The Ice Man: Confession of a Mafia Contract Killer. The title itself sounds terrifying, don’t you think?
Despite its terrifying title, it’s indeed an interesting book to read just like the other nonfiction books I talk about on my blog such as Survive Like a Spy and River in Darkness.
If you’re wondering if this book is the same as the documentary you’ve seen on HBO, then yes, it is.
To be honest, I can’t say for sure which one is better since I’ve never watched the documentary before. So, I can’t comment on that.
But book-wise, it really is an interesting read considering how candid Richard Kuklinski about all the things that he did before he got arrested.
What The Ice Man is all about
Here’s the book description that I got from Amazon.
Philip Carlo’s The Ice Man spent over six weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Top Mob Hitman. Devoted Family Man. Doting Father. For thirty years, Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski led a shocking double life, becoming the most notorious professional assassin in American history while happily hosting neighborhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey.
Richard Kuklinski was Sammy the Bull Gravano’s partner in the killing of Paul Castellano, then head of the Gambino crime family, at Sparks Steakhouse. Mob boss John Gotti hired him to torture and kill the neighbor who accidentally ran over his child. For an additional price, Kuklinski would make his victims suffer; he conducted this sadistic business with coldhearted intensity and shocking efficiency, never disappointing his customers. By his own estimate, he killed over two hundred men, taking enormous pride in his variety and ferocity of technique.
This trail of murder lasted over thirty years and took Kuklinski all over America and to the far corners of the earth, Brazil, Africa, and Europe. Along the way, he married, had three children, and put them through Catholic school. His daughter’s medical condition meant regular stays in children’s hospitals, where Kuklinski was remembered, not as a gangster, but as an affectionate father, extremely kind to children. Each Christmas found the Kuklinski home festooned in colorful lights; each summer was a succession of block parties.
His family never suspected a thing.
Richard Kuklinski is now the subject of the major motion picture titled “The Iceman”(2013), starring James Franco, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, and Chris Evans.
What got me to pick this book
If you want to know about something, then you should learn about it from the horse’s mouth.
That was how I felt when I saw the book for the first time on Amazon. And the fact that the premise of the book was rather intriguing also got me to pick this book in the first place.
Confession of a mafia contract killer? Who doesn’t want to hear from someone who used to become one, right?
Not going to lie here that this book also serves as a perfect reference for my upcoming book from my Trigger Locked series too since one of my characters happens to be someone from an assassin group.
Talk about how timely this book appeared right in front of me when I needed a reference the most.
What makes The Ice Man worth reading
Unless you’re dealing closely with someone who is a serial killer, you probably have no idea why someone who seems perfect on the surface like Richard Kuklinski turns out to be a contract killer for the mafia.
And it’s even hard to believe that beneath his demeanor lies a cold-hearted killer who finds the pleasure in killing people. Thus, the nickname The Ice Man gave by the police due to his merciless way of killing his targets.
Sure, you can argue here that he’s only pretending to be someone else in order to hide his real profession. But the thing is that’s Richard’s true personality. He’s not pretending to be nice only because he wants to hide his true profession from people around him.
Even his wife, Barbara, also said that he can be the nicest person at a time but he can also become the meanest person she’s ever met. She felt like she knew two different Richard – the nice Richard and the mean Richard.
And yet, she never suspected anything that Richard was a cold-hearted killer.
That brings us to the premise of this book which is what leads someone like Richard to become a contract killer and what happened to him after he was arrested.
Of course, the book doesn’t stop there. It also goes deeper into the methods that Richard used to kill his targets and the precautions that he took so then the police wouldn’t suspect him a thing.
If you’re curious how someone can become a person who finds the pleasure in killing people and also the life in the underworld, then this book can give you a glimpse of that life through Richard Kuklinski’s perspective.
Let’s not forget that the way the book is written doesn’t feel like you’re reading a biography. It feels more like you’re reading a thriller novel instead.
That makes the book a fascinating read.
What I didn’t expect when I read this book
To be honest, I always thought that a serial killer will simply kill anyone regardless of who they are. So, I assume that Richard Kuklinski isn’t that much different from any other serial killers out there.
Sure, they don’t just kill someone without any specific reason. But the thing is they couldn’t care less about the people they have to kill. They will kill just about anyone whether they’re women, children, or the elderly as long as these people meet their criteria.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case for Richard Kuklinski, though.
Sure, he may be the kind of person who can kill people without any remorse feeling. But the good thing about him is that he will never kill women and children. He will reject any jobs that require him to kill any women or children that are related to the targets.
To him, anyone who kills women and children is a scumbag.
For me, I find this part of him to be unexpected. But at the same time, I respect him for having such a philosophy since not everyone who does this thinks the same way as him.
That makes him unique despite his cold-hearted nature.
Who should read this book
If you’re like me who writes about someone who is an assassin, a hitman, or anything equivalent, then this book will be an amazing reference for you since it covers all sorts of things you need to know about a killer who is serving in the underworld.
Even if you’re not an author, don’t dismiss this book just yet. It can still be a fascinating read to you if you’re someone who is into the criminal psychology.
Keep in mind that this book does contain a lot of profanity, though.
Well, what do you expect? It’s not that the mafia people are a bunch of polite people, anyway. So, expect to see tons of profanity in their conversation.
Where to buy The Ice Man book
As always, you can get the book in any format you prefer on Amazon. That’s where I got mine.
If you’re interested in getting the book, you can buy the book right here:
Buy The Ice Man: Confession of Mafia Contract Killer on Amazon
Over to you
What do you think about The Ice Man? Are you interested in giving this book a try after reading about it on my blog? Let me know in the comment below.
P.S Love reading an anime-inspired, thriller light novel that blends facts and fiction together? Then you’ll certainly love reading my Trigger Locked series.
I’m currently running a promotion where you can get any of my books from the Trigger Locked series for less than $4 on Smashwords. This promotion will only be available until May 31st, 2020. So, don’t miss this opportunity if you’d like to get the books at a discounted price.
I'm an author who writes thriller and suspense light novels. But when I'm not writing a book, I love to blog about books that I enjoy reading. Some of these books also become the inspiration for my novel as well.
Most of the books that I talk about on my blog tend to be manga and light novels, with nonfiction books in between. If you're looking for interesting books to read, then you will certainly enjoy reading my blog. 