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Crissa Stone #2
Geld ist nicht genug (Crissa Stone)
Metallteile und Plastik schlittern über den Asphalt. Volltreffer. Crissa Stone hebelt den Geldautomaten mit der Schaufel eines Frontladers aus der Verankerung und balanciert die Beute auf die Ladefläche ihres Pick-ups. Sie liebt saubere Lösungen. Crissa hat das System des Bankraubs perfektioniert, aber ihre Partner verlieren die Nerven. Gangster, die sich gegenseitig umbringen - wie unprofessionell. Zum Glück wartet schon ein neuer Job: Ein verstorbener Mafiaboss soll die Millionen eines Raubs jahrelang versteckt haben. Leider ist Crissa nicht die Einzige, die es auf das Geld abgesehen hat. Sie gerät zwischen die Fronten und muss fliehen: Vor dem Gesetz und einer Mafia-Gang aus New York.
277 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2012
10 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Wallace Stroby
27 books108 followersWallace Stroby is an award-winning journalist and the author of the novels
Cold Shot to the Heart, Gone 'Til November, The Heartbreak Lounge and The Barbed-Wire Kiss..
A Long Branch, N.J., native, he's a lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore. "The Barbed-Wire Kiss," which The Washington Post called "a scorching first novel ...full of attention to character and memory and, even more, to the neighborhoods of New Jersey," was a finalist for the 2004 Barry Award for Best First Novel.
A graduate of Rutgers University, Stroby was an editor at the Star-Ledger of Newark, Tony Soprano's hometown newspaper, for 13 years.
Cold Shot to the Heart, Gone 'Til November, The Heartbreak Lounge and The Barbed-Wire Kiss..
A Long Branch, N.J., native, he's a lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore. "The Barbed-Wire Kiss," which The Washington Post called "a scorching first novel ...full of attention to character and memory and, even more, to the neighborhoods of New Jersey," was a finalist for the 2004 Barry Award for Best First Novel.
A graduate of Rutgers University, Stroby was an editor at the Star-Ledger of Newark, Tony Soprano's hometown newspaper, for 13 years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 16, 2015
If the fictional adventures of characters like Parker and Walter White have taught me anything about crime it’s that no matter how smart, capable and disciplined you are the problem is that you still have to deal with criminals who will probably be stupid, lazy, greedy, short-sighted, hot-tempered, untrustworthy and/or murderous. It’s this factor that is causing Crissa Stone no end of headaches.
Since her introduction in the last book Cold Shot to the Heart Crissa has been busy trying to get as much money as possible to replenish her nest egg and bribe prison officials in Texas to get her boyfriend and fellow thief paroled. After her partnership with a couple of guys stealing ATMs goes sour, Crissa has returned to New York to check in with her lawyer and launder some money, but things don’t go smoothly.
Needing more quick cash Crissa takes a meeting with former wise guy turned federal witness Benny Roth who has quite a story to tell. Benny was involved with the legendary Lufthansa heist in 1978, but when the boss started murdering participants rather than pay them their share Benny went into Witness Protection. With the big boss recently deceased, Benny thinks he may know where a large part of the cash is still stashed, and he needs the help of a pro to get it. The problem is that another psychotic mobster thinks the cash should be his, and he’s hot on Benny’s trail to get it.
It’d be easy to just say that Crissa is the female Parker, and she does share a pragmatic professionalism with him. However, Crissa is more empathetic and isn’t as cold-blooded as Parker. In fact, if she was a bit more willing to pull the trigger on some of the assholes she deals with, she could probably save herself some problems down the road. Its a mistake to think of her as weak though because when she’s pushed Crissa is a force to be reckoned with
There’s also an interesting undercurrent with having a woman operating in the underworld like this because Stroby incorporates a subtle discrimination into the books in Crissa’s interactions with other criminals. There’s a definite feeling that some of these guys wouldn’t be trying to double-cross her if she was a man so apparently hoodlums aren‘t models of gender equality.
At a brief 266 pages, Stroby keeps things moving along while still taking time to let us know who Crissa is as well as develop supporting players like Buddy. Crissa’s second outing is another fast-paced gritty crime story that has me looking forward to reading the next one.
Since her introduction in the last book Cold Shot to the Heart Crissa has been busy trying to get as much money as possible to replenish her nest egg and bribe prison officials in Texas to get her boyfriend and fellow thief paroled. After her partnership with a couple of guys stealing ATMs goes sour, Crissa has returned to New York to check in with her lawyer and launder some money, but things don’t go smoothly.
Needing more quick cash Crissa takes a meeting with former wise guy turned federal witness Benny Roth who has quite a story to tell. Benny was involved with the legendary Lufthansa heist in 1978, but when the boss started murdering participants rather than pay them their share Benny went into Witness Protection. With the big boss recently deceased, Benny thinks he may know where a large part of the cash is still stashed, and he needs the help of a pro to get it. The problem is that another psychotic mobster thinks the cash should be his, and he’s hot on Benny’s trail to get it.
It’d be easy to just say that Crissa is the female Parker, and she does share a pragmatic professionalism with him. However, Crissa is more empathetic and isn’t as cold-blooded as Parker. In fact, if she was a bit more willing to pull the trigger on some of the assholes she deals with, she could probably save herself some problems down the road. Its a mistake to think of her as weak though because when she’s pushed Crissa is a force to be reckoned with
There’s also an interesting undercurrent with having a woman operating in the underworld like this because Stroby incorporates a subtle discrimination into the books in Crissa’s interactions with other criminals. There’s a definite feeling that some of these guys wouldn’t be trying to double-cross her if she was a man so apparently hoodlums aren‘t models of gender equality.
At a brief 266 pages, Stroby keeps things moving along while still taking time to let us know who Crissa is as well as develop supporting players like Buddy. Crissa’s second outing is another fast-paced gritty crime story that has me looking forward to reading the next one.
January 26, 2024
4 stars
short review for busy readers: Crissa Stone #2. Almost as good as book 1. Highly enjoyable, lean writing, sharp dialogue, good plot, good characters, fast-paced. Welcome inclusion of the Jewish New York mafia (always a treat), plus old school and rogue Italian mafia. Everybody gets what they deserve in the end!
in detail:
Crissa Stone, professional female criminal, is back for her 2nd book. She’s outwardly more taciturn and ice-queenish in this one, possibly because she’s working with people she doesn’t know (and therefore doesn’t trust. So shut up and just do the job).
After a really stupid turn of events at the beginning of the novel strips her of her only trustworthy contact left from book 1, Crissa has to find a way of laundering her most recent cash scores (ATM theft) and look for some new job opportunities alone.
What she gets handed is a good, old fashioned ‘race for the finish line’ in which the prize is a couple of million from a heist back in the 70s. Is the money still where the old mobster stashed it? How can Crissa lay her hands on it? And does she trust the last guy alive who was in on the heist?
Once again, Stroby gives us a very good, lean, straight to the point, high-action thriller. If only Crissa let herself thaw a bit around new people after a while and didn't stay so buttoned-up, it’d be perfect.
