Book ~ "The Last Hitman" (2025) Robin Yocum

From Goodreads ~ Once upon a time, being a “made man” meant something. Angelo Cipriani was a member of the inner circle of the Fortuna Crime Family, one of the biggest mafia families in the Ohio Valley. Not that Angelo would ever admit to such an organization even existing, let alone to all of the bodies he dropped for his boss. Angelo even stayed loyal after taking a bullet in the back and winding up in a coma for three months. 

But times have changed. Four decades have passed and the glory days of mob rule have waned. With FBI crackdowns and new rival gangs seizing territory, Angelo finds himself on the outs with the current administration, essentially “on the shelf.” Left with little excitement beyond a crush on the local diner waitress, he does the unthinkable and puts pen to paper, telling his story of coming up, a man of honor in a world that he barely recognizes. 

But Angelo’s reminiscences are rudely interrupted by a visit from the FBI, and the realization that the past is far from dead and buried. Faced with old secrets and fresh betrayals, Angelo finds himself The Last Hitman is ready to get back to work.

This is a story about Angelo, a hitman who is trying to survive a world that has moved on without him. He's is an aging mob enforcer who used to be one of the most trusted guys in the Fortunato crime family. He’s old-school loyal but times have changed. Little Tommy, the new boss, is into dealing drugs rather than hookers and gambling like his late father and late grandfather, and Angelo just doesn’t fit in anymore. He’s being pushed aside and spends his days drinking coffee at a diner, chatting with Carolyn, the waitress he has a crush on, and visiting Nickels, an old friend in a nursing home, who is out of it on meds most of the time. Not exactly the thrilling mob life he once had. Everything shifts when the FBI shows up and pressures him to talk. Suddenly Angelo has to choose ... stay loyal to a crime family that no longer respects him or work with the feds and risk becoming a target.

I enjoyed this book. I've read a few books by this author and have liked them. I liked the writing style of this one and it was surprisingly humorous at times. Angelo had done some really bad things in his day (and was looking forward to continuing to do so) but I found him likable. Being in the mob and loyal to "the boss" was all he knew and he was having a hard time staying loyal to Little Tommy, who was a scumbag. One thing I did have trouble believing is that Carolyn, knowing what he was, didn't have an issue with what he'd done in his past and would continue to do given the chance. The ending leaves things open that there could be a sequel. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.