What do you think?
Rate this book
Crissa Stone #1
Cold Shot to the Heart
“Just when you think that you can’t be surprised anymore, a writer like Wallace Stroby ups the ante.”
---Laura Lippman, author of I’d Know You Anywhere
Crissa Stone is a career criminal. A complete pro, she never works too close to her New York City home, rarely signs on with the same crew, and never rushes a job. These are the rules that have kept her from getting caught, from doing time. They’re the rules her mentor and lover taught her, rules he didn’t follow as closely as he should’ve. Now he’s up for parole, and Crissa needs to come up with some real money real fast to help grease the wheels.
Word is that there’s an illegal card game set for less than a week from now. The take? As much as seven figures. Desperate, Crissa slaps a plan and a crew together.
It’s robbery, not murder. But when one of her crew loses his cool and they have to abandon the plan, she catches the attention of Eddie the Saint. A hit man recently released from prison, Eddie is no less of a pro than Crissa, and he could use the work, not to mention all that money.
One of the most talented writers working in crime fiction today, Wallace Stroby has written a tight, propulsive story that will hold readers captive until well after all the crooks have fled the scene.
---Laura Lippman, author of I’d Know You Anywhere
Crissa Stone is a career criminal. A complete pro, she never works too close to her New York City home, rarely signs on with the same crew, and never rushes a job. These are the rules that have kept her from getting caught, from doing time. They’re the rules her mentor and lover taught her, rules he didn’t follow as closely as he should’ve. Now he’s up for parole, and Crissa needs to come up with some real money real fast to help grease the wheels.
Word is that there’s an illegal card game set for less than a week from now. The take? As much as seven figures. Desperate, Crissa slaps a plan and a crew together.
It’s robbery, not murder. But when one of her crew loses his cool and they have to abandon the plan, she catches the attention of Eddie the Saint. A hit man recently released from prison, Eddie is no less of a pro than Crissa, and he could use the work, not to mention all that money.
One of the most talented writers working in crime fiction today, Wallace Stroby has written a tight, propulsive story that will hold readers captive until well after all the crooks have fled the scene.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2011
23 people are currently reading
711 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
August 16, 2015
Crissa Stone is the kind of woman who can steal your heart. She’ll probably also get any other valuables you have because she’s a professional thief.
Her mentor/partner/lover Wayne is locked up in a Texas prison, and Crissa needs cash in a hurry to help grease the wheels for his parole. A high stakes poker game in Florida seems like a good score so she joins up with a couple of other pros to hit it, but complications arise during the robbery. Crissa returns to New York where she lives under a false identity, but a brutal killer named Eddie Santiago is on the trail of the stolen money.
Any story about a professional thief is usually going to draw comparisons to Richard Stark’s Parker series since he’s the modern archetype that inspired countless imitators, but the pro thief characters are almost exclusively male so the idea of having a female lead was a new spin on the idea. While Crissa is smart, cautious and capable, she’s not a sociopath like Parker, and its her emotions and attachments that make her stand-out from the usual no-nonsense-get-the-job-done kind of guy we’d usually have for the lead in this kind of book. In addition to her loyalty and concern for Wayne, she’s also quietly heartbroken about having had to leave her daughter to be raised by her cousin.
On the other end of the scale we’ve got the villain Eddie who is the kind of ruthless bastard that it’s a pleasure to hate. Newly released from prison, Eddie is anxious to work out old grudges against his old mob buddies as well as take every dollar he can lay his hands on. Whether he’s browbeating a former partner who has gone straight to rejoin him or trying to recover money he thinks he was owed, Eddie is terrifying in his directness. He wants what he wants, and he wants it right now. If that means taking a razor to someone to get what needs, then he’s more than willing to do it.
I heard about this series when George Pelecanos was raving about the newest book on Twitter, and after this first one I can see why. I was into this book from the opening sentence, and its tight plot and well drawn characters completely sucked me into it. I can’t wait to read more about Crissa Stone and see what happens next.
Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
Her mentor/partner/lover Wayne is locked up in a Texas prison, and Crissa needs cash in a hurry to help grease the wheels for his parole. A high stakes poker game in Florida seems like a good score so she joins up with a couple of other pros to hit it, but complications arise during the robbery. Crissa returns to New York where she lives under a false identity, but a brutal killer named Eddie Santiago is on the trail of the stolen money.
Any story about a professional thief is usually going to draw comparisons to Richard Stark’s Parker series since he’s the modern archetype that inspired countless imitators, but the pro thief characters are almost exclusively male so the idea of having a female lead was a new spin on the idea. While Crissa is smart, cautious and capable, she’s not a sociopath like Parker, and its her emotions and attachments that make her stand-out from the usual no-nonsense-get-the-job-done kind of guy we’d usually have for the lead in this kind of book. In addition to her loyalty and concern for Wayne, she’s also quietly heartbroken about having had to leave her daughter to be raised by her cousin.
On the other end of the scale we’ve got the villain Eddie who is the kind of ruthless bastard that it’s a pleasure to hate. Newly released from prison, Eddie is anxious to work out old grudges against his old mob buddies as well as take every dollar he can lay his hands on. Whether he’s browbeating a former partner who has gone straight to rejoin him or trying to recover money he thinks he was owed, Eddie is terrifying in his directness. He wants what he wants, and he wants it right now. If that means taking a razor to someone to get what needs, then he’s more than willing to do it.
I heard about this series when George Pelecanos was raving about the newest book on Twitter, and after this first one I can see why. I was into this book from the opening sentence, and its tight plot and well drawn characters completely sucked me into it. I can’t wait to read more about Crissa Stone and see what happens next.
Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
February 5, 2014
When a high stakes poker game holdup goes south and a man ends up dead, career criminal Crissa Stone and her partners find themselves in deep trouble. Turns out the dead man was the son in law of a gangster and fresh out of jail Eddie Saint is hired to find his killer. Unfortunately, Eddie doesn't live up to his name and decides the job isn't enough; he wants the money from the poker heist too...
George Pelecanos was raving about the latest book in this serious on the Twitter so I figured I should start at the beginning.
Crissa Stone is a conflicted character and was by far the most interesting part of the book. She's got a lover in jail and a daughter that is being raised by her cousin. She wants to get out of the game but can't seem to make that one last big score. She's like Richard Stark's Parker with estrogen. And feelings. I liked that she wasn't a cold blooded killer.
Eddie the Saint was a suitably vile villain, an unhinged psychopath that makes the lead characters seem saintly (heh) by comparison. He was on stage for about a page before I couldn't wait to see him get killed.
The writing reminds me of a wordier Richard Stark, the prose not quite as punchy but still good. If the Westlake estate hired someone to write more Parker books, I think Stroby could take on the job.
However, there was something I didn't like. For a career criminal, Crissa sure makes some stupid mistakes.
Other than that, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next book in the series. Three cautiously optimistic stars.
George Pelecanos was raving about the latest book in this serious on the Twitter so I figured I should start at the beginning.
Crissa Stone is a conflicted character and was by far the most interesting part of the book. She's got a lover in jail and a daughter that is being raised by her cousin. She wants to get out of the game but can't seem to make that one last big score. She's like Richard Stark's Parker with estrogen. And feelings. I liked that she wasn't a cold blooded killer.
Eddie the Saint was a suitably vile villain, an unhinged psychopath that makes the lead characters seem saintly (heh) by comparison. He was on stage for about a page before I couldn't wait to see him get killed.
The writing reminds me of a wordier Richard Stark, the prose not quite as punchy but still good. If the Westlake estate hired someone to write more Parker books, I think Stroby could take on the job.
However, there was something I didn't like. For a career criminal, Crissa sure makes some stupid mistakes.
Other than that, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next book in the series. Three cautiously optimistic stars.
