The Bear and the River of Fortune: The Garcias

By Allan E. Braun Jr.

When Isabella Garcia survives an assassination attempt on a Raleigh street, the bullet meant for her husband Mike unleashes a cascade of violence that will reshape American organized crime. What begins as one woman's fight for survival transforms into a dangerous dance between legitimate empire-building and the brutal underworld of Prohibition-era America.
From the jazz-soaked speakeasies of New York to the gambling ships off three coasts, Isabella evolves from a wounded victim into the unflinching president of Riverside Holding Company-navigating board rooms by day and brokering deals with Meyer Lansky, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, and Al Capone by night. Her father John, a financial visionary who foresees the 1929 crash, has built a fortune straddling both worlds. But as the Great Depression devastates America, Isabella discovers that preserving her family's legacy demands impossible choices.
When she becomes a secret informant against Capone while simultaneously deepening her alliance with the emerging Commission, Isabella walks a razor's edge where one misstep means death. The Lindbergh kidnapping, Masseria's assassination, Maranzano's brutal rise and fall-Isabella stands at the center of it all, her ledgers stained with both profit and complicity.
As enemies close in from all sides and the line between victim and conspirator blurs beyond recognition, Isabella must answer an unforgiving question: How much of your soul can you sacrifice before there's nothing left to save?
A sweeping epic of ambition, betrayal, and the American Dream's darkest corners-where the only thing more dangerous than the gangsters is the woman who refuses to be their pawn.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HCHKZBW3
• ISBN13: 9798190153064
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.7" x 5.5"