Bone in the Throat

Bourdain, Anthony

3.47

4,497 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1504696336 ISBN 13: 9781504696333

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2016

When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less-than-glamorous stint at his uncle's restaurant in Manhattan's Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side, and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience, and to avoid getting killed in the meantime.In the vein of Prizzi's Honor, Bone in the Throat is a thrilling Mafia caper laced with entertaining characters and wry humor. This first novel is a must-have for fans of Anthony Bourdain's nonfiction.

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Review:

There is one thing in the world that Tony Pagano cares about passionately--learning to make great, food under the guidance of a great, if drug-addicted, chef. But it is not as easy as that--the FBI are never convinced that being part of a crime family means only being their relation, nor is Tony's uncle Salvatore "Sally Wig" Patera. It was Sally Wig who got Tony his current job, and even a favoured nephew owes the odd favour back--when Sally and his pals borrow Tony's kitchen to kill and dismember an enemy, they ruin the chef's best knife and Tony's peace of mind. What makes A Bone in the Throat such an effective gangland thriller is that its hero is as much at an angle to the universe as the posturing bullies he is trying to avoid; he cares about family loyalty, of course he does, but his ultimate obsessive loyalty is to great cuisine. Snappy dialogue and convincing outbreaks of quite horrid violence make this an intelligent thriller of Brooklyn and New York skullduggery; it is Tony and his yearning to be free to cook that makes it memorable. --Roz Kaveney

Review:

"Gangster fiction to feast on." (Independent)

"Raw and cooking. Rare and well-done." (AA Gill)

"A superb tale of violence and backbiting set in the seething testosterone-heavy company of a crew of New York cooks, and simply towers head, shoulders and upper torso above everything else." (GQ)

"Wonderful fun, a perfect book to read at the beach." (Michael Crichton New York Times Book Review)

"A recipe for a very good read." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Sharp, funny . . . if it's gangster rap you want to read then Bourdain is your man." (Express)

"The snappy wise-guy dialogue is as sharp as the kitchen implements Bourdain puts to grisly use . . . The result is a saucy, spicy caper that slips down as easy as a sidewalk hotdog." (Richard Rogers Observer Review 2008-05-04)

"Coming on like a cross between Nick Tosches and The Sopranos, chef Anthony Bourdain proves himself as adept with a pen as he is with the knife - no reservations." (Cathi Unsworth Guardian Review 2008-05-10)

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