Pigeon Tony's Last Stand - Lisa Scottoline - ★★★★

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AUTHOR: Lisa Scottoline
SERIES: We Could be Heroes, #1
GENRE: Crime Drama
RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A standalone short story (more like a novella) featuring a pigeon-loving grandpa who finds a new agenda to become passionate about. Good plot, interesting characters, multiple emotions. Enjoyed it!


Plot Preview:
Pigeon Tony, a senior citizen of Italian origin, loves being with his Italian friends (some of whom are also Tonys with a different nickname) and flying his pet pigeons. His English might still not be so good, but he loves America as it has saved him from his own past. But now, Pigeon Tony finds that his young neighbour, a boy named Enzo, is being forced by drug dealers to act as their courier, he knows that he can’t allow crime to enter the community. But what can a senior citizen do?


This is the first standalone story in the 'We Could be Heroes’ series, described on Amazon as “a darkly inquisitive collection of short stories that examines heroic intentions versus their real-life consequences.”

This short story should actually be called a novella, because at 72 pages, it is much too long for short fiction. But I am glad the author took up the extra pages because it offers a depth to the proceedings not always possible in shorter tales.

There are quite a few characters in this story, but the writing makes all of them very clear in our heads. I loved the old men the best, especially eighty-something Mazzo who has to SPEAK LOUDLY SO THAT OTHERS CAN HEAR HIM and Pigeon Tony who cares much about his dear pigeons and also about his Italian food, even if his favourite dishes are not good for his heath. Young Enzo is also a sweet boy.

Seeing the old men come together to save Enzo is an entertaining experience. As the story says, “they work fuelled by fear, love and caffeine.” Their banter leads to some humorous conversations, but it also shows their strong bond and their commitment to justice.

While the plot resolution is a bit too simplistic, it still works for this tale. But this is a story to be picked up more for the characters than the plot. It seems some of these characters originally appeared in ‘The Vendetta Defense’, which is the sixth book of the Rosato & DiNunzio Series. (DiNunzio has a secondary role in this tale.) I haven't read any book in this series, but when I read the short story, I didn’t feel any gap in my comprehension. So it works perfectly well as a standalone.

Recommended to those looking for a heartwarming story with loveable senior characters and a strong flavour of Italy.

This standalone story is a part of the “We Could Be Heroes” collection, and is currently available free to Amazon Prime subscribers.

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