In Powder Blue

Vincent never had a chance.He lost his mother in the South Tower.He lost his father to a bottle.The rest, he gave away slowly—to heroin, silence, and survival.★★★★★ "by the time the last scene fades out, you’ll want to sit in the dark for a minute, just letting it settle."- Goodreads★★★★★ "It did what The Sopranos ending tried to do but actually pulled it off. The final pages of In Powder Blue by Nikolas Pleiadi left me completely silent." - Goodreads★★★★★ "A modern crime masterpiece....You could dissect this forever. On par with The Godfather."- Goodreads★★★★★ "An instant classic, belongs next to Bronx Tale and Goodfellas but with a modern edge." - GoodreadsVincent LoCicero never planned to become a criminal. But when you grow up in post-9/11 Long Island, raised by a grieving alcoholic and groomed by your uncle—a bitter ex-Marine with a hand in every local hustle—you learn early: grief doesn’t kill you quick. It hollows you out from the inside.At sixteen, Vincent is dealing heroin.At twenty, he’s committing robbery at a lawyer’s office and walks out with a USB drive filled with secrets powerful men would kill to keep buried. He doesn’t know the full extent of what’s on it—just that his uncle wants it gone, and the men chasing it don’t ask questions before they shoot.In Powder Blue is a literary crime novel about addiction, grief, legacy, and the illusion of escape. Set in the emotional wreckage of post-9/11 Long Island, it blends the atmospheric weight of Mystic River with the tragic pull of Breaking Bad and the psychological depth of The Sopranos. It’s not just about crime—it’s about the boys left behind by fathers, systems, and silence.This book deals with opioid addiction, emotional violence, the rot under suburban respectability—and the rare, human moments that still break through. It’s raw, cinematic, and unflinching.I grew up in Levittown. I lost friends. I buried parts of myself to survive. I wrote this book over five years, not as therapy, but as truth. I'm a father of four now. A husband. A builder of homes instead of excuses. But this book is the last thing I had to get out before I could really move on. Read more