Gangsters Don't Die: A Novel (Gangsterland) (2024)

This is one very powerful series. It is not for the faint of heart. This book is chock full of violence as you would expect from a book about gangsters. The author also weaves religion into the story and it just fits. This book is very fast paced and action packed with so many twists and turn. It leaves nothing to the imagination and everything to the imagination. This story is dark and deep. This book was so good I did not want it to end and the end was so unexpected. I would hope that there will be more books to this series

Fantastic series. The characters are wonderful and the plot is gripping. The writer’s style is great, with frequent humor thrown in.

I expected this to be the last in the series, but it might not be…

I waffled between 4 and 5 stars. If you like mob movies, books and culture you would be hard pressed to find something disagreeable with this book. It’s tight. A well-paced mafia tale with lots of violence, loyalty and betrayal. A great recipe. Sal Cupertine, Family hitman, is coming to the end of his rope. Hiding out as Rabbi David Cohen in the suburbs of Las Vegas, the walls are starting to close in, it’s a new world with new gangsters like Peaches, Native American mob, who douses himself in peach cologne. It’s a new age and multi-cultural crime universe, how things have changed. What hasn’t changed is the ever-lasting chase between the FBI and the syndicates. Many walls.

Rabbi David Cohen is at the center of this tale and you will probably end up liking him as much as his synagogue congregants. He’s smart and as it turns out, has a lot of depth, not usually associated with ruthless hit men. Therein lies the rub. One can only hideout for so long and this is where we pick up the story, years later as it all starts to unravel. One of the reasons the violence is off the hook, as it should be. I don’t know Las Vegas, but it also plays a part with its changes and growth. Growth makes people greedy. You will read to love and hate may characters I betchya.

Gangster stories aren't my usual reading but I enjoyed this one. I saw the author at the Tucson Festival of Books, talking about writing the antihero; he was funny and informative and I was interested in what he said about writing gangster characters - people can't walk away from the consequences of their actions, and that's what he wrote about in this series.

Turns out this is the 4th book in the series, so there's a lot of referring back to previous events. I haven't read the first three but it was okay, I didn't feel lost. There's a prologue about the main character's father that kind of sets up the whole thing. He wanted a different life for his son, and throughout the rest of the book we see that son facing the consequences of choosing the same gangster life as his father.

David Cohen, beloved rabbi of a Las Vegas temple, is actually Sal Cupertine, hitman who's killed over a hundred people in his career. He's been in hiding in Vegas for four years after an incident where he killed some FBI agents. Only a couple of people know his true identity, and it seems he now identifies more with Rabbi David Cohen than with his old life. If it weren't for his own wife and son who are in witness protection, maybe he really could get out.

That son - there's something wrong with that kid, to put it mildly. If I'd read this beforehand I'd have asked the author what he had in mind. Three generations of Cupertine fathers and sons, neither of the younger ones raised by their mobster father but maybe there's some genetic flaw leading them to murder? I don't know. David/Sal's nickname was Rain Man because he can remember everything, and his son seems to have inherited that ability as well.

Lots and lots of characters, lots and lots of plot strands. The temple's at the center of a web of connections, like the funeral home and cemetery the mob uses to launder bodies (is that really a thing, I wonder?), the dying FBI agent who comes to the rabbi for counseling, and so on. Sal's potentially in line to lead the Chicago family, which is what made his father a target, and puts him in a risky position. The whole thing takes place not long after 9/11, meaning the FBI is obsessed with terrorism, making garden variety mobster activity easier to get away with, apparently. There's one very bizarre scene involving a warehouse full of body parts. New players in the gang world, many of them street and prison gangs, are changing things for the old style families. There's a scary sociopath named Peaches who's apparently angling to take over the Chicago family. David is haunted by one of his victims; he sees her everywhere.

The commentary on the relationship between gangsters and law enforcement was interesting. The idea seems to be that as long as the gangsters are just killing each other, the law doesn't much care, and some of the law enforcement people are actually in on the gang stuff anyway. Like I said, this isn't my usual genre, so I haven't thought much about the kinds of things that crop up in this book. I also enjoyed the look into the temple, the Torah, and David's spiritual journey.

I'm glad I finished . . . and I'm glad to be finished. The violence after three novels took on a cartoonish flair. In one particularly gruesome scene, Sal/David blows up a warehouse storing body parts to be sold to medical facilities, both legit and otherwise. First a description of heads lined up like cabbages, etc. Then the explosion . . . with heads, legs, arms landing all over Las Vegas. Over the top? Yes.
Sal/David is being sought by Peaches who has taken over the Chicago gang as well as by the FBI. Sal wants to find his family (in witness protection) and escape the life. Sal partners with wrongly accused FBI agent on the run, Matthew, but that doesn't work so well for Matthew. The whole criminal scheme of the synagogue is discovered by FBI agent who is a member of the synagogue,
but Sal lands on his feet (or his snowshoes) in Juneau in witness protections as he gives up the family after shootout with Peaches in the Mojave Desert leave Peaches bleeding out. Sal's little boy, William, has inherited Sal's violence. By the age of 10 he has shot and killed a security guard and an FBI agent. He's in juvenile detention.
Second book in the series was the best. This probably the weakest--Goldberg seemed to feel a need to top the earlier violence and it was all a bit too much for me.

