The Godfather Returns

A Novel

By: Mark Winegardner

Narrated by: Scott Brick

THE MISSING YEARS FROM THE GREATEST CRIME SAGA OF ALL TIME

Thirty-five years ago, Mario Puzo’s great American tale, The Godfather, was published, and popular culture was indelibly changed. Now, in The Godfather Returns, acclaimed novelist Mark Winegardner continues the story–the years not covered in Puzo’s bestselling book or in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic films.

It is 1955. Michael Corleone has won a bloody victory in the war among New York’s crime families. Now he wants to consolidate his power, save his marriage, and take his family into legitimate businesses. To do so, he must confront his most dangerous adversary yet, Nick Geraci, a former boxer who worked his way through law school as a Corleone street enforcer, and who is every bit as deadly and cunning as Michael. Their personal cold war will run from 1955 to 1962, exerting immense influence on the lives of America’s most powerful criminals and their loved ones, including

Tom Hagen, the Corleone Family’s lawyer and consigliere, who embarks on a political career in Nevada while trying to protect his brother;

Francesca Corleone, daughter of Michael’s late brother Sonny, who is suddenly learning her family’s true history and faces a difficult choice;

Don Louie Russo, head of the Chicago mob, who plays dumb but has wily ambitions for muscling in on the Corleones’ territory;

Peter Clemenza, the stalwart Corleone underboss, who knows more Family secrets than almost anyone;

Ambassador M. Corbett Shea, a former Prohibition-era bootlegger and business ally of the Corleones’, who wants to get his son elected to the presidency–and needs some help from his old friends;

Johnny Fontane, the world’s greatest saloon singer, who ascends to new heights as a recording artist, cozying up to Washington’s power elite and maintaining a precarious relationship with notorious underworld figures;

Kay Adams Corleone, who finally discovers the truth about her husband, Michael–and must decide what it means for their marriage and their children and

Fredo Corleone, whose death has never been fully explained until now, and whose betrayal of the Family was part of a larger and more sinister chain of events.

Sweeping from New York and Washington to Las Vegas and Cuba, The Godfather Returns is the spellbinding story of America’s criminal underworld at mid-century and its intersection with the political, legal, and entertainment empires. Mark Winegardner brings an original voice and vision to Mario Puzo’s mythic characters while creating several equally unforgettable characters of his own. The Godfather Returns stands on its own as a triumph–in a tale about what we love, yearn for, and sometimes have reason to fear . . . family.©2004 The Estate of Mario Puzo; (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Fantastic entertainment

Narrator Sott Brick did a brilliant job and the book itself is as good or better than the original. Wonderful detail in many interesting areas. One of my favorite audibles yet.

excellent

The Family Corleone and this book are excellent extensions of the Godfather saga. It is a shame Puzo didn't want to write them. Thankfully, Mark Winegardner took up the challenge and wrote a great book.

Puzo lives

What a blast from the past, and literally too! Winegardner takes us back through bits of the lives of our favourite Mafia clan, and even though it is 30 years or so since I read the original it was just like reliving it again (or maybe one of the movies). Altogether an enjoyable day or two spent reading "whatever became of...?"

Like the Original

It may not be Puzo, but the rhythm and style of the storytelling sure is similar. The plot has all the depth of the original 'Godfather' and covers all the events that the first books stayed away from.

Worthy of being in The Godfather Saga

After listening to The Godfather I was reluctant to download the next book when I saw a different author penned it. But I eventually did because I love Scott Brick as a narrator and trust the novels he brings to life are always enjoyable to be carried along with in his narration. Boy am I glad I didn’t. mark’s sequel in the Corleon Saga is amazing. He sticks true to the characters we all grew to know and love in the original and broadness our perspective much more than was done in the Coppola movies. The way Fredo, Michael, and Tom’s characters are explored is magnificent and enjoyable to dive into. Highly recommend this novel.