The Venetian Job
The Max Books
Book 3
by Sally Gould
Publisher: Orbis Media
Date of Publication: March 2015
ISBN: 9780994182746
ASIN: B00QY0ACJY
Number of pages: 108
Word Count: approx. 20,000 words
Cover Artist: Dane at eBook Launch
Book Description:
In 'Mafia Encounter', when Max is on a family holiday in Sicily, he and Charlie notice the mafia seem to be following them. Are they related to the mafia boss? Will they have to learn the business? Will their lives ever be the same?
In 'The Venetian Job', Max desperately wants bad guys and action, so he’ll have a good story to tell when he goes back to school. He and Charlie hang out with their policeman uncle, but there doesn’t seem to be a bad guy in Venice. Then in a Palace on the Grand Canal, Max notices something that doesn’t make sense. Will Max get bad guys and action after all?
Read an excerpt of Chapter 3 from Mafia Encounter:
Sharing a hotel with a mafia boss – even if he was a little old man – didn’t make me feel safe and warm inside. I could feel my stomach doing somersaults while we waited for the elevator. I wondered if Charlie was nervous too. He wouldn’t admit it, even if he were.
Eventually there was a ping and the doors of the elevator opened. It was empty. That was good. Well, it was good as long as no mafia guys got in before we got out.
“I think I’ll do fifty laps,” said Charlie, after the elevator doors closed.
“What about Marco Polo? I want to say we played Marco Polo in Italy.”
He looked at me like I was stupid. “Marco Polo came from Venice; Italy wasn’t a country back then.”
Trust him to turn something fun into a history lesson. “Yeah, whatever.”
The doors of the elevator opened and we followed the signs to the pool. It was an indoor pool, there were three lanes and it was probably about fifteen metres long – long enough for races. I knew as soon as I saw it that Charlie would want to race.
At first I didn’t see anyone in the pool, but then I noticed a figure push off from the edge. Geez, I wanted to have the whole pool to ourselves. Then I saw two men in black suits sitting at the side of the pool. The bad feeling in my gut came back. At first I didn’t recognize them because they weren’t wearing sunglasses. One of them got up and came over to us as Charlie and me were stripping down to our swimmers. I could barely take off my shorts, I was shaking so much.
The man in black was tall and he had big shoulders. He said something to us in Italian.
Charlie said, “Parla inglese?”
I knew that meant, Do you speak English? I hadn’t worked out how Charlie could say four English words in only two Italian words.
“Come back to swim later,” ordered the man in black.
“Sure,” I said and began to put my shorts back on. I wasn’t stupid. I knew from school that if someone three times bigger told me to do something, it was best to do it.
“We’re staying at the hotel. We’re allowed to use the pool.” Charlie folded his arms.
Was he crazy? “We can go back to our room and watch the wrestling,” I said to him. “Let’s go.”
The man in black leaned toward Charlie and said very softly, “Mr. Petruzzelli owns hotel.”
Mr. P must’ve been Mr. Mafia in the pool. That was good enough for me. I was out of here. If Charlie wanted to stay and get his head blown off, that was his business. Real casual, I began to walk back toward the elevator.
I heard a voice behind me. “Boy! You stop!”
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**My thoughts**
Max is the kind of kid who does well as the middle grade book hero. He is excessively curious, which can often get him into trouble. He also has a large imagination and sometimes lacks impulse control. At the same time, he is also very bright, which contributes to all of these traits.
In these two stories, Max and his family are on vacation in Sicily. From what I can gather, as this is the first book in the series that I have read, Max is prone to making up grandiose stories. His brother, Charlie, helps to contribute to his wild imagination. The two of them feed off of each other to create situations that get them involved with the Mafia and a large art heist. Their antics are amusing and there is enough suspense to keep readers engaged.
I am now curious about the other books in the series, to find out what else Max has gotten himself into. I wish that this book would have given a bit more of Max's background. I am probably not the only one who randomly picked up a book in the middle of the series. A bit more character and story background, even as mere references to previous adventures, would help us get to know the characters more, as well as entice us even more to pick up the previous installments. I felt like this one just jumped into the story and I was a little lost at first. Who is this Mr. Mafia and from where did the idea originate? Is this something alluded to in a previous book? Nevertheless, a fun read that any kid who likes crazy adventures will enjoy.
Sally Gould loved books from a young age, but never considered writing them. While she was busy getting up to the mischief that teenagers get up to, she forgot about books all together. Then total insanity took hold and she became a corporate lawyer.
Fortunately, she had two sons and they inspired her to write stories for children. Of course, her oldest son is responsible, logical, studious, considerate, grateful and even makes his bed. The youngest one is only interested in having fun - lots of it. And, except for his teachers, he makes everyone laugh. Their antics have inspired many of Sally's stories. Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her family and two dogs - Pebbles, who is sensible, and Jade, who just wants to have fun.
Website: www.sallygould.com.au
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/sallygould
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5010299.Sally_Gould
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sallygouldchildrensauthor
