Joe Corso has 8 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 6 narrators. The most-rated is Engine 24 Fire Stories 2.
The Adventures of the Lone Jack Kid
Summary
Join the fun. Ride along with Jesse and Frank James and the Younger brothers as they share in the adventures of The Lone Jack Kid. This was wartime and men lived and died fighting their enemy...and sometimes they died fighting each other. Cole looked at the men, raised his hand, and said in a voice loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, “Don’t do it, boys. Sturman was a yellow cur, and a deserter, and you don’t have to die trying to avenge the likes of him." There were seven Indians and they were standing around two semi-naked white women who appeared to be a mother and daughter. Charlie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he aimed - and fired, and fired, and fired again, repeatedly. He dropped four of the Indians before they knew what hit them. Then he charged into the clearing and shot another Indian reaching for his gun. “My name is Charles Longstreet.” The men looked at each other as recognition set in. “You’re the Lone Jack Kid?” The Kid smiled. “The one and only.” He pulled his hat off of his head and waved it in the air, then he gave the Rebel yell. “See you money grubbers in hell, boys.” He jerked the reins, and nudged Comet with his heals. She turned her head and leaped into the bubbling stream with water as high as the stirrups, and dashed across, splashing tendrils of water high in the air on both sides of her. It was an impressive display of horsemanship, and the toll collectors watched with grudging admiration.
©2013 Joe D'Albert (P)2014 Joe D'Albert
The Starlight Club ll
Summary
Red Fortunato's Starlight Club in Queens is back, still teeming with mobsters and their "business" each night. Trenchie, Tarzan, and Moose have returned. The Genovese family and others hang out amidst the grandeur of Red's renovated baby - the Grand Ballroom. Columbia Pictures studio head Larry Bernstein is being blackmailed. "He knew that once any money had been exchanged, that this would not prevent any future demands. These people were nuts and nuts meant dangerous. There was no one in Hollywood he could trust. This was a gossip columnist's dream scoop" that could ruin the studio. Big Red eagerly offers assistance, on his terms, with a caveat - a piece of Hollywood, and Swifty, the son he never had, is his ticket in the boxing ring and in glamour city. "Red was what some in the neighborhood called a 'benevolent dictator'. His neighbors loved him and his enemies knew he was the boss of a crime family that numbered a thousand men or more. It was just a given that no crime would take place in Red's territory. The outcome was a reprisal called 'the wrath of the Red Head'." Too bad no one told the power hungry Detroit capo. He violated the "rules." The phone was reminiscent of the red phone that led right to the White House. The council's decision would stand. "The chief tapped the fingers of both hands twice. That was the signal" to Red that it was okay to proceed with justice - mob style. "The car moved slowly ahead until it reached a huge yellow machine. It was the car crusher. Reilly and his men instantly knew their fate. There were whimpers from inside the car, grown men pleading, pleading for their lives, begging for mercy."
©2012 Joe Corso (P)2015 Joe Corso
The Old Man and the King
Summary
Royal protocol dictated that the king exit the car last. But as the important man was about to emerge, a hail of gunfire erupted, spraying the royal Hummer. Alone, in a foreign city, he seeks temporary refuge in the Good Burger diner. Here he meets Lom, a crazy Korean War vet, who misses his old life of danger and intrigue and who embraces the idea of hunting those who are hunting the king. Lom does so by kicking ass and taking names, and by teaching the baby-faced king the ways of the street, battlefield style. His written message is clear: "I heard you were looking for me. Now I'm looking for you!" This action-packed hunt for the assassins begins with the United Nations. It takes us from Charlie's New York City pawn shop into hidden train stations and desolate warehouses, and ultimately to carefully orchestrated deals with jewel thieves and gun runners. Things move along well until the heart-wrenching kidnapping. With the clock ticking against him, Lom must think quickly in order to save the life of the one he loves. Will the old man make it in time? Will the King live? Only time, and his survival skills, will tell.
©2013 Joe D'Albert (P)2015 Joe D'Albert
The Starlight Club
Summary
Caution: The names have not been changed to protect the guilty The Starlight Club was jumping. "They looked like mob guys. They had that arrogance exuded by those who liked to intimidate - those who were the proud purveyors of fear." Amidst the nightly gaiety was the back room, where business deals were made, hits were ordered, and territories were divided. Trenchie, not being a 'rat' is just released from his ten-year prison sentence. A new life is waiting - complete with envelopes of money and a steak house to call his own. He finds the woman of his dreams who brings along ex-husband baggage. Hitman Jimmy 'The Hat' finds unexpected fame and fortune in Hollywood, yet always stays true to the 'boys,' especially Trenchie. His loyalty costs him his life. 'Crazy Joey Gallo' and his brothers break away from the Profaci family and go rogue on their own now. They split their gang into several small groups and spread them out over the five boroughs. "Harsh punishment awaits those who talk." The colt 45 caliber bullet did its deed, taking with it a sizable portion of Rag's brain, forming a pink mist, mixed with bone and grey matter that puffed in front of Rag's head like a small mushroom, deflating when it met the chilly evening air. The current would carry his body at least a mile away.
