Road to the Galliano Club

Galliano Club Series

By: Carmen Amato

Narrated by: James Froemel

Three outcasts try to outrun the past, only to end up at the Galliano Club, where trouble is always on tap.

In this prequel to the exciting Prohibition-era Galliano Club historical fiction thriller series, go on the road with three unforgettable characters and experience their timeless tales of risk, determination, and danger during the Roaring Twenties: Ruth Cross escapes a dead-end life in a Pennsylvania coal mining town, but scandal will chase her all the way to the tiny apartment over the Galliano Club, Luca Lombardo emigrates to America but it costs him everything. By the time he goes to work as the barman at the Galliano Club, he has nothing left to lose, Benny Rotolo rises from street thug to trusted bodyguard for Chicago’s North Side Gang but when Al Capone puts a price on his head, the Galliano Club could be his chance to get even.

Are you a fan of The Godfather, Road to Perdition, The Untouchables, or Boardwalk Empire? If you love historical fiction featuring Prohibition-era stories of Chicago gangsters, Italian mobsters, and bold bootleggers, you’ll love this introduction to the Galliano Club series.

©2022 Carmen Amato (P)2025 Carmen Amato

An interesting prequel, great listen!

This shorter novel introduces (I'm assuming) the main characters in The Galliano Club books! I liked the little preview at the beginning so we knew who was who and a bit of what was coming.

Each of the characters has a unique and interesting (and a little sad) origin story that sets them up in a smaller industrial town based on a historical Rome, NY.

The characters have been through some absolutely wild things and are ready to settle down and make lives for themselves in a steady place. That said, it seems like the adventure is just getting started.

It's fun because I'm in Rochester and have been to a lot of the real towns mentioned. Some of the history is a little similar and I love historical fiction set in that gangster/prohibition era. Amato had first hand sources too and makes the setting feel extremely real, while the characters were brought to life by James Froemel.

It's a tiny bit less fun because at this point, the story reads like what it is, a trio of slice-of-life stories setting up a larger storyline. Each has its own beginning, middle, and end, so nothing is lost, but I am curious as to what it all turns into in the larger series.

I would definitely go on to read the books in the main series based off the characters and author's writing style. I also enjoyed the narrator, James Froemel, and would happily listen to the books to continue the story. He had a great range of voices and kept my interest level high throughout!