January 7, 2024
5 stars
short review for busy readers: fast-paced crime thriller about a robbery gone wrong. Very wrong. Great characters, great action. Highly competent lean writing that says a lot with a little. No long-winded backstories, no tedious relationship/romance blurble. No cops. Just a clutch of career criminals taking each other out...or trying to. Fast read. Highly enjoyable. Series starter.
Original title: Cold Shot to the Heart
In detail:
Stroby can write. Genuinely write. Not bang out something that sounds like a hyperactive 5th grader gunning for a career in Hollywood wrote it. His prose is lean and direct, saying no more than needs to be said to set the scene or describe the action in diamond clarity.
There's no author insert hero here, either. Crissa Stone, the protag, is a great character: a hardened thief who still hasn't lost her moral compass.
She's not perfect and takes a lot of grief working in a field dominated mostly by tough-guy males...but she hasn't turned into one of those hard-nosed badasses authors like to make their women leads into. She's not a badass, she's a competent criminal.
If you don't like it, don't hire her.
The plot speeds along with enough twists to keep you on your toes and a high enough body count to satisfy action fans.
For what it is, Cold Shot to the Heart is an excellently crafted, enjoyable ride. Not high literature, but far better than most in its genre. Book 1 in a (so far) 4 book series.
Highly recommended for fans of crime lit that focuses entirely on the criminals/crimes. (Think Ocean's 11, just not nearly as photogenic.)
short review for busy readers: fast-paced crime thriller about a robbery gone wrong. Very wrong. Great characters, great action. Highly competent lean writing that says a lot with a little. No long-winded backstories, no tedious relationship/romance blurble. No cops. Just a clutch of career criminals taking each other out...or trying to. Fast read. Highly enjoyable. Series starter.
Original title: Cold Shot to the Heart
In detail:
Stroby can write. Genuinely write. Not bang out something that sounds like a hyperactive 5th grader gunning for a career in Hollywood wrote it. His prose is lean and direct, saying no more than needs to be said to set the scene or describe the action in diamond clarity.
There's no author insert hero here, either. Crissa Stone, the protag, is a great character: a hardened thief who still hasn't lost her moral compass.
She's not perfect and takes a lot of grief working in a field dominated mostly by tough-guy males...but she hasn't turned into one of those hard-nosed badasses authors like to make their women leads into. She's not a badass, she's a competent criminal.
If you don't like it, don't hire her.
The plot speeds along with enough twists to keep you on your toes and a high enough body count to satisfy action fans.
For what it is, Cold Shot to the Heart is an excellently crafted, enjoyable ride. Not high literature, but far better than most in its genre. Book 1 in a (so far) 4 book series.
Highly recommended for fans of crime lit that focuses entirely on the criminals/crimes. (Think Ocean's 11, just not nearly as photogenic.)
July 7, 2014
With the exception of Elmore Leonard, I'm generally not that interested in crime novels. I read Leonard for the sharply drawn characters and the wit, not the crime. So I picked up Cold Shot to the Heart with some trepidation, but the promise of a female protagonist intrigued me. It wasn't long before Wallace Stroby had me hooked and I found myself for the first time in a long time thinking, "Just one more chapter and then I'll stop." This went on for a few hours and I pretty much read the whole thing in one sitting.
Crissa Stone is a professional thief whose cool head and steady hand make her well-suited to the volatile situations that tend to present themselves when you're trying to forcibly take someone else's dough. After a disappointing haul from her last heist, Crissa is drawn into a scheme to rob an illegal big stakes poker tournament. Of course, easy money is seldom easy and when things go wrong, Crissa finds herself matching wits with Eddie "The Saint" Santiago, a recently released convict with homicidal tendencies who is hellbent on getting Crissa's score at any cost.