Some reviewers didn’t understand the title. I understood it to refer to
This series (4 books thus far) is turning out to be a real find! Recommended for action and cop-less crime novel fans.
Reading this series for the Serial Challenge 2024.
short review for busy readers: Crissa Stone #2. Almost as good as book 1. Highly enjoyable, lean writing, sharp dialogue, good plot, good characters, fast-paced. Welcome inclusion of the Jewish New York mafia (always a treat), plus old school and rogue Italian mafia. Everybody gets what they deserve in the end!
in detail:
Crissa Stone, professional female criminal, is back for her 2nd book. She’s outwardly more taciturn and ice-queenish in this one, possibly because she’s working with people she doesn’t know (and therefore doesn’t trust. So shut up and just do the job).
After a really stupid turn of events at the beginning of the novel strips her of her only trustworthy contact left from book 1, Crissa has to find a way of laundering her most recent cash scores (ATM theft) and look for some new job opportunities alone.
What she gets handed is a good, old fashioned ‘race for the finish line’ in which the prize is a couple of million from a heist back in the 70s. Is the money still where the old mobster stashed it? How can Crissa lay her hands on it? And does she trust the last guy alive who was in on the heist?
Once again, Stroby gives us a very good, lean, straight to the point, high-action thriller. If only Crissa let herself thaw a bit around new people after a while and didn't stay so buttoned-up, it’d be perfect.
Some reviewers didn’t understand the title. I understood it to refer to
This series (4 books thus far) is turning out to be a real find! Recommended for action and cop-less crime novel fans.
Reading this series for the Serial Challenge 2024.
January 6, 2015
Crissa Stone returns in another excellent hard-boiled novel from Wallace Stroby. Crissa is a career criminal who reminds many readers of a female version of Richard Stark's Parker. She certainly seems to have the same sort of luck that often bedevils Parker when even the best-laid plans often go awry.
Things have not been going particularly well for Crissa of late, but she has two objectives that continue to propel her forward. She is determined to provide for her daughter, who is now ten. The girl lives with Crissa's sister and believes that Crissa's sister is her mother and that Crissa is her aunt. For Crissa, that's extremely painful emotionally, but the world is what it is, and Stone understands that the girl is much better off living with Crissa's sister and believing what she does.
Crissa also looks forward to being reunited soon with her lover, Wayne, who is currently doing a stretch in the pen. Wayne is quite a bit older than Crissa and believes that she should move on without him. But Crissa loves him very much and is hoping that he will soon be paroled. To that end, Crissa has been spreading her hard-earned cash around where it will do the most good.
As a result of all of this, Crissa has expenses to meet and as the book opens, she and two associates have just finished pulling off a string of surprisingly profitable ATM thefts. But as they divvy up the money from the last job, the two associates have a falling out and wind up dead. Crissa is now on the run with the money, trying to avoid the fallout from her confederates' stupidity.
Meanwhile, a former criminal named Benny Roth has a plan to hunt down several million dollars still missing from a robbery in the 1970s and that was allegedly hidden by a mobster who has recently died. A mutual friend hooks Benny up with Crissa and she ultimately agrees to join the hunt. Inevitably, of course, there are others interested in finding the money, and some of them are pretty badly bent. The result is that Crissa is soon in very serious trouble and there may be no way out.
This is a spare, stripped-to-the-bones story that is guaranteed to keep a reader's heartbeat elevated from the first page to the last. Stroby is a gifted writer who has created in Crissa Stone a memorable and intriguing character. It's hard to imagine any fan of hard-boiled crime fiction that will not enjoy this book.
Things have not been going particularly well for Crissa of late, but she has two objectives that continue to propel her forward. She is determined to provide for her daughter, who is now ten. The girl lives with Crissa's sister and believes that Crissa's sister is her mother and that Crissa is her aunt. For Crissa, that's extremely painful emotionally, but the world is what it is, and Stone understands that the girl is much better off living with Crissa's sister and believing what she does.
Crissa also looks forward to being reunited soon with her lover, Wayne, who is currently doing a stretch in the pen. Wayne is quite a bit older than Crissa and believes that she should move on without him. But Crissa loves him very much and is hoping that he will soon be paroled. To that end, Crissa has been spreading her hard-earned cash around where it will do the most good.
As a result of all of this, Crissa has expenses to meet and as the book opens, she and two associates have just finished pulling off a string of surprisingly profitable ATM thefts. But as they divvy up the money from the last job, the two associates have a falling out and wind up dead. Crissa is now on the run with the money, trying to avoid the fallout from her confederates' stupidity.
Meanwhile, a former criminal named Benny Roth has a plan to hunt down several million dollars still missing from a robbery in the 1970s and that was allegedly hidden by a mobster who has recently died. A mutual friend hooks Benny up with Crissa and she ultimately agrees to join the hunt. Inevitably, of course, there are others interested in finding the money, and some of them are pretty badly bent. The result is that Crissa is soon in very serious trouble and there may be no way out.
This is a spare, stripped-to-the-bones story that is guaranteed to keep a reader's heartbeat elevated from the first page to the last. Stroby is a gifted writer who has created in Crissa Stone a memorable and intriguing character. It's hard to imagine any fan of hard-boiled crime fiction that will not enjoy this book.
February 11, 2015
With parallels to Donald Westlake's (Richard Stark's) Parker series, this is the second book in featuring the female criminal Crissa Stone. Like its predessesser, it's spare and fast paced and I liked it a lot. Stone is an interesting character, on the face of it she shows little emotion but repeatedly her conscience nags to the extent she finds herself acting in a manner destined to cause her severe difficulty or even lead to her own death. Is this the female in her, as opposed to the detached and emotionally vacant Parker? I don't know, but I do find her a more sympathetic and interesting character.
This is hard boiled crime at its best. It's violent, but Stone herself is only the perpetrator when she deems there is no viable alternative; she's not as ruthless as Parker who is always perfectly willing to commit murder to get what he wants. There are twists a plenty and, like a good meal, it left me wanting to come back for more. Great stuff.
This is hard boiled crime at its best. It's violent, but Stone herself is only the perpetrator when she deems there is no viable alternative; she's not as ruthless as Parker who is always perfectly willing to commit murder to get what he wants. There are twists a plenty and, like a good meal, it left me wanting to come back for more. Great stuff.
December 20, 2014
This 2nd novel in the Crissa Stone series picks up shortly after shit hit the fan at the end of Cold Shot To The Heart. Now professional thief Crissa is desperately trying to rebuild her nest egg and get control of her life again. But desperation is a dangerous thing to have in this business. Desperation drives the usually careful and meticulous Crissa to team up with a former OG wiseguy–turned government informant–turned short order cook on the lam, and agree to a risky job tracking down millions in cash left over from the famous 1978 Lufthansa airline heist. It could be the big payday that Crissa needs. But it also could be a big payday for a host of rough guys on the hunt for the same dough.