I’m glad I waited until the series was complete before I started reading. It would have been rough waiting for Gangsters Don’t Die after the ending of Gangster Nation. This is one of the best crime series in recent memory. The set-up is almost slapstick. A mob hitman hides out as a rabbi. But like the Sopranos, it’s a funny, layered, complex look at the life of a gangster and everyone in his orbit. And for a book about a hitman, you really feel the violence and its consequences. There was one death in this book that really hurt. It has nice elegiac touches throughout, wrapping up the whole saga and giving deeper backstory to the characters. I will miss Sal Cupertine/Rabbi David Cohen and I look forward to visiting the Bagel Café when I’m in Vegas next month.

( 3 1/2). I had to mark this one up to 4 stars for a couple of reasons. First, the creativity of it all. Goldberg takes us on an unparalleled ride of amazing circ*mstances and somehow, has them sort of make sense. Secondly, we have one of the most incredible protagonists I have ever encountered. Sal Cupertino, aka Rabbi David Cohen is a character I may never forget. Engaging, smart, completely dangerous and ultra violent, yet so civilized and caring at the same time. We have no sex here at all, very little in the way of drugs and plenty of violence. A wonderful formula. Take a walk on the wild side with this one. Good stuff.

I'm not sure how I missed that this was the end of a trilogy before now. This is a fast paced gangster novel set in Las Vegas and focused on a hit man posing as a rabbi...an interesting premise. The downside is that some of the characters could be difficult to keep track of. I got mixed up at times because I couldn't remember who was affiliated with what sometimes, but this would probably be clearer if I had read the whole series. I'm not sure why putting "Book 3 of the Gangsterland Trilogy" and such has gone out of fashion but it would be very helpful.

Goldberg wraps up the story of Rabbi David Cohen (aka Sal Cupertine) in a fast-moving, enjoyable story. Events evolve nicely and most loose ends are tied up. Peppered with sarcasm, cultural critiques, quotes from the Talmud (or is that Springsteen?) make the book a lot of fun. While we’ll probably not hear from the Rabbi again, I hope Goldberg has more stories in him.

After reading and devouring all three in the series, I’m going to seriously miss Rabbi Cohen. One can only hope that Mr Goldberg bring back the good Rabbi in a fourth volume. The writing is crisp, clear, delicious , and kept this prolific reader clued to the page. Cost me a few nights sleep but I enjoyed every page! Bravo.

Not being on social media anymore, I miss out on a lot of book release news. I had no idea book 3 came out.

The story was a bit slow in parts, but the last 25 to 30% were outstanding. It's hard to hate Sal, when he did good in his new life. Don't want to say much more, hate spoiling stories.
Mr. Goldberg knows how to weave a great gangster story!

I was really disappointed with the ending. Couldn’t put the series down. But this one seemed really disjointed compared to the others. Also disappointed how freaking everyone dies except Sal. Also, ten years suspended for four FBI agents, a CI, and a govt official???? The William stuff wasn’t necessary either. The kid needed help, they didn’t need to make him a murderer.

Sal/Rabbi David is such an imaginative and compelling character. The series was very well-written and engaging. I enjoyed his transformation into a true rabbi, and all that he learned from Hebrew teachings. More poignant that I read the final book during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hames.

Continuation of a series about a mob hit man hiding in Vegas as a rabbi. And he’s quite good at both ! Albeit with a tendency to cite Springsteen lyrics as the Talmud. Buy the premise…. Bitterly funny about how everything is corrupt, but takes a while to get going because the back story has to be recapitulated. (The prologue is a long repeat from book 2 about how Sal’s father, Dark Billy, died.) With the Feds and the Mob homing in, this one is about how to get out of Dodge, relatively unscathed or perhaps not.

Fitting, brutal, convincing end to the Gangsterland trilogy. The guy just writes crime fiction like no one else I've read, and this one, even as it's supposedly wrapping things up, was capable - more than once - of surprising me with plot twists and moments of explosive action and violence. There are some books that rattle around consistently in my head, where I find myself thinking about them in random moments, and this is gonna be one of them, I can tell. Recommended.

Book was so-so. Billy Cupertine jumps from the IBM building in Chicago and, I think, he is waking up in a hospital in Vegas. At I don't know who is who. But the Mafia is alive and working in Vegas.

Mr. Goldberg does a great interview and he is very funny!!!

The third in a series that I can only describe as a guilty pleasure. There is a lot of violence and a great deal of suspension of disbelief required along the way. A mafia hit man masquerading as a Rabbi is quite a premise. But the story keeps moving. Sei Gesund and enjoy!

This is the best of Tod Goldberg’s career thus far and a stunning conclusion for Rabbi David Cohen. This was a masterclass in character and pacing, wrapping up threads with devastating finesse. Tod is one of the best writers out there.

On the one hand, the body count in this trilogy is astronomical. But on the other hand, Goldberg tells a great story and infuses it with interesting aspects of Judaism. So, surprisingly, I’m a fan despite the body count.

Truly enjoyed this trilogy. The main character is unforgettable.

A well written, tense, surprising, heartbreaking, violent, and touching conclusion to an ambitious and fantastic trilogy. I hope this is not the end of Rabbi Cohen.

I'm really going to miss Sal/Rabbi Cohen. Great story with unforgettable characters.
Mr. Goldberg is a helluva writer and really closed out this trilogy perfectly.
I highly recommend these books.

I thought it was a very good ending to the series.

Wonderful blend of mystery and mysticism. Can’t wait to backfill with the earlier stories.

Been there, done that.

Dark but nice

Says here on GoodReads that this is Gangsterland #4. I assume that’s an error? I only have 3, am only finding 3.

Better than the second book. As good as the first. What a finale!

DNF

Gangsters do die and do so with alarming frequency in Tod Goldberg's latest. Sleazy side of Las Vegas for sure, and more