Felonious Fairways

“Shooting Bogies” by Ralph Monti is a short yet thoroughly entertaining read. The story follows the misadventures of Rocky Delmonico, a golf hustler who becomes entangled with Gino Lofaccio, a neighbourhood mafia boss. Rocky’s streak of bad luck begins when he accidentally disrespects Gino and his mother at a funeral.

Rocky knows that Gino has him by the short and curlies, so to speak. To survive, he must make amends by doing Gino a favour. Gino, eyeing a golf course as a potential condo development, needs intel on its millionaire owner, Pinky Bogalinski. Meanwhile, Rocky just wants to play golf and hustle rich people out of thousands of dollars.

Set against the backdrop of New Jersey, the story twists along weaving golf, the mob, and various federal agencies into the story. Double-crosses, extortion, international arms dealing, and dark humour are all wrapped up in a Hollywood-style plot where everyone is working their angle.

Despite its shorter runtime of a little under five hours, the plot is tight, and the characters are well-written. Gino, in particular, exudes a simmering, low-key violence reminiscent of Joe Pesci in “Goodfellas.” I couldn’t help but feel bad for Rocky, trapped in a no-win situation and desperate to pay his penance and maybe save his skin.

The narration by Steve Quinn is well done, with no noticeable issues in production. The pacing and delivery are spot on.

Overall, “Shooting Bogies” is a fun read – a classic Hollywood-style dark comedy / mob story that moves fast and is full of twists. It’s definitely one I’ll listen to again.

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