The Bottom Line: Music stardom meets mafia meddling in this riveting continuation of the Children of the Mob series.
The second installment in C.J. Simone’s Children of the Mob series continues the story of Gabe Giordano, Savannah Fletcher and their up-and-coming band, Shine. In Manic Mission, Gabe, an Italian-American heartthrob, was determined to break from his abusive environment and make a living in the music business. As Manic Edge opens, Shine has a song climbing the charts, but family meddling threatens to undo everything they’ve achieved together.
As a child of the mob, Gabe is rightly horrified when his father — a mob-connected loan shark with no interest in music, and even less in his son – insists on being Shine’s manager. More to the point, he’s hell bent on making Gabe “the next Elvis” while marginalizing Savannah.
Simone avoids the sophomore series slump by delivering an assortment of delicious and cringey scenes that work together to create suspense. One standout comes just after Mr. Giordano’s first official meeting with the band as his manager, in which he brings muscle to emphasize his newfound authority. He starts by telling Savannah how much he appreciates the fact that she’s been on birth control during her and Gabe’s relationship. He then warns her about getting pregnant: “Gabriel will not be distracted by you and a baby. Not now, and not any time within the near future. Do you understand me?”
Tonally, the introduction of Mr. Giordano’s perception of the modern music business is similar to that of Tulsa King’s westward mob boss Dwight Manfredi – a semi-satirical look at a criminal who is hopelessly out of step with the times, and yet, through scheming, family loyalty and brutal acts of violence, remains highly successful. However, Gabe’s struggles with mental health are in sharp contrast here. Early on, Gabe expresses difficulty in convincing himself to stay on his medication while feeling the highs associated with mania. As the story moves forward, the environment exacerbates his feelings of self-hatred and isolation, and he also faces tremendous pressure over his mental health from those around him as well. Told in chapters with alternating point of view, Simone treats the subject with the reverence and introspection it deserves – complete with trigger warnings. Fortunately, there’s plenty of euphoria as well, and for fans of the first book, Simone delivers an unmissable step in Gabe and Savannah’s character development.
