La Patrona Kindle Edition

In a world of police and criminals, justice and its boundaries get blurred if you choose one loyalty over another. Enter Selena, the remaining female in a mob family who chooses the law over mafia justice to the chagrin of her family and the mistrust of her co-workers.A woman of principle and passion, Salena walks the line with grace until her dedication to the law is challenged by its inability to provide justice for a loved one.The plot kept me turning the pages: At one moment agreeing with some of her choices but rapidly disagreeing with others until I understood what she had to make happen.Jaffe’s descriptions transport you into the narrative. My favorite quote describes the smell of August in Upper East Side NYC, “. . . dog sh*t and exhaust fumes and cigarette smoke and street corner vendors grilling cheap meats . . . “ I feel like I am there.Fans of gritty stories involving action and modern moral ambiguity will love LA PATRONA.

Let me say that I love books about the mob ... got hooked on the genre after reading The Godfather, and I admit that I measure other works against that standard. This story lacked the non-stop action of The Godfather ... and delved more into the "feelings" and underlying thoughts behind the characters ... it really was quite d-r-a-w-n o-u-t and could have been condensed, but it appeared that the author wanted to stretch a short story into a novel. I saw it through to the (unsurprising) end ...

In a riveting plot with life-like characters, this story flips one's sense of right and wrong on its head. It's an unexpected match of Law & Order meets The Godfather.Should family loyalty trump traditional values? Is right and wrong a clearly black-and-white decision?Selena is an accomplished police detective who grew up in a loving Italian family that just happened to be part of the NY Mafia. When she and her family face a shocking betrayal and her brother's murder, Selena faces the ultimate decision. Should she stay on the right side of society in the respected career path she has chosen? Or should she use her unique talents to help her family at a crucial time?The characters and their motivations are real, and the story is intriguing. You'll feel like Selena is someone you've met, facing issues you've never considered. But after all, in these days of women's accomplishments, if the Mafia had a Godfather, then why not a Godmother?

Law and justice: two interrelated concepts carefully treated in this riveting novel of choice between the two. A Mafia Don's daughter who is also a homicide detective is drawn into a murder that turns her life upside down: her brother's. The narrative deals with the agonizing choices she must make: the family she loves or the job she's good at. Excellent characterization strengthens the already intriguing plot. Recommended!

I refuse to be apologetic about reading chic lit -- it transports me from the tensions of everyday life almost like Calgon bath oil used to promise! That said, I need the work to smart and well written, which is exactly what I found in La Patrona. It is sassy and romantic, but the tale has a dark edge and the characters are faced with decisions that have profound moral consequences. The author was very deft at putting the protagonist's convictions to the ultimate test to make her truest desires and loyalties come to the surface. If Mario Puzo had been a woman, the Godfather would have had a character much like Selena!

This is an absorbing read. The protagonist is passionate about enforcing the law, since escaping the hold of her Mafia family. However, when tragedy strikes the family, NYPD Homicide Detective Selena's loyalties are tested. Her brain is with the law, but her heart is with her family. The plot is fast-paced, the characterizations sharp, the dialogue gritty and grabbing. The potential readership of this novel is greater than crime novel/mafia enthusiasts. With the moral dilemma so aptly played out, the psychological aspects would appeal to book clubs and even, perhaps, to the movies.

The story of a Mafia Don's daughter who - after years as a law-abiding homicide detective - is suddenly drawn back into the Family business, this novel starts out slow, but eventually becomes difficult to put down as the reader tries to figure out how each of several interconnected plot-lines will resolve themselves. La Patrona would be a good choice for a book club discussion around how we as individuals and a society define that ever elusive concept "justice," and how it may or may not be distinct from more pragmatic concepts of "law and order."

A great and easy read with a well developed cast of characters often times unpredictable in their actions. That's what made it so interesting. La Patrona herself a most unusual woman whose decision making took me from saying "don't go there" to "well, I understand." Wonder if author Jaffe interviewed many mafia folks? Her ability to describe them so well--physically and emotionally was amazing. Story line is unusual and kept me turning those pages to see what next. I highly recommend La Patrona.