Eclectica Magazine interview with Susan DiPlacido

Eclectica, the fine literary magazine, was kind enough to let me interview the always funny Susan DiPlacido for their Oct/Nov 2010 issue. Susan published three novels this year, so there was a lot to talk about. Read the interview here.

My review of her latest, House Money, published by Mundania Press, is below. Check out my review of Lady Luck here.

House Money, reviewed

Susan DiPlacido's latest novel (boy, how many times have I said that this year? Oh, right—three) is a Las Vegas gangster caper mystery, but at heart it is a character study. Protagonist Eva Russo has seen enough murder in her life, and—besides the fact that she can't be a made man in the Mafia even if she wanted to be—wants to pursue her own life outside of the mob. She wants to be known as more than the "boss's daughter."

A budding artist, the book opens with Eva's first art show. But due to the power play of someone (Dave “The Sheik” DeSantis) who works for her father (mob boss Joe Russo), Eva is pulled into the gangster life to revenge her father's murder, and reclaim what is rightfully her family's—namely the Oasis, a Vegas casino. That's the basic plot, but DiPlacido makes it come to life with her dialogue, tension and pacing, and well-rounded characters. She also gives the bad guy (The Sheik) meat to his character so he's not just a cliche; though he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, you can see things from his perspective, and understand why he did what he did. But Eva and her cohorts are smarter as they execute their plan to get the Oasis back in their control.