[Melody Grace McCartney 02] • The Exceptions

From David Cristofano, the Edgar® Award-nominated author of _The Girl She Used

to Be_ , comes a poignant, darkly witty story about the ties that bind us

together . . . and the choices that rip us apart.

**THE EXCEPTIONS**

_No loose ends_. It's the Bovaro family motto. As part of the Bovaro clan, one

of the most powerful and respected families in organized crime, Jonathan knows

what he must do: take out Melody Grace McCartney, the woman whose testimony

can lock up his father and disgrace his entire family. The only problem: he

can't bring himself to do it.

Had Jonathan kept his silence, Melody and her parents would never have been

identified and lured into the Witness Protection Program, able to run but

never to hide. So he keeps her safe the only way he knows how-by vowing to

clean up his own mess while acting as her shield.

But as he watches her take on another new identity in yet another new town,

becoming a beautiful but broken woman, Jonathan can't get her out of his mind

. . . or his heart. From the streets of Little Italy to a refuge that promises

a fresh start, Jonathan will be forced to choose between the life he's always

known, the destiny his family has carved out for him, and a future unlike

anything he's ever imagined.

(110000 words)