THE SECOND CRISSA STONE NOVEL
A KIRKUS BEST BOOKS OF 2012 PICK
"Crime fiction's best bad girl ever"* returns in Wallace Stroby's new thriller, KINGS OF MIDNIGHT. Crissa Stone, the cool-headed professional thief from Stroby's acclaimed COLD SHOT TO THE HEART, is looking for one more big score, enough to bribe her lover's way out of prison and reclaim the young daughter she once gave up. Benny Roth is an old-school wiseguy, still on the run after the bloody fallout from the 1978 Lufthansa heist, in which six armed men walked out of Kennedy Airport with some $8 million in untraceable cash. That money's been missing all these years, but now Benny thinks he knows where it is, and Crissa may be just the person to help him get it ... if a murderous gang boss with a score to settle doesn't get there first.
* Kirkus Reviews
Praise for "Kings of Midnight"
(Click on links for full reviews)
"Brilliant"
"Suspenseful ... As coolly efficient and professional as its heroine, this thriller evokes Donald Westlake's Parker novels with lean storytelling that pauses only for meticulously detailed descriptions of criminals at work or in conflict."
"It would be hard to overpraise KINGS OF MIDNIGHT."
"Remarkable ... Stroby has risen to the top of his field. Crissa Stone has become one of the most relatable and likable criminals in contemporary crime fiction... a modern-day hero for an America still recovering from the economic collapse."
"Everything superb crime fiction should be ... Should knock inferior crime fiction off the bestseller lists. It left me breathless."
"Only one or two others writing noir fiction today pull it off as masterfully as Stroby, and none does it better. He's the real deal."
- INSIDE JERSEY MAGAZINE
"Once again Stroby demonstrates how adept he is at making readers empathize with the essentially unworthy."
"Stroby is a master of mood ... Like the best characters in literature, Crissa Stone is deeply flawed. Like the most lively characters in pulp fiction, she's attractive, intimidating and unpredictable."
"It's a winner from first word to last... If Bruce Springsteen's music is Jersey's soundtrack, then KINGS OF MIDNIGHT and its predecessors are its ongoing screenplay. I can't give a book any higher praise than that."
"Stroby's latest is a dark delight... Action abounds, suspense is ceaseless, and the villains vicious to the core. Better, the author provokes a compassion for his cold-blooded heroine that's tough to explain."
"Terrific ... (Crissa Stone is) one of my favorite hard-boiled characters."
"I love Stroby's writing - lean yet suspenseful with a nicely developed plot... Crissa is a great creation."
"Even with its inventive set pieces and sharp action, it's Stroby's gift of character and realistic tone that make the book stand out from other heist yarns... His criminals are working class guys who speak in a dialogue reminiscent of Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins."
"I literally flew through the 266 pages in one afternoon and evening... I even missed the evening TV news. Probably wasn't anything on the news as exciting as this book."
"Stroby's taut tale collars the reader and never loosens its grip. ... He has a gift for putting the reader on the side of (his) characters in the manner of Depression-strapped audiences rooting for movie gangsters portrayed by James Cagney."
"This new Stroby novel proves that it is time for him to break out into a broader readership. His crime novels are among the best."
"A great tale ... Loaded with action, but driven by character. Fans will appreciate this taut thriller."
"Stroby has a talent for turning criminals into sympathetic characters while showing us the dirty work they do ... Compelling writing, crisp dialogue, and page-turning plotting, but it's Crissa who will keep me coming back."
"Starred Review ...Crissa puts most men to shame. She's tough, smart, decisive and loyal."
"I couldn't be happier that Wallace Stroby has brought back professional thief Crissa Stone ... A suspenseful tale."
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