This image is the cover for the book Odessa Beach

Odessa Beach

Fleeing the KGB, a Russian conman decamps for New York City to build a new empire of crime

Nikolai “Niki” Zorakoff has made a killing on the Soviet black market. He smuggles in luxury goods from the West—the blue jeans and perfumes that wealthy Muscovites simply can’t do without—and sells them for small fortunes. But when the KGB takes an interest in Niki’s operation, he knows he must run or die. And so, with a forged passport and as much money as he can carry, Niki heads to the Russian haven of Odessa Beach, where a man without a conscience can live like a god.

It isn’t long before Niki makes contact with the mobsters of South Brooklyn, who loan him the capital to start a restaurant that becomes one of the area’s hottest nightspots. But when the time comes to pay, Niki decides he would rather not settle up, starting a gang war that will pit two generations of mobsters against each other in a fight to the death.

Bob Leuci

Bob Leuci began his career as an officer with the New York Police Department, where he worked with Frank Serpico on the corruption investigation that led to the Knapp Commission. His novels were heavily influenced by his time on the force and often deal with police corruption and gang activity in New York City. In 1981, after twenty-one years of service, Leuci retired to embark on his writing career, and went on to teach English at the University of Rhode Island until his death in 2015.

Open Road Integrated Media