charlie Wall, a crime boss and political operative. His assassination by a pair of thugs is the starting point of this novel, closely based on fact. William Dufris gives some figures slight vocal characterizations, which help identify characters in passages of extended dialogue. At the close of the book there are fascinating interviews with the author, the first reporter on the murder scene, a sheriff's officer at the time, and the police interview with the prime suspect, "Scarface" Johnny Rivera. These added features are a true bonus. R.G. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

May 1, 2006
Reminiscent of James Ellroy'sL.A. Confidential , Atkins's fictionalized account of the unsolved murder of real-life Tampa crime boss Charlie Wall in 1955 admirably recreates a time and a place, but too much detail makes the narrative less compelling than it could have been. Wall, a famous bootlegger whose nickname gives the book its title, is an old man when he's murdered, and the plot turns on the quest to find the killer, taking detective Ed Dodge and a local reporter on a journey from Tampa's Latin Quarter to prerevolutionary Havana (Castro makes an appearance). Atkins (Dirty South ), who unearthed the story in connection with a reporting assignment for theTampa Tribune , puts his extensive research to good dramatic use. But the book gets muddled by an immense cast of characters and derailed by the author's penchant for an overly lyrical style (the Latin Quarter "was all a symphony of Latin jazz and sinners and bright-eyed boys who shined your shoes for ten cents"). Still, blurbs from Carl Hiaasen and other top names, plus crossover from true-crime fans, should help ensure healthy sales.

September 4, 2006
One of the major achievements of Atkins's fictional account of the murder of former mob boss Charlie Wall, the White Shadow of the title, is his mesmerizing recreation of the steamy, dangerous, pulsating city of Tampa, Fla., circa 1955. Surprisingly, Dufris, a veteran of more than 250 audiobooks, selects a straightforward, unaccented and bland approach to the atmosphere-rich novel. The book's protagonist and narrator, reporter L.B. Turner, referred to as a "Virginian," has a New England burr rather than an Old South slur. When it comes to Mafia and Cuban gangsters, Dufris rises to the occasion with an assortment of properly gruff and/or Latin accents. The audio package improves on the novel with a bonus disk, where Atkins eloquently outlines the events that triggered his interest in a nearly 50-year-old murder and offers anecdotes about his research. Just as fascinating are his interviews with former newsmen Bob Turner and Leland Hawes and retired detective Ellis Clifton, men whose voices and memories, presumably recorded during the last few years, seem as vital as they were back in the day. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, June 3).