BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Despite being vaccinated, my husband and I both contracted Covid this month. The symptoms were similar to a mild flu. For me, the worst was the fatigue and lack of ambition, especially given a host of upcoming manuscript deadlines for the Galliano Club thriller series.
But there was a silver lining, in the form of binge-watching the first season of Boardwalk Empire on Amazon. The setting and costumes really fired my imagination as I continue working on the Galliano Club books, which are set in 1926.
Boardwalk Empire is a 5-season period drama based on real life political boss Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, who ran Atlantic City and New Jersey politics during Prohibition and beyond. Steve Buscemi plays Nucky, tossing off snappy comebacks while sporting two-toned wingtips and a red carnation in his lapel.
The series begins in 1920 as Prohibition becomes law, ranges beyond Atlantic City to Chicago and New York, and is packed full of intrigue and doublecross. Nucky owns virtually everything that moves in Atlantic City. Every business pays him tribute, collected weekly by his ward bosses. But booze is the big payola.
Nucky’s bootlegging cronies include Chicago’s Johnny Torrio and Al Capone, plus New York gambling crime boss Arnold Rothstein and his wingman, Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Meanwhile, a sadistic Prohibition agent is determined to expose Nucky at any cost and a troubled young veteran wants revenge.
Deals, allegiances, and loyalties ebb and flow on a river of cash. Personal relationships are dragged through the same water.
(Hmmmm. Sounds like a Detective Emilia Cruz mystery, doesn’t it?)
No one can wholly trust anyone else; everyone is playing for personal gain, and deception is the basis of every interaction. Could Nucky’s relationship with lovely Irish immigrant Margaret Schroeder be the exception? Will she hold it against him that he had her abusive husband killed?
The acting is superb, especially Nucky’s glib problem solving and Rothstein’s measured evil. I recognized many historical details from my research for the Galliano Club series, such as the correct address for Torrio’s speakeasy (2222 South Wabash, Chicago) and accusations that Rothstein bribed the players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series.
Warning: explicit sex and violence, sometimes when you least expect it.
Originally an HBO production, I watched Boardwalk Empire on Amazon Prime. You can also get it on DVD from Amazon.