This is totally a worthy follow-up to Cold Shot To The Heart and once again loved reading about Crissa and her badassness. I love how Crissa is a woman of few words, even when people question her abilities just because she's a woman. She lets her actions speak for themselves. But I also love that even though she tries to put up the front of being unemotional and all-business, she can't help but feel empathy for people being hurt and a drive to do the right thing. The book is a real page-turner and I can't wait to read the next one.
This is totally a worthy follow-up to Cold Shot To The Heart and once again loved reading about Crissa and her badassness. I love how Crissa is a woman of few words, even when people question her abilities just because she's a woman. She lets her actions speak for themselves. But I also love that even though she tries to put up the front of being unemotional and all-business, she can't help but feel empathy for people being hurt and a drive to do the right thing. The book is a real page-turner and I can't wait to read the next one.
February 11, 2015
Will peace ever come to Crissa? Well, I hope not since then she won't be able to entertain me.
Wallace Stroby is a first class writer and I need to find out more about him. Note that the picture in this edition was taken down the street from me at the Hotel Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College. And I did find out that he lives in Florida so it's not a stretch that he would visit St. Augustine.
Wallace Stroby in Courtyard of Ponce de Leon Hotel (with tape from library book
But back to Crissa...Stroby has drawn one of the finest new characters I've read in a long time.
Elmore Leonard was known for not only being prolific but for drawing bad guys who we loved and wanted to win. Stroby's writing is not exactly like Leonard's but it sure reminds me of Leonard and that is a high compliment indeed.
If you haven't read this series, do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Five stars because of the fine and entertaining writing and Crissa Stone, a great thief.
(Stroby is from NJ but I read somewhere recently, that he now lives in Florida. And this came from Wiki: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote “With each novel, Stroby’s demonstrating he’s got the literary muscle to be shelved with the big guys – Elmore Leonard, Jim Thompson and Richard Stark.” Apparently it's not just me who sees some reminder of Leonard's writing. Damn, I thought I was the only one.
Wallace Stroby is a first class writer and I need to find out more about him. Note that the picture in this edition was taken down the street from me at the Hotel Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College. And I did find out that he lives in Florida so it's not a stretch that he would visit St. Augustine.
Wallace Stroby in Courtyard of Ponce de Leon Hotel (with tape from library book
But back to Crissa...Stroby has drawn one of the finest new characters I've read in a long time.
Elmore Leonard was known for not only being prolific but for drawing bad guys who we loved and wanted to win. Stroby's writing is not exactly like Leonard's but it sure reminds me of Leonard and that is a high compliment indeed.
If you haven't read this series, do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Five stars because of the fine and entertaining writing and Crissa Stone, a great thief.
(Stroby is from NJ but I read somewhere recently, that he now lives in Florida. And this came from Wiki: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote “With each novel, Stroby’s demonstrating he’s got the literary muscle to be shelved with the big guys – Elmore Leonard, Jim Thompson and Richard Stark.” Apparently it's not just me who sees some reminder of Leonard's writing. Damn, I thought I was the only one.
January 1, 2020
Review to come.
September 4, 2014
Wallace Stroby's base model, nuts and bolts, no frills sequel to Cold Shot to the Heart starts off with a bang shortly after us loyal readers last saw professional thief Crissa Stone, on the run with a new name, a suitcase of cash, a car and a gun, with the body of the first person she's ever killed burning up with her dream house in Connecticut.
Crissa is reintroduced at the controls of a stolen John Deere loader as she rips an ATM out of a bank in South Carolina in the dead of night. She loads the cash machine in a pickup driven by her new partner while a boxman waits in a nearby barn to cut the ATM open. This is the sixth cash machine the crew have taken, averaging $125,000 split three ways in tens and twenties. Crissa announces she's moving on, before the law gets wise to their operation. One of her partners refuses to accept Crissa's letter of resignation and their partnership quickly goes south.
Meanwhile, in Indiana, a diner cook going by the name of Leonard Feingold receives a visit from two men from New York. Danny Talifero and his nephew have tracked down the cook, formerly known as Benny Roth before he went into federal witness protection. With assurances that anyone who would still want Benny dead are gone, Benny is driven home, where his young girlfriend Marla is being held. Talifero and his crew want to talk to Benny about the location of millions of dollars stolen in the infamous Lufthansa heist of 1978. Rather than help them, Benny manages to shoot, stab and flee his captors. His destination: New York.
Crissa returns to New York to launder the cash from her ATM jobs. She needs to pay off an attorney who can approve parole for her mentor and ex-lover Wayne Boudreaux, dying in a Texas prison. With her financial adviser under scrutiny after the events in Connecticut, Crissa is forced into business with a shady money launderer and his crew of El Salvadorans. Their business goes awry. Desperate, Crissa receives a call from a former associate named Jimmy Peaches, a wiseguy interned in a New Jersey nursing home. Jimmy knows someone looking steal millions in untraceable cash from the '70s. Crissa might be able to help.
It says a lot about Stroby's ability to create a compelling protagonist and send her on meticulously researched criminal operations that I do plan on purchasing Crissa Stone #3 (titles have no relevance to these books, I'm sad to say). Stone is a professional in the mold of Donald Westlake's Parker, though much less violent, who is always swimming forward, never looking back, seldom concerned with anything other than the next score, which she hopes will be her last. I love characters who are extremely competent in their jobs. Crissa certainly qualifies here, never abandoning her nature while she's stealing.
In this sequel, Stroby offers no real surprises. Crissa Stone is never at risk of being killed or kept out of the next book in the series. The supporting characters that populate this entry -- from the former wise guy to his young flame to the renegade wise guys looking to beat them to the cash -- are archetypes we've seen in movies and TV many times before. Stroby has devised a very credible protagonist, but the problem here is that Crissa, out of professional self-preservation, refuses to say "good morning" to anyone who hasn't been vouched for. The result is a crime story that's as credible as it is insulated.
For the next book, I'd love to see Crissa Stone retire, even momentarily, and begin to try to relate to her estranged daughter, or a man, like a human being, instead of a shark. Granted, this might cease to be a Crissa Stone novel, but it might inject some new colors in to what's becoming a gunmetal gray series.
Crissa is reintroduced at the controls of a stolen John Deere loader as she rips an ATM out of a bank in South Carolina in the dead of night. She loads the cash machine in a pickup driven by her new partner while a boxman waits in a nearby barn to cut the ATM open. This is the sixth cash machine the crew have taken, averaging $125,000 split three ways in tens and twenties. Crissa announces she's moving on, before the law gets wise to their operation. One of her partners refuses to accept Crissa's letter of resignation and their partnership quickly goes south.
Meanwhile, in Indiana, a diner cook going by the name of Leonard Feingold receives a visit from two men from New York. Danny Talifero and his nephew have tracked down the cook, formerly known as Benny Roth before he went into federal witness protection. With assurances that anyone who would still want Benny dead are gone, Benny is driven home, where his young girlfriend Marla is being held. Talifero and his crew want to talk to Benny about the location of millions of dollars stolen in the infamous Lufthansa heist of 1978. Rather than help them, Benny manages to shoot, stab and flee his captors. His destination: New York.
