Primo Magazine Book Review by Truby Chiaviello, Publisher and Editor “Author Decker is to be praised for writing an excellent novel. His words make for an entertaining love letter to his immigrant grandparents and his home city, Chicago. Cambridge Street is to be relished. A great book!” Italian American Foundation Book Review by Linda Binkley “ Cambridge Street is Mr. Decker’s first novel, and I really must compliment him on his outstanding character development. Not just the main characters but all the peripheral characters are multi-dimensional and unforgettable. It was an enjoyable read and the pages just flew by. Mr. Decker – you are an amazing author.” St John’s University, Queens, New York Sicilian Sunrise Book Review by Nino Provenzano, Sicilian American Poet “This novel is rich in detail. In the pages of Cambridge Street the reader will find the importance of family values, will encounter the honest hard-working immigrant, the good Samaritan, the hardened criminal, the corrupt politician, the rotten cop, the good cop, the good neighbor, the priest who is a doer, a courageous man who puts his life on the line, to save innocent people. Anyone who calls himself or herself an American, other than a Native American, should be able to identify his or her ancestors with this immigrant story. This novel is a great subject for an historical movie.” Synopsis Forced to leave Sicily, the Tomaso family arrives in freezing, squalid Chicago at the dawning of the Roaring 20s. Home is now a 4th floor apartment in a tenement building on Cambridge Street in Little Sicily, known locally as Little Hell. Slaughterhouse wages, even after working twelve hours a day, barely pay the rent and feed the family. Survival is a day-to-day struggle but they are determined that their children will become Americans. The neighborhood crime boss runs the people and businesses in the neighborhood with an iron fist. His brutal enforcers keep everyone in line. When an act of unforgiveable violence is committed against his family, Paolo Tomaso swears revenge. The Don will not - cannot - tolerate disrespect and sends killers to murder Paolo publicly as an example. With the young father’s violent death imminent and certain, the couple stands together – and alone - against the monsters who wait outside their door. Their actions will determine who they are as people and decide the futures of their children. Reader's Comment “Author Steven Decker portrays the love, courage, determination, strength, harsh realities, painful decisions, and hope all intertwined in the immigrant experience. This story celebrates family and the triumphant power of selfless, unconditional love in the face of countless obstacles and even great evil. Cambridge Street is a heartfelt, realistic, and thought-provoking glimpse of the great immigrant story that is the United States. It is a MUST READ! I absolutely love this book.” "Cambridge Street" picksup the Tomaso saga on a sweet-smelling farm in Sicily where we are surroundedby flowers and sunshine. Tomas and Katerina have three boys: Paolo, Renzo, andLeonardo. After getting caught up in the growing violence and the organizedcrime strangling Sicily, the family makes the painful decision to send theirsons to America. They gathered their wives and kids and said goodbye forever tohome. Once in America they have to adjustto life as unskilled laborers in the squalid city of Chicago, living in thetenements on Cambridge. They want to grow their families in peace but soon theyare confronted by the same murder, terror, violence, and organized crime theytried to flee. Guys from the Old Country with names like Malo Tancredi, Gazzoand Lupo run the people and businesses here like they did back home. Theobstacles to a peaceful life seem insurmountable and inevitable. The story evokes an era and a way oflife in vivid details. The characters come to life with passion and intent. Ifound myself turning pages as fast as I could to keep up with the events anddecisions of these lives. The story gives us a view of the Roaring Twenties inChicago that we don't normally get to see. These Sicilians are not mobsters anddon't want to be. They have to find a way to solve their problems and keeptheir families safe. Maybe it's me but I find this kindof story far preferable to the stories that romanticize the gangsters. I'vealways looked at characters who use guns to solve their problems as poorlywritten. The Tomaso clan is better than that. from The Justinian Newsletter, Spring 2018 " Cambridge Street is a gritty and compelling novel." from Austen McCauley Publishers in London, England, U.K." Cambridge Street is an amazing story, beautifully written." from Amazon Reviews "The story evokes an era and a way of life in vivid details. The characters come to life with passion and intent. I found myself turning pages as fast as I could to keep up with the events and decisions of these lives. The story gives us a vi