Pump Up Your Book Promotion Tour: Purged by Darkness

From the Book Jacket:

In the gang lifestyle, honor and loyalty is what is expected of you. Fear, death and betrayal is what often follows. In this world, no one wins and all those involved often find themselves in too deep to ever get out.

With the story revolving around six friends, it traces their rise ad fall inside the organized crime syndicate, the Triads. With their love for each other and their loyalties not far behind, it is the same quality that will push their friendship beyond all limits.

In the criminal underworld, the word friendship doesn’t exist. For this group of friends, it is all they have. Love is what keeps them together, but will it be enough to survive in a world where bullets speak louder than words and death awaits them at every turn?

How much do you know about gangsters and the criminal underworld? I have to admit, I don’t know much. I have seen The Godfather, but not many other movies. I have read The Mad Ones by Tom Folsom about Crazy Joey Gallo, but that’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge.

Purged by Darkness by Michael Estepa takes a look at the criminal underworld of Melbourne, Australia through the eyes of Kai, an up and coming member of the Triads. Kai and his five friends have been involved in this organization since Kai was 15 and his friends were 17. Kai is the boss of his group of friends, and eventually becomes a Branch Leaders after he plans and leads a hit on another member who has broken the rules of the society. But, the life is not all about power and money. As the group of friends becomes higher in the society, they gain the resentment of other members as well as other Societies. The group becomes targeted and friends start to fall.

The problem is, once you are in, you are in for life. Kai comes to terms with his morality and what he wants for his future. After losing more friends than anyone should have to deal with, Kai decides to run.

I won’t tell you any more than that – you should read it to find out what happens to this gangster.

I have to admit, I really felt for this character. I can’t imagine losing your friends because of the life of crime you have chosen – a choice made as a stupid kid at age 15. It was hard to see him react to the deaths of his friends. And when he has to make the ultimate choice, I understood why he felt that he had to do what he did.

I had a little trouble with some of the dialog, however. I wondered if gangsters would really talk like that to each other at a couple points. But, I was able to get around that and appreciate the story for what it was – an action filled, coming of age story about six friends and the life they chose.

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book Promotional Book Tours and Michael Estepa for sending me this book!!! Check out http://www.michaelestepa.com/ to learn more about the author and his book!