Crissa returns to New York to launder the cash from her ATM jobs. She needs to pay off an attorney who can approve parole for her mentor and ex-lover Wayne Boudreaux, dying in a Texas prison. With her financial adviser under scrutiny after the events in Connecticut, Crissa is forced into business with a shady money launderer and his crew of El Salvadorans. Their business goes awry. Desperate, Crissa receives a call from a former associate named Jimmy Peaches, a wiseguy interned in a New Jersey nursing home. Jimmy knows someone looking steal millions in untraceable cash from the '70s. Crissa might be able to help.
It says a lot about Stroby's ability to create a compelling protagonist and send her on meticulously researched criminal operations that I do plan on purchasing Crissa Stone #3 (titles have no relevance to these books, I'm sad to say). Stone is a professional in the mold of Donald Westlake's Parker, though much less violent, who is always swimming forward, never looking back, seldom concerned with anything other than the next score, which she hopes will be her last. I love characters who are extremely competent in their jobs. Crissa certainly qualifies here, never abandoning her nature while she's stealing.
In this sequel, Stroby offers no real surprises. Crissa Stone is never at risk of being killed or kept out of the next book in the series. The supporting characters that populate this entry -- from the former wise guy to his young flame to the renegade wise guys looking to beat them to the cash -- are archetypes we've seen in movies and TV many times before. Stroby has devised a very credible protagonist, but the problem here is that Crissa, out of professional self-preservation, refuses to say "good morning" to anyone who hasn't been vouched for. The result is a crime story that's as credible as it is insulated.
For the next book, I'd love to see Crissa Stone retire, even momentarily, and begin to try to relate to her estranged daughter, or a man, like a human being, instead of a shark. Granted, this might cease to be a Crissa Stone novel, but it might inject some new colors in to what's becoming a gunmetal gray series.
September 27, 2019
'Discovering' crime fiction author Wallace Stroby has been a revelation for me. He pens bare-bones stories with great action and excellent, believable dialogue. His 2nd in the Crissa Stone series is a heart-pounder than kept me up past my bedtime last night to complete it in one sitting.
Crissa has become an unforgettable character to me through her actions. Usually, I try to picture characters in my mind as I read, yet I can't recall where Stroby ever told us what she looks like. She’s a professional criminal who grew up in and left Texas as soon as she could, although she has a daughter living with relatives and a boyfriend in the pen in-state so she continues to be connected there. She works across the country though, usually in small teams doing a variety of crimes (this one starts out with the slow motion swiping of an entire ATM machine) and has connections throughout the underworld, the most important of which is an aged ex-mafia big shot who's in an old-folks' home on the east coast. He feeds her advice and the occasional recommendation for a job or two. He introduces her to a guy-who-knew-a-guy who pulled a big heist a couple decades ago (the famous Lufthansa airline robbery, immortalized on the silver screen) who'd just passed away, leaving a big chunk of the stolen money hidden somewhere that he thought he could track down. Unfortunately, some of the worst people in the world are also after it. What follows is a dizzying sequence of violence, betrayal, brutality, and all-around bad stuff.
You know, sometimes there's a book in this genre where you have to 'root' for somebody and it usually is the least bad person among a bunch of really crummy folks. Crissa's definitely one who fits that profile. She faces numerous setbacks, dangerous situations, and personal tragedies with competence and as much grace as she can summon and comes out OK at the end. I guess, though, that depends on how one defines 'OK'. Her world has changed and I can't wait to start the next one in the series.
Crissa has become an unforgettable character to me through her actions. Usually, I try to picture characters in my mind as I read, yet I can't recall where Stroby ever told us what she looks like. She’s a professional criminal who grew up in and left Texas as soon as she could, although she has a daughter living with relatives and a boyfriend in the pen in-state so she continues to be connected there. She works across the country though, usually in small teams doing a variety of crimes (this one starts out with the slow motion swiping of an entire ATM machine) and has connections throughout the underworld, the most important of which is an aged ex-mafia big shot who's in an old-folks' home on the east coast. He feeds her advice and the occasional recommendation for a job or two. He introduces her to a guy-who-knew-a-guy who pulled a big heist a couple decades ago (the famous Lufthansa airline robbery, immortalized on the silver screen) who'd just passed away, leaving a big chunk of the stolen money hidden somewhere that he thought he could track down. Unfortunately, some of the worst people in the world are also after it. What follows is a dizzying sequence of violence, betrayal, brutality, and all-around bad stuff.
You know, sometimes there's a book in this genre where you have to 'root' for somebody and it usually is the least bad person among a bunch of really crummy folks. Crissa's definitely one who fits that profile. She faces numerous setbacks, dangerous situations, and personal tragedies with competence and as much grace as she can summon and comes out OK at the end. I guess, though, that depends on how one defines 'OK'. Her world has changed and I can't wait to start the next one in the series.
September 4, 2021
I’m a big fan of Wallace Stroby’s Crissa Stone series. This a good instalment, coming second in the series. Highly recommended if you like a kick ass female criminal taking on some wise guys all in pursuit of the same large payday.
August 7, 2015
PROTAGONIST: Crissa Stone, career criminal, and Benny Roth, former mobster
SERIES: #2 of 2
RATING: 4.25
Crissa Stone is a career criminal who is a skilled thief. At the moment, she needs to launder some money from a heist so that she can use it for bribes to get her lover, Wayne, out of a Texas prison, as well as provide money for her daughter’s care. Against her better judgment, she uses someone unknown to her and ends up getting ripped off. That means she needs to do another job to make up for the lost income.
Meanwhile, former mobster Benny Roth is being threatened by a current Mob guy, Danny Taliferro. Back in the day, Benny worked with Joey Dio, who engineered a big job that rumor has it netted him around five million dollars. Dio is dead, and the money has never been found. Taliferro figures that Benny knows where to find the stash. Indeed, Benny has an idea of where it might be. But he has long been out of the life and isn’t really capable of doing the job on his own. Benny and Crissa are introduced through a mutual friend and work together to see if they can find the money.
I love Stroby’s writing – lean yet suspenseful with a nicely developed plot. There was one rather stupid action on the part of Benny that was implausible, but the remainder of the narrative played out well. As always, Stroby does an excellent job in characterization. Although Crissa and Benny are both as hardboiled as they get, they are both motivated by love rather than personal gain. Crissa is a great creation; it’s fascinating to spend time in her head as she puts together a plan of action. Introduced in A COLD SHOT TO THE HEART, she’s a character that hope will be the centerpiece of many more books.
SERIES: #2 of 2
RATING: 4.25
Crissa Stone is a career criminal who is a skilled thief. At the moment, she needs to launder some money from a heist so that she can use it for bribes to get her lover, Wayne, out of a Texas prison, as well as provide money for her daughter’s care. Against her better judgment, she uses someone unknown to her and ends up getting ripped off. That means she needs to do another job to make up for the lost income.
