The Big Crowd

Charlie O'Kane has lived the American dream, an Irish immigrant who worked his way up from beat cop to mayor of New York at the city's post-war zenith. When Charlie is accused of abetting a mob murder, however, his younger brother Tom sets out to clear his name—while hiding a secret of his own. The charges against Charlie stem from his days as a crusading Brooklyn DA, when he sent the thugs of Murder, Inc., to the chair; now out of office, he lives in a Mexico City hotel, afraid to return to the U.S. Moving from the Brooklyn waterfront to city hall, from the battlefields of World War II to the beaches of Acapulco, this compelling novel also follows Tom as he confronts hard truths about his brother, himself, and the secret workings of the city he loves.