Advance Praise for MAFIA SPIES by Thomas Maier, https://amzn.to/2Gjk50W
"Enormously fun ... Succeeds brilliantly." -- Booklist (starred review). "This is a standout in the field of spy nonfiction. Fans of The Godfather movies and of spy novels in general will love how Maier portrays the ties between Sinatra and Giancana, the lush mobster weddings, and the intricate web of deception that drew so many, including Marilyn Monroe, into the mix. Maier succeeds brilliantly here in bringing this outrageous, long-hidden (if rumored) bit of history to vivid and fact-supported life."
Michael Connelly, #1 NYT bestselling author and creator of Amazon's "Bosch":
“Just when you think you’ve read and heard everything there is to know about the CIA, JFK and the mob, along comes Thomas Maier with this meticulously researched and nuanced report that sets the record straight in some areas and breaks new ground in others. Mafia Spies reads like a thriller but its all true. I found it gripping from page one. And important. The events reported on here changed history and give us better understanding of current times.”
“Mafia Spies is one of those stories that is truly more amazing than fiction, about an unlikely alliance between America’s best and worst. The tale is told at a relentless pace and makes great reading.”
- Scott Turow, bestselling author of Presumed Innocent, The Burden of Proof, Identical, Innocent and more
"Mafia Spies brings history to life in epic, page-turning fashion. The depth of Thomas Maier's research is astounding, as are the famous characters and fantastical events that quietly changed US history." -- Martin Dugard, the New York Times bestselling co-author of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, and others written with noted television personality Bill O'Reilly.
"From CIA secret labs creating assassination tools first dreamed up by Ian Fleming in his James Bond novels, to poisoned cigars, exploding cats, Frank Sinatra, and two of the most well-connected mafioso in gangland history, Thomas Maier’s Mafia Spies is a revealing look into one of the most outrageous spy tales of the 20th Century. If you are unfamiliar with Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli, and their connection to everyone from low-life mob hucksters to JFK, this is a book that will open your eyes to a world of political intrigue that reaches into the depths and heights of mid-twentieth century American culture. Maier’s knowledge of politics and of gangland lore is impressive, and he uses it here to great effect in Mafia Spies, a work that reads like a novel but is, amazingly, a nonfiction tale of mobsters working for the CIA to assassinate Fidel Castro. If Mario Puzo were more interested in journalism than fiction, this unrelenting page turner is the book he would have written instead of The Godfather.
--Ed Falco, author of the NY Times best seller, The Family Corleone
The United States doesn’t order foreign leaders killed. Unless it does. And it did in l960 when the CIA took the unthinkable step of recruiting two Mafiosi – Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli -- to murder Cuban Premier Fidel Castro. The existence of this misbegotten plot was exposed in the l970s during Senate hearings after the assassination of JFK, but we’ve been
denied a full accounting until now. Drawing upon documents recently released by the National Archives, Thomas Maier spins a vigorously picaresque tale of the hoodlums and their handlers
as they make run after failed run at the Cuban premiere with such lunatic ploys as exploding cigars and contaminated scuba gear. Castro’s crack intelligence network in Miami allowed him to
dodge every bullet. The strength of Maier’s account is that he delivers such richly detailed profiles of the players that they seem to unfold in three dimensions. Often frightening, at times
hilarious, this is a cautionary tale for anyone thinking it might be a good idea to “outsource” intelligence operations. Mafia Spies is a bracing read and I enjoyed it thoroughly.”
-- Teresa Carpenter, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of four books, including “Mob Girl: A Woman's Life in the Underworld.”
"This story exposes a dark chapter in America’s history, when the CIA teamed up with murderous Mafia hitmen in an ill-fated assassination plot. Thoroughly reported and masterfully written, Maier delves deep into a world of political intrigue and underworld brutality. It’s a riveting, must-read." -- Shelley Murphy, co-author of the New York Times best-seller “Whitey Bulger: America’s Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice.”