Meanwhile, former mobster Benny Roth is being threatened by a current Mob guy, Danny Taliferro. Back in the day, Benny worked with Joey Dio, who engineered a big job that rumor has it netted him around five million dollars. Dio is dead, and the money has never been found. Taliferro figures that Benny knows where to find the stash. Indeed, Benny has an idea of where it might be. But he has long been out of the life and isn’t really capable of doing the job on his own. Benny and Crissa are introduced through a mutual friend and work together to see if they can find the money.
I love Stroby’s writing – lean yet suspenseful with a nicely developed plot. There was one rather stupid action on the part of Benny that was implausible, but the remainder of the narrative played out well. As always, Stroby does an excellent job in characterization. Although Crissa and Benny are both as hardboiled as they get, they are both motivated by love rather than personal gain. Crissa is a great creation; it’s fascinating to spend time in her head as she puts together a plan of action. Introduced in A COLD SHOT TO THE HEART, she’s a character that hope will be the centerpiece of many more books.
June 15, 2012
I got a big kick out of reading this one. Crissa Stone is a hardboiled lady criminal who takes no prisoners, but then she displays a compassionate side in her own way, too. The prose is lean and solid. The characterization is on true pitch, especially the geezer Benny.
December 28, 2015
This is my first novel by this author, Wallace Stroby, and it was well done. I want to read more. The plot moved at a fair clip. This kept things interesting and there were also some well thought out turns. I also liked the characters, even the ones that made poor decisions. I would like more depth though, but I think I'm missing some back story since this isn't the first book in the series.
April 8, 2017
Es ist die reine, lebhafte Freude, die mich beim Lesen von Wallace Strobys Romanen packt. Nach "Kalter Schuss ins Herz", dem ersten Band um die Berufsverbrecherin Crissa Stone, macht auch der hier vorliegende zweite Band der Reihe einfach nur Spaß mit seiner schlanken Geschichte, inhaltlich und sprachlich immer auf das Wesentliche konzentriert und dadurch spannend, vorantreibend und kompakt.
June 15, 2017
This is an excellent novel and an excellent series. Crissa may not have an 'honest' job, but she has a strong work ethic. Highly recommended.
April 11, 2020
Durch die Nacht
Wenn man einen Geldautomaten aufbrechen möchte nimmt man am besten einen Frontlader und haut mit dem ganzen Gerät ab. So macht es jedenfalls Chrissa Stone gemeinsam mit ihren Komplizen. Sechs mal hatten sie Glück und Chrissa reicht es, sie steigt aus. Das führt allerdings dazu, dass ihre Kumpane in Streit geraten und sich gegenseitig umbringen. Mehr Geld für Chrissa, gut so. Doch das Geld muss gewaschen werden und so macht Chrissa sich auf in den Norden. Bei der Geldwäsche läuft etwas schief, so dass Chrissa Stone einen neuen Job braucht und findet. Es soll Geld aus einem alten Raub versteckt sein.
Die Geschehnisse in diesem zweiten Band um Chrissa Stone sind an ein wahres Verbrechen angelehnt, das nie richtig aufgeklärt werden konnte. Chrissa, die endlich genug Geld zusammenkratzen möchte, um sich mit ihrer Tochter und ihrem zu Zeit einsitzenden Partner Wayne eine Familie aufzubauen, übernimmt die Suche nach der Kohle. Dabei handelt sie sich einen Komplizen ein, der eigentlich schon zu alt für die Sache ist. Allerdings ist er der mit den Informationen. Und irgendwie sind er und seine viel jüngere Freundin auch cool. In einem anderen Leben wären sie vielleicht Freunde.
Chrissa Stone ist echt tough und doch sensibel, besonders wenn es um ihre Tochter geht. Ihre Maßnahmen zur Geldbeschaffung sind sehr geradeheraus und nehmen doch manchmal eine unerwartete Wendung. Chrissa ist keine Mörderin, aber wenn jemand beginnt ihr nach dem Leben zu trachten, kann sie schon mal eine Waffe dabeihaben. In kurzen prägnanten Sätzen und pointierten Dialogen skizziert der Autor seine Heldin und auch die Handlung. Es ist erstaunlich, wie viel Gehalt so teilweise einfache und kurze Sätze haben können. Das muss schon eine besondere Kunst sein, das, was man sagen will, so zu fassen. Man rast nur so durch das Buch und muss am Ende genau wie Chrissa feststellen, dass Geld nicht alles ist. Ein rasanter Crime-Noir, von dieser Art darf es gerne mehr geben.
Wenn man einen Geldautomaten aufbrechen möchte nimmt man am besten einen Frontlader und haut mit dem ganzen Gerät ab. So macht es jedenfalls Chrissa Stone gemeinsam mit ihren Komplizen. Sechs mal hatten sie Glück und Chrissa reicht es, sie steigt aus. Das führt allerdings dazu, dass ihre Kumpane in Streit geraten und sich gegenseitig umbringen. Mehr Geld für Chrissa, gut so. Doch das Geld muss gewaschen werden und so macht Chrissa sich auf in den Norden. Bei der Geldwäsche läuft etwas schief, so dass Chrissa Stone einen neuen Job braucht und findet. Es soll Geld aus einem alten Raub versteckt sein.
Die Geschehnisse in diesem zweiten Band um Chrissa Stone sind an ein wahres Verbrechen angelehnt, das nie richtig aufgeklärt werden konnte. Chrissa, die endlich genug Geld zusammenkratzen möchte, um sich mit ihrer Tochter und ihrem zu Zeit einsitzenden Partner Wayne eine Familie aufzubauen, übernimmt die Suche nach der Kohle. Dabei handelt sie sich einen Komplizen ein, der eigentlich schon zu alt für die Sache ist. Allerdings ist er der mit den Informationen. Und irgendwie sind er und seine viel jüngere Freundin auch cool. In einem anderen Leben wären sie vielleicht Freunde.
Chrissa Stone ist echt tough und doch sensibel, besonders wenn es um ihre Tochter geht. Ihre Maßnahmen zur Geldbeschaffung sind sehr geradeheraus und nehmen doch manchmal eine unerwartete Wendung. Chrissa ist keine Mörderin, aber wenn jemand beginnt ihr nach dem Leben zu trachten, kann sie schon mal eine Waffe dabeihaben. In kurzen prägnanten Sätzen und pointierten Dialogen skizziert der Autor seine Heldin und auch die Handlung. Es ist erstaunlich, wie viel Gehalt so teilweise einfache und kurze Sätze haben können. Das muss schon eine besondere Kunst sein, das, was man sagen will, so zu fassen. Man rast nur so durch das Buch und muss am Ende genau wie Chrissa feststellen, dass Geld nicht alles ist. Ein rasanter Crime-Noir, von dieser Art darf es gerne mehr geben.
