Smalltime depicts the history of a small-town mob boss who also happened to be the author's namesake and grandfather. This created an interesting mix of historical nonfiction combined with the author's own observations and journey as he pieced together his family's past, uncovering new information about his dad and grandfather along the way.

I thought this book was a unique story that had a lot of historical detail, but still captured the personal nature of the author collecting information and doing research about his own family. The writing was quite good and I really enjoyed Shorto's style and the way the story flowed back and forth between the past and present as he uncovered new details. I also liked how the book concluded and tied everything together in the end.

While this was an interesting book overall, I did find it challenging at times to read because of how detailed certain parts or events were. With a whole list of characters, it was often difficult to follow the various storylines that were woven throughout the book.

If you enjoy historical nonfiction though and have a fascination with stories that center around the mob, I would definitely recommend giving this a read!

While difficult at times to read, due to the subject and the graphic nature of certain scenes, I thought that THE PROPHETS was a powerful, beautifully written book. The writing style was reminiscent of Toni Morrison and had a very poetic rhythm to the writing. I enjoyed reading the different perspectives of various characters and seeing how all of it came together, including the chapters that were written in the past. Often heartbreaking, Jones really captured the emotional despair and pain that many of these characters felt and conveyed it perfectly to the reader.