Road to Purgatory
It is 1942, and the horrors of the Bataan jungle are permanently scarring soldiers. Michael Santariano, a childlike individual at twenty, fights confidently and with unexplainable skill. Captain Arthur Wermuth is puzzled by this soldier’s shooting accuracy, but remains unaware of Michael’s experience in mob violence opposing Capone in Chicago. Loss of an eye during fierce gunfighting earns Michael the first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded in the Second World War—plus dismissal from military service. Back in the States, Michael wrestles between loyalty to dying soldiers in the jungle and being thrust into public appearances as a war hero stumping for war bonds. The heart-broken Patsy Ann O’Hara, from his hometown of DeKalb, Illinois, is pushed aside once more when Michael returns to the mob world as Michael O’Sullivan.
The plot thickens by intertwining stories of Michael O’Sullivan, Sr.’s service for Irish godfather John Looney in the 1920s. In this gangster saga, military, governmental, and criminal figures of the time appear alongside the fictitious Michael O’Sullivan. Mystery and intense suspense enrich the plot. This novel, told by an award-winning author, has created an Olympic-level challenge for his fellow writers. The first paragraph pulls readers into the story, and the novel remains gripping all the way through its romantic ending. A recommended follow-up to Road to Perdition, it will appeal to a wide audience.