Stroby's fast pacing and dialogue driven narrative are reminiscent of Leonard, though his characters don't follow Leonard's smart-ass-with-a-glib-tongue template. In that sense, Stroby's characters seem more realistic, but they're not quite as entertaining. Crissa Stone, however, makes an intriguing protagonist. Crissa doesn't just steal for the thrill of it, nor does she do it just for herself. Her primary motivation is that she's got bills to pay in the form of care for a daughter who doesn't even know her and bribes to spring her significant other, Wayne, from a Texas prison. She seems a woman trapped by circumstance--crime is all she knows and the only way she can make the big money necessary to protect those she loves. Separated from her daughter and her lover, she leads a solitary, painfully lonesome existence when not on the job. Being a female also gets her into some hot water. She's not as comfortable with violence as some of her male counterparts and it's her nature to avoid conflict that ends up creating some of her most dangerous enemies. But make no mistake--she's not a tragic, weak character and these same qualities also allow Crissa to kick ass when the situation calls for it.
Overall, Cold Shot to the Heart is a fast, entertaining read and I'll definitely seek out the other books in the series.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
Crissa Stone is a professional thief whose cool head and steady hand make her well-suited to the volatile situations that tend to present themselves when you're trying to forcibly take someone else's dough. After a disappointing haul from her last heist, Crissa is drawn into a scheme to rob an illegal big stakes poker tournament. Of course, easy money is seldom easy and when things go wrong, Crissa finds herself matching wits with Eddie "The Saint" Santiago, a recently released convict with homicidal tendencies who is hellbent on getting Crissa's score at any cost.
Stroby's fast pacing and dialogue driven narrative are reminiscent of Leonard, though his characters don't follow Leonard's smart-ass-with-a-glib-tongue template. In that sense, Stroby's characters seem more realistic, but they're not quite as entertaining. Crissa Stone, however, makes an intriguing protagonist. Crissa doesn't just steal for the thrill of it, nor does she do it just for herself. Her primary motivation is that she's got bills to pay in the form of care for a daughter who doesn't even know her and bribes to spring her significant other, Wayne, from a Texas prison. She seems a woman trapped by circumstance--crime is all she knows and the only way she can make the big money necessary to protect those she loves. Separated from her daughter and her lover, she leads a solitary, painfully lonesome existence when not on the job. Being a female also gets her into some hot water. She's not as comfortable with violence as some of her male counterparts and it's her nature to avoid conflict that ends up creating some of her most dangerous enemies. But make no mistake--she's not a tragic, weak character and these same qualities also allow Crissa to kick ass when the situation calls for it.
Overall, Cold Shot to the Heart is a fast, entertaining read and I'll definitely seek out the other books in the series.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder
January 24, 2013
If the late Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) and Christa Faust had ever collaborated on a novel, it probably would have sounded a lot like A Cold Shot to the Heart, which also means that it doubtless would have been a damn fine book.
It's also a very hard book to review. This is one of those novels where you don't want to spoil anything. You want every other reader to discover each delicious twist and turn for himself or herself. So, bare bones: Crissa Stone is a criminal. A middle man hooks her up with a crew that is planning a major score. As almost always happens in one of Stark's Parker novels, something goes wrong and Crissa finds herself in deep trouble.
Meanwhile, in a parallel story, a truly creepy low-level mobster named Eddie the Saint is fresh out of prison. After five years inside, he thinks he has some money coming. He is determined to get it.
'Nuff said. If you like hard-boiled, noirish reads and kick-ass female protagonists, find this book and read it yourself. You won't regret it.
It's also a very hard book to review. This is one of those novels where you don't want to spoil anything. You want every other reader to discover each delicious twist and turn for himself or herself. So, bare bones: Crissa Stone is a criminal. A middle man hooks her up with a crew that is planning a major score. As almost always happens in one of Stark's Parker novels, something goes wrong and Crissa finds herself in deep trouble.
Meanwhile, in a parallel story, a truly creepy low-level mobster named Eddie the Saint is fresh out of prison. After five years inside, he thinks he has some money coming. He is determined to get it.
'Nuff said. If you like hard-boiled, noirish reads and kick-ass female protagonists, find this book and read it yourself. You won't regret it.
