An intimate and riveting drama about family love, loyalty, secrets, and the consequences of betrayal.
Mia Trovato searches for answers from her parents’ secretive past and her father’s murder. What she finds is an unexpected new life filled with tenderness and heart-wrenching secrets.
Mia never planned to be a mafia wife. Her grandparents Tony and Ruth Russo did all they could to protect her from the dangerous world her father was a part of. But her life is forever changed in the summer of 1980 when she stays with her father’s family in Mantoloking, NJ, determined to uncover what really happened to him and the truth behind her mother’s tragic end.
Mia finds herself surrounded by a loving family and not the ruthless killers she had been warned about. When she falls in love with Artie Bocelli, the grandson to the head of New Jersey’s most notorious crime family, she is drawn into a world she vowed never to be a part of.
As secrets from the past and present begin to unravel, can Mia forgive horrific betrayals? Or is she doomed to a life of heartbreak?
An intimate and riveting drama about family love, loyalty, secrets, and the consequences of betrayal.
Mia Trovato searches for answers from her parents’ secretive past and her father’s murder. What she finds is an unexpected new life filled with tenderness and heart-wrenching secrets.
Mia never planned to be a mafia wife. Her grandparents Tony and Ruth Russo did all they could to protect her from the dangerous world her father was a part of. But her life is forever changed in the summer of 1980 when she stays with her father’s family in Mantoloking, NJ, determined to uncover what really happened to him and the truth behind her mother’s tragic end.
Mia finds herself surrounded by a loving family and not the ruthless killers she had been warned about. When she falls in love with Artie Bocelli, the grandson to the head of New Jersey’s most notorious crime family, she is drawn into a world she vowed never to be a part of.
As secrets from the past and present begin to unravel, can Mia forgive horrific betrayals? Or is she doomed to a life of heartbreak?
MIA HELD HER breath as she stood frozen on the stairwell. She didn’t have to strain to hear her grandparents arguing in their bedroom. It had been a long time since they’d had a disagreement this heated, and she never meant to cause a fight, but she knew it was inevitable.
“I won’t have it!” Tony slammed the closet door shut.
“Tony,” Ruth reasoned, “let’s talk about this rationally.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’ve made up my mind. How can you even entertain the idea of her spending the summer with those people.”
“Those people are her family. There’s nothing we can do to change that. I understand how you feel, but remember, Mia is confident and strong. Let’s face it, she’s coped with turmoil her whole life as she saw her mother go through depression, alcoholism, and addiction that can be directly attributed to her father’s death. Although Rena’s been gone for two years, Mia’s still trying to process it. She needs answers, Tony. She has questions about her father and his relationship with her mother that we can’t answer. She feels that if she could get some insight on Dominick, she can start design school in September with a clear mind.”
Tony’s tone softened. “We’ve protected her all these years. I will not lose her to them just as we lost Rena. I can’t go through that again. I just can’t.”
“Mia is not Rena. We won’t lose her, I’m sure. In fact, I think the best way we can protect her is to be supportive. She’s eighteen now, and doesn’t need our permission, but she wants our blessing.”
“Yes, eighteen. The same age Rena was when she ran away with Dominick.”
“You’re right. Don’t forget, Mia not only has a good head on her shoulders, and a great plan for her future, but, unlike Rena, she knows beyond a doubt how much we love her.” She squeezed his hand. “Now it’s time to trust her.”
“Ok, Ruthie,” he whispered, “I suppose you’re right.”
“I worry too, but she’s only going down the shore. She’ll be back before we know it.”
“Eight weeks is a long time. A lot can happen.”
“We’ll send her off with a nice big family dinner on Sunday. We’ll remind her of the value of loyalty and trust in the Russo family.”
Mia heard the squeak of the bedroom door and started to descend the stairs.
“I suppose you heard everything?”
“Not everything, Grammy.” Mia looked down, ashamed that she got caught eavesdropping. “I could tell Poppy wasn’t happy.”
