In Powder Blue

By: Nikolas Pleiadi

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

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." - Goodreads

Vincent 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 its contents—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.

Just okay.

Did not care for the virtual voice narrator.
It was an okay story. I was disappointed due to all the 5 star ratings.

A Masterpiece

I expected a gritty crime story and ended up with something much more emotional and literary.

It follows a boy from Long Island who loses his mother in the South Tower on 9/11 and you basically watch how that grief shapes his entire life. The relationships are what really make it work though. The men in the story feel very real… complicated, flawed, sometimes loving and sometimes destructive. Uncle Joe especially reminded me a little of those unforgettable characters you can’t quite decide if you love or hate.

What stayed with me was how human it felt. The dialogue, the family dynamics, the friendships, the way addiction and loyalty ripple through generations. It’s not a romance novel at all, but the love story in it feels incredibly grounded and earned, which almost makes it hit harder.

It’s one of those books where certain scenes just stick with you long after you finish. The childhood scenes, the grief after 9/11, and the friendship moments are written in a way that feels very lived in. I finished it and just sat there for a minute.