September 4, 2014
The best review I can give Wallace Stroby's Cold Shot to the Heart (Crissa Stone #1) is that Kings of Midnight (Crissa Stone #2) went on my reading list two minutes after I finished reading this one. It's a breathlessly lethal crime novel that made off with my wallet after I discovered that Stroby has several novels available, including two more with this character.
Crissa Stone is a professional thief. As the novel begins, she storms a bank in Pittsburgh, disarming the manager and two security guards. One partner raids the vault and grabs the surveillance discs while a second partner waits behind the wheel of a stolen SUV. No shots are fired. Little is left to chance, except that the cash Crissa gets away with is far less than she anticipated.
In New Jersey, Eddie "The Saint" Santiago wraps up a five year prison term, reunites with jumpy cat burglar Terry Trudeau and pays a visit to someone who owes Eddie money. To Terry's shock, Eddie picks up where he left off before he was incarcerated. In need of more cash, Eddie goes to work for his former boss Tino Conte, an old timer who once ran sports betting in northern Jersey but is now in rapid decline.
Crissa travels to Texas, where she looks in on the 8-year-old daughter being raised by the only woman the girl knows as her mother, Crissa's cousin. She then visits her mentor and ex-lover Wayne Boudreaux in prison, where he's rotting away and faces seven more years for robbing a jewelry wholesaler in Houston. A lawyer has promised to get Wayne's parole granted, charging $100,000 to grease the wheels of justice.
To get the cash, Crissa returns to New York for work. Her agent Hector Suarez pitches Crissa an opportunity he refers to as a "Stage Seven project", seven figures or more. The man running the project is Victor Stimmer, an electronics store owner from Staten Island who's worked with Crissa once before. With him is Bobby Chance, a thief who Crissa has worked with twice when they both ran with Wayne's crew.
Stimmer wants to take down a high stakes poker game in Fort Lauderdale. The upside is that the game is unprotected, will upset no one if it gets knocked over and will have a million dollars plus on the table. The downside is they have five days to prepare. Crissa needs the money bad enough to scout the casino with Chance. They take the job, overlooking a connection to Tino Conte and his mad dog off the leash Eddie "The Saint".
I love novels about characters doing their jobs. Maybe because I spend 40 hours a week doing a job (reading novels and writing smart ass reviews on Goodreads is purely recreation), I can relate to someone who wakes up, puts her legs in her slacks one at a time and though she'd rather be doing anything else, goes out there to earn her pay.
Cold Shot to the Heart is a novel of small perfection. Stroby writes with a wonderful narrative economy. There is no fat in this book. Characters are given the backstory or traits they need to earn their motivation and the story is barely big enough to slide through the crack of a window. The author seems to trust his skills as a storyteller and trust the reader's attention enough not to concoct explosive heists, fire off thousands of rounds of ammo or introduce dozens of characters.
Crissa Stone is a terrific character to launch a series with. Stroby never makes a big deal that his protagonist is a woman and it doesn't matter to the people she interacts with. Crissa has a daughter who doesn't know her, inherits a cat who doesn't trust her and almost picks up a guy in a Connecticut hotel bar, but her life follows the same patterns as it would for a male thief. She's good at her job, has earned the respect of her peers and the only thing her enemies care about is whether she has their money. This is as close to a feminist crime thriller as you can get.
The novel is also violent -- Eddie "The Saint" kills seven people in one night -- but the sudden remorselessness of the violence reminded me of Breaking Bad. It's pitched at ground level. It's authentic. I can't recall a moment where I thought, "Nah, that's bullshit." The skills of the protagonist, the greed of the antagonists and the meeting of the two were all very, very believable.
I shot through this novel in a little over 48 hours and will be back for more. Highly recommended.
Crissa Stone is a professional thief. As the novel begins, she storms a bank in Pittsburgh, disarming the manager and two security guards. One partner raids the vault and grabs the surveillance discs while a second partner waits behind the wheel of a stolen SUV. No shots are fired. Little is left to chance, except that the cash Crissa gets away with is far less than she anticipated.