May 7, 2017
Wallace Stroby, amerikanischer Autor und ehemaliger Polizeireporter, schreibt mit „Geld ist nicht genug“ eine Geschichte fort. Und dabei geht es ist nicht nur um Crissa Stone, die sympathische Hauptfigur, die wir bereits aus „Kalter Schuss ins Herz“ kennen, sondern auch um einen legendären Millionenraub, bei dem 1978 auf dem New Yorker Flughafen JFK aus dem Cargobereich der Lufthansa Bargeld und Juwelen im Wert von knapp 6 Millionen Dollar gestohlen wurden. Die Täter waren offenbar im Mafiamilieu zu verorten, aber über den Verbleib der Beute konnte und kann nur spekuliert werden.
Und was hat Crissa Stone damit zu tun? Nun, sie hat einen alten Freund, Jimmy Falcone, und dieser kennt Benny, und Benny hat große Probleme. Denn nach vielen Jahren im Zeugenschutzprogramm wurde er enttarnt und hat nun die Mafia in Gestalt von Danny Taliferro im Genick sitzen, weil, ja weil er wissen könnte, wo ein großer Teil der Beute zu finden ist. Crissa ist zunächst skeptisch, verlässt sich schließlich aber doch auf Jimmys Einschätzung und begibt sich gemeinsam mit Benny auf die Suche nach Geld und Geschmeide.
Geld ist zwar nicht alles, aber ohne geht es eben doch nicht. Und Crissa benötigt immer wieder größere Summen. Allerdings verbraucht sie diese nicht für ihre eigenen Bedürfnisse, sondern finanziert damit zum größten Teil Anwälte, die ihren immer schwächer werdenden Liebsten aus dem Gefängnis holen sollen. Und dann gibt es da ja auch noch ihre Tochter, die bei ihrer Cousine aufwächst, und die sie so gerne zu sich holen würde. Um diese beiden Menschen um sich zu haben, würde sie in der Tat auf alles Geld der Welt verzichten. Also doch nur ein temporäres Mittel zum Zweck.
Wie bereits der Vorgänger zeichnet sich auch dieser dialoggeprägte, actionreiche Thriller durch einen wohldurchdachten, gradlinigen Plot aus, der von Anfang bis Ende stimmig ist und auf konstruierte Verwicklungen verzichtet. Stroby schreibt so, wie auch seine Hauptfigur agiert: integer und ehrlich. Obwohl eine Kriminelle - ich scheue mich fast, das Wort zu benutzen - hat Crissa von Anfang bis Ende immer und ohne Einschränkung die Sympathien des Lesers, obwohl sie auf der anderen Seite des Gesetzes steht. Mit mehr Ehre im Leib als die meisten Cops, mehr als die Typen aus dem „Milieu“ sowieso. Eine Vertreterin der altmodischen Verbrechertugenden, die diejenigen, die ihr am Herzen liegen, niemals im Stich lassen würde. Ganz gleich, welchen Preis sie dafür bezahlen muss.
Und was hat Crissa Stone damit zu tun? Nun, sie hat einen alten Freund, Jimmy Falcone, und dieser kennt Benny, und Benny hat große Probleme. Denn nach vielen Jahren im Zeugenschutzprogramm wurde er enttarnt und hat nun die Mafia in Gestalt von Danny Taliferro im Genick sitzen, weil, ja weil er wissen könnte, wo ein großer Teil der Beute zu finden ist. Crissa ist zunächst skeptisch, verlässt sich schließlich aber doch auf Jimmys Einschätzung und begibt sich gemeinsam mit Benny auf die Suche nach Geld und Geschmeide.
Geld ist zwar nicht alles, aber ohne geht es eben doch nicht. Und Crissa benötigt immer wieder größere Summen. Allerdings verbraucht sie diese nicht für ihre eigenen Bedürfnisse, sondern finanziert damit zum größten Teil Anwälte, die ihren immer schwächer werdenden Liebsten aus dem Gefängnis holen sollen. Und dann gibt es da ja auch noch ihre Tochter, die bei ihrer Cousine aufwächst, und die sie so gerne zu sich holen würde. Um diese beiden Menschen um sich zu haben, würde sie in der Tat auf alles Geld der Welt verzichten. Also doch nur ein temporäres Mittel zum Zweck.
Wie bereits der Vorgänger zeichnet sich auch dieser dialoggeprägte, actionreiche Thriller durch einen wohldurchdachten, gradlinigen Plot aus, der von Anfang bis Ende stimmig ist und auf konstruierte Verwicklungen verzichtet. Stroby schreibt so, wie auch seine Hauptfigur agiert: integer und ehrlich. Obwohl eine Kriminelle - ich scheue mich fast, das Wort zu benutzen - hat Crissa von Anfang bis Ende immer und ohne Einschränkung die Sympathien des Lesers, obwohl sie auf der anderen Seite des Gesetzes steht. Mit mehr Ehre im Leib als die meisten Cops, mehr als die Typen aus dem „Milieu“ sowieso. Eine Vertreterin der altmodischen Verbrechertugenden, die diejenigen, die ihr am Herzen liegen, niemals im Stich lassen würde. Ganz gleich, welchen Preis sie dafür bezahlen muss.
May 31, 2021
This is my second Stroby book and I loved it as much as the first. I think it can stand alone but it follows the first book about Crissa Stone. Stone is a thief, feels no sympathy for her foes, joins with losers for projects, usually grabs the money and gets out but there is always a problem, somebody lived that she thought was dead or somebody who got killed has powerful friends. These are quick moving books - fast in and out, Crissa is always saving for the big retirement with her loser boyfriend - but she lives well in the meantime. I love these mysteries, plan to read them all. There is a little sweet taste in both books - Crissa has a child, now being raised by a relative as her own, but the author tries to make Crissa a little more human with longing about the child. It does not work. For a fun read, no awful beheading or buckets of blood - just good old crime, stealing from the rich to aid the poor. I especially love this books because the protagonist and the usual winner is a smart woman - many men have problems with this but she outsmarts them.
April 11, 2019
In terms of crime fiction, the author does everything right in this one, and I enjoyed it more than the first book, which is always a good sign. It's the right length for a crime story, is loaded with believable characters and plot lines, and there are no convoluted twists that make it hard to follow. Crime novels don't have to be complicated affairs to be enjoyable.
There are definitely some similarities to Richard Stark's legendary Parker novels as some have pointed out. Crissa is cautious and calculating, but not nearly as cold as Parker, which might explain Stroby's choice of a female protagonist. The reader is pulling for her, hoping she can raise the dough to spring her man from a Texas prison and reunite with her daughter, and we almost forget she's a criminal. Parker would never have such motivations, and we never forget what's at his core.
There's really nothing I didn't like here, and I'm looking forward to #3.
There are definitely some similarities to Richard Stark's legendary Parker novels as some have pointed out. Crissa is cautious and calculating, but not nearly as cold as Parker, which might explain Stroby's choice of a female protagonist. The reader is pulling for her, hoping she can raise the dough to spring her man from a Texas prison and reunite with her daughter, and we almost forget she's a criminal. Parker would never have such motivations, and we never forget what's at his core.