©2012 Joe Corso (P)2013 Joe Corso
The Revenge of John W
Summary
A dirt poor mother and her son who's only possession - their property is desired by an evil man. His lust for wealth drives him to stop at nothing to obtain it - causing a grieving mother the fear of never seeing her only son again. A prison in the desert which has been closed for over a half century is mysteriously reopened, but for what purpose? Why was the boy taken from his mother and the girl he loves - will he ever see them again? Why does Jack McCormack covet John W's worthless property so aggressively? The prison has a 100 year old secret - with a skeletal sentinel watching over it. Who is he, and why is he there? These are part of the tantalizing clues that help make The Revenge of John W a book you won't want to stop listening to.
©2012 Joe Corso (P)2013 Joe Corso
The Saint of Lake Topaz
Summary
Taking a detour on his way back to Vegas, Bull, one of Big Red Fortunato’s righthand men, visits his old army buddy Sal Stark. Sal has bought a small casino in Lake Topaz, a small town off Route 66 in the Mojave desert. Upon arriving at the Lucky Lady, Bull is dismayed to discover that Sal has been severely beaten, apparently by local “businessmen” who want to claim the casino as their own. Further investigation reveals that the head of this organization, Jarret Hastings, is holding a group of little girls captive. One of the little girls, Susie, is rescued by Bull and believes him to be “the saint of Lake Topaz” she’s been praying for. Bull’s hardened heart is unfrozen, and he immediately calls his boss Big Red, owner of the famous Starlight Club in Queens, to assist in taking down what is likely a human-trafficking ring. But what Red and Bull, with the assistance of the usual players - Pissclam, Johnny Eight Fingers, Trenchie, and others - find out is that the kidnapping of young girls by Hastings is just the tip of the iceberg. In the 11th installment of the popular, award-winning Starlight Club series, author Joe Corso takes us on a thrill ride through the little-traveled roads of Nevada desert in the 1960s - when the local law was often subject to interpretation!
©2019, 2020 Joe Corso (P)2020 Joe Corso
Engine 24: Fire Stories
Summary
Every firefighter has a treasure trove of interesting stories to tell and the stories more often than not are instructional, as well as exciting. When I was a firefighter, I kept notes of the fires I responded to. Now that I am retired, I have reflected on my career as a firefighter and have written a book about the men alongside whom I worked, facing dangerous situations daily. This book is a compilation of five FIRE short stories written between 1964 and 1972, from notes I wrote after returning from fires. "FIRE: Box 598" tells the tragic story where 12 New York City firefighters lost their lives in a fire. The short book won the Readers Favorite 2013 award in the short story category. "FIRE: Trapped on the Fourth Floor" takes place in the mid-1960s and was written from notes I took after the fire. While the story was still fresh in my mind, I added a sub-story about a friend of mine who I worked with in the FDNY. While searching through boxes I hadn't opened in decades, I came across notes about the day I drove my buddy Joe Black to the hospital and I decided to honor his memory by including a few words about what happened that day in this short story. "FIRE: The Bouncing Lieutenant" occurred at the Keneret Restaurant cellar fire on Jane Street in lower Manhattan and was taken from notes written by me almost a half century ago. As I wrote this story, the memories of that night came flooding back in vivid detail. I hope that I have successfully captured and conveyed the drama of the moment to the listener. "FIRE: The Broadway Central Hotel" "FIRE: Mutual Aid"
©2014 Joe Corso (P)2016 Joe Corso
Engine 24 Fire Stories 2
Summary
Every firefighter has a treasure trove of interesting stories to tell, and the stories more often than not are instructional, as well as exciting. When I was a firefighter, I kept notes of the fires I responded to. Now that I am retired, I have reflected on my career as a firefighter and have written a second book about the men alongside whom I worked, facing dangerous situations daily. This book is a compilation of eight short fire stories written between 1963 and 1972, from notes I wrote after returning from fires. The first story explores the emotions felt when reporting for duty for the first time - the same emotions felt by all firefighters throughout the world on their first day on the job. An inexplicable bond forms between men and women who face danger on a daily basis and who have been tested - and have passed the test. From the combat soldier, to the policeman and the firefighter - a bond of love and trust has formed that will last a lifetime.
©2013 Joe Corso (P)2016 Joe Corso