A BLOODY BUSINESS is a bit of an unusual presentation for Hard Case Crime. While topically well within the venerable press’s wheelhouse --- a book filled with crime, violence and sex --- it is a work of nonfiction, dealing with the establishment of organized crime as we know it in the United States.

Author Dylan Struzan based the book on more than 50 hours of recorded testimony and stories obtained from Vincent “Jimmy Blue Eyes” Alo, who was considered to be one of the most significant figures in organized crime in the United States during the Prohibition years of the early 20th century. While not a household name, Alo worked with Meyer Lansky and “Lucky” Luciano, having made his reputation as a stand-up guy. He gave his imprimatur to Struzan’s project, but only on the condition that she not publish it until after he was “gone.” She kept her part of the deal, and it is worth the wait, all the more so since it is being published on the 100th anniversary of Prohibition.

"Anyone with even a passing interest in crime fact or fiction needs --- nay, deserves! --- to have this volume on their bookshelf to savor and study slowly."

This is a large, sprawling work that goes off in several directions in an effort to cover as completely as possible the history of the Prohibition years from 1919 to 1933. All the familiar names are here: the aforementioned Lansky and Luciano, as well as “Mad Dog” Coll, Joseph Valachi, Al Capone and many others, plus a significant cast of characters unknown to most except for careful students of the times. It is, in fact, often difficult to keep everyone straight, so much so that one might wish for a short summary of each of the players just to attempt to keep track of the alliances, double-crosses and out-and-out treachery that is documented between the pages of this doorstopper of a book.

There are a lot of moving parts to A BLOODY BUSINESS. Yes, the main driving force to what occurred during the era was Prohibition. What is fascinating is the parallels to the current time. Organized crime exploited not so much the illegality of liquor as the exceptions to the illegality. These included the use of alcohol for religious purposes by Catholics and Jews, as well as for medicinal reasons. A prescription pad (as is true now) was like a press to mint money. Illegal immigrants were used to transport the liquor from ports of call to its ultimate destination. If any of this sounds familiar with modern times, that’s because it is. There were also secondary revenue streams, such as transportation of the liquor from ship to shore and beyond, and protection.

Struzan covers all of these aspects, most particularly the violent jockeying for position that occurred even as some of those at the tops of their own pyramids realized that the mayhem erupting on the streets was bad for business and attempted to do something about it. It is a remarkable and unwieldy tale, one that is worthy of reading whether one only has a casual interest in the era or has closely studied it.

A BLOODY BUSINESS would be worth reading only for the text, but each chapter begins with an era-appropriate poster drawing illustrated by the author’s husband, Drew Struzan, one of the most famous movie poster painters and album cover artists of all time. Anyone with even a passing interest in crime fact or fiction needs --- nay, deserves! --- to have this volume on their bookshelf to savor and study slowly.