There's really nothing I didn't like here, and I'm looking forward to #3.
July 10, 2021
Brilliant!
Crissa Stone is my new favourite anti-hero.
Shooting, stealing, hard as nails lady with a tiny bit of a moral compass somewhere.
Best Stroby book yet.
Crissa Stone is my new favourite anti-hero.
Shooting, stealing, hard as nails lady with a tiny bit of a moral compass somewhere.
Best Stroby book yet.
January 25, 2022
Second entry in the series and another good one, maybe better than the first. Lots of action and the pages fly by In this addictive series. I will be reading the next entry very soon, 4 stars
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October 2, 2012Picking up shortly after the events of Cold Shot to the Heart, author Wallace Stroby’s Kings of Midnight finds professional thief Crissa Stone working an ATM heist gig with two partners as she continues her efforts to build up enough of a nest egg to get out of the life for good. One big, final score should do it. No matter how much you plan though…
When her last ATM heist goes seriously off the rails, Crissa is forced to use an unfamiliar source to quickly launder the cash she does have so she can disappear. Unfortunately, as the saying goes if it wasn’t for bad luck Crissa would have no luck at all. The sleazy attorney she sets the deal up with doesn’t exactly come through, leaving Crissa once again behind the eight ball struggling to find a way back on top.
The answer seems to present itself when an old friend, and former wiseguy, puts Crissa in touch with Benny Roth, himself a reformed mobster, who has an intriguing proposition. Seems Benny’s boss back in the day, Joey D., was involved with the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist that netted nearly 6 million. Word on the street is that Joey D. never spent his share of the money, and now that Joey’s dead people are starting to look for it. Benny hadn’t given it a second thought since he got out of the game 25 years ago, but when his former cronies showed up on his doorstep with an offer he couldn’t refuse Benny figured if anyone was gonna find the loot it may as well be him. But he can’t do it alone.
And with that setup Kings of Midnight takes off like a house afire, with Stroby proving once again why he’s the reigning master of the modern day mob/heist novel. From the ATM gig that kicks the story off, to the Lufthansa score flashback, to Crissa and Benny’s hunt for the missing loot, Stroby’s descriptions of the way the heists are carried out are so intricately detailed it makes one wonder exactly what kind of research he does for his novels. Similarly, there are no played out mob tropes or over-the-top caricatures to be found. The wiseguys in Kings of Midnight, as with all Stroby novels, are carefully constructed, three dimensional, scary but utterly believable characters.
Stroby also continues to excel at writing strong, intelligent female characters. Crissa is always well prepared and usually at least a step ahead of the game, playing mental chess while everyone around her is playing checkers. It’s a refreshing change of pace in a genre normally dominated by testosterone-driven, cocky, übermen. Yet, though Crissa knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to get it, she’s not just some female Rambo either. She’s very aware every step of the way that she’s making decisions and committing acts which will have lasting, irreversible effects on her conscience. And for all the crackling dialog and fast-paced action, the real beauty of Stroby’s writing comes from the internal battle Crissa wages as she continually balances her goals against the measures she must engage in to obtain them.
Thankfully, though Kings of Midnight brings the story at hand to a thrilling, bloody, satisfying conclusion, the overall story arc of Crissa’s quest to get out of the game remains, and I can’t wait to dive into whatever Stroby has planned for her next.
When her last ATM heist goes seriously off the rails, Crissa is forced to use an unfamiliar source to quickly launder the cash she does have so she can disappear. Unfortunately, as the saying goes if it wasn’t for bad luck Crissa would have no luck at all. The sleazy attorney she sets the deal up with doesn’t exactly come through, leaving Crissa once again behind the eight ball struggling to find a way back on top.
The answer seems to present itself when an old friend, and former wiseguy, puts Crissa in touch with Benny Roth, himself a reformed mobster, who has an intriguing proposition. Seems Benny’s boss back in the day, Joey D., was involved with the infamous 1978 Lufthansa heist that netted nearly 6 million. Word on the street is that Joey D. never spent his share of the money, and now that Joey’s dead people are starting to look for it. Benny hadn’t given it a second thought since he got out of the game 25 years ago, but when his former cronies showed up on his doorstep with an offer he couldn’t refuse Benny figured if anyone was gonna find the loot it may as well be him. But he can’t do it alone.
And with that setup Kings of Midnight takes off like a house afire, with Stroby proving once again why he’s the reigning master of the modern day mob/heist novel. From the ATM gig that kicks the story off, to the Lufthansa score flashback, to Crissa and Benny’s hunt for the missing loot, Stroby’s descriptions of the way the heists are carried out are so intricately detailed it makes one wonder exactly what kind of research he does for his novels. Similarly, there are no played out mob tropes or over-the-top caricatures to be found. The wiseguys in Kings of Midnight, as with all Stroby novels, are carefully constructed, three dimensional, scary but utterly believable characters.
Stroby also continues to excel at writing strong, intelligent female characters. Crissa is always well prepared and usually at least a step ahead of the game, playing mental chess while everyone around her is playing checkers. It’s a refreshing change of pace in a genre normally dominated by testosterone-driven, cocky, übermen. Yet, though Crissa knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to get it, she’s not just some female Rambo either. She’s very aware every step of the way that she’s making decisions and committing acts which will have lasting, irreversible effects on her conscience. And for all the crackling dialog and fast-paced action, the real beauty of Stroby’s writing comes from the internal battle Crissa wages as she continually balances her goals against the measures she must engage in to obtain them.
Thankfully, though Kings of Midnight brings the story at hand to a thrilling, bloody, satisfying conclusion, the overall story arc of Crissa’s quest to get out of the game remains, and I can’t wait to dive into whatever Stroby has planned for her next.
October 1, 2015
Wallace Stroby first came to my attention through the short story "Lovers in the Cold' which was based on a Bruce Springsteen song "Meeting Across the River'. Being a huge Springsteen fan I just had to read it and it didn't disappoint. I have read a couple of other of Stroby's novels which I've also enjoyed, this, however was my first "Crissa Stone' novel. It's the second in the series and ideally I should have read them in sequence but really my enjoyment of this novel wasn't spoiled as a result of not having read the previous book.
Crissa is a career criminal and hightails it back to New York after her partners in a string of ATM heists have a fatal falling out. She is trying to get a stake together in order to spring her partner Wayne from prison, via a parole hearing and make a fresh start with her estranged ten year old daughter. However Crissa's luck seems to go from bad to worse as she sees her ill gotten gains dwindle with each turn she takes.
Benny Roth was a mobster who turned 'rat' several years ago but eventually left the witness protection programme to go it alone. However his past eventually catches up with him when an old 'acquaintance' locates him, hoping Benny can lead him to the missing millions from the 1970's Lufthansa heist, in which Benny was involved.
