Synopses & Reviews
"Plenty of excitement and plot twists, a solid body count, and vividly drawn characters. Crissa is crime fictions best career criminal since Richard Starks Parker." —
Booklist (starred)
Career criminal Crissa Stone has pulled some impressive heists by keeping her mouth shut and her temper in check. Still, as good as she is, she wants out of the life. All she needs is one last big score, enough to bribe her lovers way out on parole and get her daughter back. However, things keep going wrong, like when her last two partners lost their cool and fought over the take instead of walking away $150K richer. The mess they made of the job and each other has put her on the run again.
Shes not the only one. Benny Roth, a former mobster, has been straight for years, but now he has his own problems. A face from the past has popped up to tell him that boss Joey Dio is finally dead and to ask about the five million dollars that Joey is rumored to have stashed away years ago. Benny denies knowing anything about it and claims hes out of the business. But he might be willing to risk almost everything for one last shot.
With the law and mobsters on the lookout and five million dollars on the line, it isnt long before Crissa and Benny find themselves on a collision course that neither can avoid. This hard-boiled world, where the stakes—and the risks—are always high, unfolds at breakneck speed in Kings of Midnight, another dark and thrilling masterwork of crime fiction from Wallace Stroby.
Review
“Like the best heist novels, Cold Shot to the Heart moves at a break-neck speed as clever crooks navigate a maze of legalities, double-crossing business associates and vengeful criminals. Like Fans of Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins' The Friends of Eddie Coyle will find much to like in Stroby's hard-edged Cold Shot to the Heart.”
--Florida Sun-Sentinel
Review
Praise for Kings of Midnight
“The. . .power lies in Wallace Strobys uncannily exact imagery, precise language, and narrative credibility. Strobys depiction of heists is so believable you almost wonder if writing is just a sideline for him. . .Economy of language has been a key element of crime fiction since the days of Dashiell Hammett, but Stroby makes it feels fresh and vital again. . . Kings of Midnight is remarkable for its stylistic rigor. Theres not a word out of place, no detail that isnt essential to the story. . .This is what hard-boiled writing should be.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Stroby seems to get better book by book. This one offers plenty of excitement and plot twists, a solid body count, and vividly drawn characters. Crissa is crime fictions best career criminal since Richard Starks Parker. . .The Kings of Midnight puts Stroby in the same league as Stark (a pseudonym for Donald E. Westlake) and other exemplars of hard-edged crime.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“As coolly efficient and professional as its heroine, this thriller evokes Donald Westlakes Parker novels with lean storytelling that pauses only for meticulously detailed descriptions of criminals at work or in conflict.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Wallace Stroby
"Cold Shot to the Heart moves at a break-neck speed. . .Fans of Elmore Leonard and George V. Higginss The Friends of Eddie Coyle will find much to like.”
—Oline H. Cogdill, Chicago Tribune on Cold Shot to the Heart
“Another fast, taut winner from Stroby. As for Crissa, she may be crime fictions best bad girl ever."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Cold Shot to the Heart
“Just when you think that you cant be surprised anymore, a writer like Wallace Stroby ups the ante.”
—Laura Lippman on Cold Shot to the Heart
“This hard-boiled novel, filled with believable characters, puts author Wallace Stroby in the company of noir masters like Dashiell Hammett and Elmore Leonard.”
—The Huffington Post on Gone til November
“A scorching first novel that mixes the melancholic heart of tough-guy fiction with a fierce and violent gangster plot.”
—The Washington Post Book World on The Barbed-Wire Kiss
“Stroby does wonders with his blue-collar characters.”
—The New York Times Book Review on The Barbed-Wire Kiss
Review
“[The] power lies in Wallace Strobys uncannily exact imagery, precise language, and narrative credibility . . . Theres not a word out of place, no detail that isnt essential to the story . . . Stroby has risen to the top of his field.” —Los Angeles Review of Books
“As coolly efficient and professional as its heroine, this thriller evokes Donald Westlakes Parker novels with lean storytelling that pauses only for meticulously detailed descriptions of criminals at work or in conflict.” —Publishers Weekly
“Once again Stroby demonstrates how adept he is at making readers empathize with the essentially unworthy.” —Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
“Crime fictions best bad girl ever” returns in Wallace Strobys latest hardboiled gem (starred Kirkus Reviews)Crissa Stone, a career criminal, would like to get out of the life. All she needs is one more big score, enough to bribe her lovers way out on parole and get her daughter back. But things keep going wrong, like her last two partners killing each other instead of walking away $150K richer. While she took their cut, the mess she left behind means shes on the run again. But so is Benny Roth, a former mobster whos been straight for years, until a face from the past shows up to tell him that Joey Dio is finally dead, and ask about a mysterious five million dollars that Joey was rumored to have stashed away years ago. Benny denies knowing anything about it, claims hes out of the business completely, but he also has a pretty good idea where the money might be, and hes willing to risk everything for one last score. These two are on a collision course, and in the hardboiled world of Wallace Stroby,
chances are slim that either one is going to get what they want without paying a high price.
Synopsis
"Plenty of excitement and plot twists, a solid body count, and vividly drawn characters. Crissa is crime fictions best career criminal since Richard Starks Parker." —
Booklist (starred)
Career criminal Crissa Stone has pulled some impressive heists by keeping her mouth shut and her temper in check. Still, as good as she is, she wants out of the life. All she needs is one last big score, enough to bribe her lovers way out on parole and get her daughter back. However, things keep going wrong, like when her last two partners lost their cool and fought over the take instead of walking away $150K richer. The mess they made of the job and each other has put her on the run again.
Shes not the only one. Benny Roth, a former mobster, has been straight for years, but now he has his own problems. A face from the past has popped up to tell him that boss Joey Dio is finally dead and to ask about the five million dollars that Joey is rumored to have stashed away years ago. Benny denies knowing anything about it and claims hes out of the business. But he might be willing to risk almost everything for one last shot.
With the law and mobsters on the lookout and five million dollars on the line, it isnt long before Crissa and Benny find themselves on a collision course that neither can avoid. This hard-boiled world, where the stakes—and the risks—are always high, unfolds at breakneck speed in Kings of Midnight, another dark and thrilling masterwork of crime fiction from Wallace Stroby.
About the Author
WALLACE STROBY is an award-winning journalist and a former editor at The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. Kings of Midnight is his fifth novel, following the acclaimed Cold Shot to the Heart. He lives in New Jersey. The Crissa Stone novels are in development for a TV series by Showtime.