Gatsby's Rival (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798990936201)

A culture clash ignites a rivalry in the Roaring Twenties between Jay Gatsby and fisherman-turned-rum-runner Joseph ("Foggy Joe") Bucolo as the two men vie for control over the illicit liquor trade on Rhode Island's waters.

After fighting with distinction for his country, Gatsby returns to the United States and is heartbroken by the news of Daisy's recent marriage. Burning with the knowledge that he hasn't achieved anything of substance, Gatsby yearns for more. A secret and unexpected revelation suddenly opens new doors for him, leading to his desired entry into the high-seas rum-running trade, where he will face a formidable rival, Foggy Joe Bucolo.

Joe and his hard-living, hard-drinking Swamp Yankee gang dominate the illegal rum trade, and Joe knows all too well that the game has become increasingly perilous. He intends to make one last big score, but his dangerous plan could cost him and his wild crew their lives and the love of his life, spirited and independent Janie Thurston.

As Gatsby plots to hijack Bucolo's rum-running enterprise, he underestimates Bucolo's mettle and the loyalty of his gang; Gatsby brushes against characters an ocean apart from those he has encountered before. Fierce in battle and bed, the Swamp Yankees' primal lifestyle is tempered by an old-fashioned, openly expressed love for camaraderie and belonging. Comically spiced with bawdy humor, superstition, and a wanton lust for life, the complex relationships of these lifelong friends lure both the outsider Gatsby and Foggy Joe into treacherous territory, where each experiences a baptism of the soul.