Crissa and Benny's separate stories take up the first part of the novel and they don't intersect until about half way through the novel. After evading his captors, Benny, through a mutual friend, teams up with Crissa and they go after the money themselves, trying to stay one step ahead of the murderous crew who are close behind them.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as it's fast paced crime noir at its best. Crissa is a strong female lead character and takes no shit from anyone. She is fiercely protective of her true identity to the point that even Benny doesn't know who she really is but at the same time she is fiercely loyal. Apart from the main thread of the story there are also little encounters throughout the novel that make it special and I particularly enjoyed the one where Crissa goes to buy some guns. The characterisations are good too and a good example of this is the character Wayne. His only direct involvement in the novel is a phone call to him in prison from Crissa, yet I immediately had a strong mental picture of him from even the briefest of details.
Now that I've read this novel I really have to go and read the rest of the Crissa Stone series.
Crissa is a career criminal and hightails it back to New York after her partners in a string of ATM heists have a fatal falling out. She is trying to get a stake together in order to spring her partner Wayne from prison, via a parole hearing and make a fresh start with her estranged ten year old daughter. However Crissa's luck seems to go from bad to worse as she sees her ill gotten gains dwindle with each turn she takes.
Benny Roth was a mobster who turned 'rat' several years ago but eventually left the witness protection programme to go it alone. However his past eventually catches up with him when an old 'acquaintance' locates him, hoping Benny can lead him to the missing millions from the 1970's Lufthansa heist, in which Benny was involved.
Crissa and Benny's separate stories take up the first part of the novel and they don't intersect until about half way through the novel. After evading his captors, Benny, through a mutual friend, teams up with Crissa and they go after the money themselves, trying to stay one step ahead of the murderous crew who are close behind them.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as it's fast paced crime noir at its best. Crissa is a strong female lead character and takes no shit from anyone. She is fiercely protective of her true identity to the point that even Benny doesn't know who she really is but at the same time she is fiercely loyal. Apart from the main thread of the story there are also little encounters throughout the novel that make it special and I particularly enjoyed the one where Crissa goes to buy some guns. The characterisations are good too and a good example of this is the character Wayne. His only direct involvement in the novel is a phone call to him in prison from Crissa, yet I immediately had a strong mental picture of him from even the briefest of details.
Now that I've read this novel I really have to go and read the rest of the Crissa Stone series.
May 10, 2014
A while back, I enjoyed Wallace Stroby’s Barbed-Wire Kiss and Heartbreak Lounge, both of which evoked my native Jersey shore. I drifted away from Stroby for a bit but returned to devour The Kings of Midnight. Crissa Stone is a good bad girl—a tough as nails thief with a code of ethics—who gets caught in the in the search for the Lufthansa loot. She teams up with Benny, an old school mobster who got kicked out of witness protection, to find recover the millions but ends up tangling with a hitters also after the loot. Stroby managed the setting, pacing and captures the tenuous life of the career criminal with realism and sympathy.
January 4, 2016
Crissa Stone is back. Nice little homage to the Lufthansa heist (also referenced in Goodfellas). I don't think her books are necessarily the heirs to the Parker throne, but they're solid. Very little bullshit. My only real complaint is that Crissa constantly makes decisions against what she both knows she should do and what she's been trained to do. She's often saved by luck. Head to head, Parker would kill her and move on to the next job.
June 28, 2014
Wallace Stroby has written some great crime fiction and I enjoyed the first entry in the Crissa Stone series quite a bit. This, the second, was a pretty good read, but it fell a little flat for me. It has a very fast moving plot centering on our protagonist and a bumbling partner vs remnants of the Mob. Bullets, bodies and duffel bags of cash abound and it all seems a bit formulaic.
December 13, 2014
I love Wallace Stroby's writing, and have read several of his books. This one doesn't disappoint, and the main character, Crissa Stone, has shades of Richard Stark's Parker in her makeup. The plotting, pace and dialogue were all terrific, making this a very good noir read.
Want to read
November 1, 2016This copy is signed by the author Wallace Stroby.
June 16, 2017
THIS IS ALL A SPOILER: I have read the first two of these Crissa Stone novels now, and I don't think I am going to read another. They are well written in terms of style and control of the action, but they are frustrating because the characters just keep doing dumb things, and the situations repeat: face off usually in a room, Crissa manages to overcome the guys who are trying to kill her, shoots without killing one or more, and then she gets out, doesn't do the logical thing, which is to kill these very bad guys. Instead she just antagonizes them, and we know they're going to meet again. The problem is that these novels are built around shoot-em-up scenes, and in order to set up the next one, Streby has got to keep these characters alive, illogically. This is different than, for example, the somewhat similar Keller novels (Lawrence Block's), where Keller always follows the logic of his situation.
The best characters in these two novels are appealing in many ways, but all of them keep making dumb, dumb decisions. If he can solve this problem, which is really a plotting problem, he'll really have something.
Oh, incidentally, there is a really great character in this book, an aging mobster in a rest home who actually still is smart and tough despite his failing body, and who drives what happens more than Crissa at first expects. He is the most interesting character in the book, and I would love to see Stroby write a series about him.
The best characters in these two novels are appealing in many ways, but all of them keep making dumb, dumb decisions. If he can solve this problem, which is really a plotting problem, he'll really have something.
Oh, incidentally, there is a really great character in this book, an aging mobster in a rest home who actually still is smart and tough despite his failing body, and who drives what happens more than Crissa at first expects. He is the most interesting character in the book, and I would love to see Stroby write a series about him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2020
#2 in the Crissa Stone series. This 2012 series entry by author Wallace Stroby is a worthwhile, entertaining page-turner. I had kept looking for a third entry in Stroby's Harry Rane series since 2005 without success. Along the way, I read #1 in this series, Cold Shot to the Heart (2011), when it was published, but I kept looking for more Harry Rane. I finally read #2 in this series, 8 years after publication, and I admit my error in wearing blinders. Chrissa Stone is the real deal and I won't time before reading the next series entry, Shoot the Woman First (2013).
Crissa Stone is a driven but ethical thief. A scheme targeting ATMs ends with Crissa’s partners gunning each other down, and her finding a new outlet for her criminal energies with retired gangster Benny Roth. One of the few people involved in the famous Lufthansa heist from Kennedy Airport in 1978 still alive, Benny has been roused from a quiet existence in Indiana by an old Mafia crony, Danny Taliferro, who believes Benny knows where recently deceased mob boss Joey Dio stashed more than $2 million from the heist. On the run from Danny and his crew, Benny recruits Crissa to help him retrieve the hidden loot.
Crissa Stone is a driven but ethical thief. A scheme targeting ATMs ends with Crissa’s partners gunning each other down, and her finding a new outlet for her criminal energies with retired gangster Benny Roth. One of the few people involved in the famous Lufthansa heist from Kennedy Airport in 1978 still alive, Benny has been roused from a quiet existence in Indiana by an old Mafia crony, Danny Taliferro, who believes Benny knows where recently deceased mob boss Joey Dio stashed more than $2 million from the heist. On the run from Danny and his crew, Benny recruits Crissa to help him retrieve the hidden loot.
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