The Racing Factions by Robert Fabbri

On Kindle

This is another of Fabbri's novellas featuring the Crossroads Brotherhood and published exclusively on Kindle.   The Brotherhood operate a protection racket in their neighbourhood and also act as bodyguards for Senator Pollo who is the uncle of Vespasian the hero of Fabbri's full length novels.

The action opens in the Circus Maximus where Magnus and the gang have just won a sizeable bet.   However, the bookmaker, Ignatius, refuses to pay up which is a major mistake on his part.   The rest of the story concerns Magnus organising an elaborate plot to get his revenge.  

This is a very entertaining story if a rather amoral one but by now we should all be used to the attitudes of Rome at the time.   There is also a tendency to portray as appealing characters what are essentialy a gang of vicious thugs but Fabbri is not alone here think Mario Puzo and the American Mafia.