Ruth joined Mia in the middle of the stairwell. She brushed Mia’s hair behind her ear and together they sat on the step. “No, Poppy wasn’t happy, but he’s not angry either. He’s concerned about your safety. We both are, but I convinced him that you should go.”
Mia smiled. “Thank you. I guess I can understand your concern, but I need to know who my father was. All I’ve ever heard from you and Poppy was that he wasn’t good for Mom. All Mom ever said was how much she loved him. But I don’t know anything about him. What made him the dynamic person that Mom loved so much and the appalling person you hated so much? You’ve all told me the stories of your experiences, but I need to know what made him who he was. The only people who can tell me that are his family.”
“You know the people you’ll meet and spend time with down there may be dangerous?”
“I do know that. But I also know that Uncle Luca wouldn’t let anything happen to me, and probably the safest place I can be is at his home.”
“There is a very strong possibility you’ll meet Carmine Esposito.”
Mia’s face turned red and her grip on Ruth’s hand strengthened. She nodded quickly. “I thought of that,” she said blankly.
“I’m sure he’ll know who you are but avoid him if you can.” Ruth took Mia’s face in her hands and looked her straight in her eyes. “You must not speak to him about our family, and, Mia, by all means, stay calm. Do not show him your anger.”
“I won’t. I know it won’t change anything.” She stared straight ahead. “He killed my great-grandparents, possibly my father, and indirectly, my mother. Nothing I say to him will matter. He’s too evil to care.”
“Yes. I. I, suppose you’re right.”
Mia’s face softened and she kissed Ruth’s cheek. “Don’t worry, Grammy. My goals this summer are to sunbathe on the beach, read a bunch of books, and learn about my father so I can come home and start school feeling refreshed in September. I won’t let anyone get to me.”
“Okay,” Ruth nodded slowly. “We’ll have an extra-special dinner Sunday night.”
“Does that mean you’ll make Eggplant Parmigiana?” “Absolutely.”
In In the Name of Loyalty, by Cynthia Coppola, Mia Trovato desires to know the truth about her father’s murder and mother’s suicide before she attends design school in the fall, so her grandparents reluctantly allow Mia to summer with family they do not trust. Relationships form, and after graduating college, Mia marries into the Bocelli family, rivals of Esposito family, who Mia believes murdered her father. However, the love story does not mimic a remake of a Shakespeare tragedy, nor does it contain blood, guts, and gore more than brief descriptions to set scenes. While the men oversee hard core protection, the women also safeguard the family but with knowledge, strategy, and power.
Feminist influence is not innate, so Donna Bocelli and Aunt Carla relay power’s subtle, manipulative qualities to the younger, ranking women--Vicky, Theresa, and Mia, but sometimes, Mia falls short of the family’s dignity. “I tell you, what, someday, she’s [Daniella] going to get hers, I promise you that” (108-109). The women’s advice, though, is not just for the protagonists or the wealthy but for the reader. “It is important to always pay attention to and file every nugget of information you know to be true in a filing cabinet in the back of your mind. Knowledge is a powerful tool when it comes to protecting family [. . .] Never, ever share anything personal to anyone outside our immediate family” (157).
The target audience is the adult female. At the book’s start, the characters are young adults in and barely out of their teens. As the characters age and develop, the mature audience becomes participants already knowledgeable and sensitive to life’s deceptions, secrets, and emotional experiences: weddings, childbirth, careers, death, divorce, and family assimilations. However, when life delivers its punches, the line between loyalty and throwing in the towel often blurs. “It was at the point in their relationship where she had to decide if she wanted to continue and consider a future with Artie or walk away before anyone got hurt” (93).
The book is an easy read that sustains interest with characters not just relatable to the wealthy. At times, minor characters’ titles within the family dynamics become blended, but the book contains family trees at the onset for reference. However, forgotten hierarchies do not hamper the book’s plot or enjoyment; the characters’ motivations are distinct. Though, as in life, sometimes what they perceive is not true.