In New Jersey, Eddie "The Saint" Santiago wraps up a five year prison term, reunites with jumpy cat burglar Terry Trudeau and pays a visit to someone who owes Eddie money. To Terry's shock, Eddie picks up where he left off before he was incarcerated. In need of more cash, Eddie goes to work for his former boss Tino Conte, an old timer who once ran sports betting in northern Jersey but is now in rapid decline.
Crissa travels to Texas, where she looks in on the 8-year-old daughter being raised by the only woman the girl knows as her mother, Crissa's cousin. She then visits her mentor and ex-lover Wayne Boudreaux in prison, where he's rotting away and faces seven more years for robbing a jewelry wholesaler in Houston. A lawyer has promised to get Wayne's parole granted, charging $100,000 to grease the wheels of justice.
To get the cash, Crissa returns to New York for work. Her agent Hector Suarez pitches Crissa an opportunity he refers to as a "Stage Seven project", seven figures or more. The man running the project is Victor Stimmer, an electronics store owner from Staten Island who's worked with Crissa once before. With him is Bobby Chance, a thief who Crissa has worked with twice when they both ran with Wayne's crew.
Stimmer wants to take down a high stakes poker game in Fort Lauderdale. The upside is that the game is unprotected, will upset no one if it gets knocked over and will have a million dollars plus on the table. The downside is they have five days to prepare. Crissa needs the money bad enough to scout the casino with Chance. They take the job, overlooking a connection to Tino Conte and his mad dog off the leash Eddie "The Saint".
I love novels about characters doing their jobs. Maybe because I spend 40 hours a week doing a job (reading novels and writing smart ass reviews on Goodreads is purely recreation), I can relate to someone who wakes up, puts her legs in her slacks one at a time and though she'd rather be doing anything else, goes out there to earn her pay.
Cold Shot to the Heart is a novel of small perfection. Stroby writes with a wonderful narrative economy. There is no fat in this book. Characters are given the backstory or traits they need to earn their motivation and the story is barely big enough to slide through the crack of a window. The author seems to trust his skills as a storyteller and trust the reader's attention enough not to concoct explosive heists, fire off thousands of rounds of ammo or introduce dozens of characters.
Crissa Stone is a terrific character to launch a series with. Stroby never makes a big deal that his protagonist is a woman and it doesn't matter to the people she interacts with. Crissa has a daughter who doesn't know her, inherits a cat who doesn't trust her and almost picks up a guy in a Connecticut hotel bar, but her life follows the same patterns as it would for a male thief. She's good at her job, has earned the respect of her peers and the only thing her enemies care about is whether she has their money. This is as close to a feminist crime thriller as you can get.
The novel is also violent -- Eddie "The Saint" kills seven people in one night -- but the sudden remorselessness of the violence reminded me of Breaking Bad. It's pitched at ground level. It's authentic. I can't recall a moment where I thought, "Nah, that's bullshit." The skills of the protagonist, the greed of the antagonists and the meeting of the two were all very, very believable.
I shot through this novel in a little over 48 hours and will be back for more. Highly recommended.
November 5, 2016
N.J. Native, Wallace Stroby, interviewed Donald E. Westlake for The Asbury Park Press back in July 1986. Much of this interview can be found out there in the interweb. Mr. Stroby talks a bit about the Parker series that Westlake wrote under the “Richard Stark” name in this interview.
I mention this as the flavor of this first Christa Stone novel titled “Cold Shot to the Heart” is heavily influenced by the “Stark” books, with Mr. Stroby’s take on events featuring a female lead character. If you miss the Parker books as much as I do, than this may just be your cup of tea.
The novel takes a few pages to introduce the situation and the players as the events unfold. Once the background is filled in and the first semi-successful robbery is completed then were off to the races. Chirsta Stone is a formidable female lead. She is smart, cleaver and engaging, tough and complex. Even though she carries an exceptional amount of baggage she also has heart and dignity.
I enjoyed this outing a great deal. As far as I count this is Mr. Stroby’s fourth book and the first of a series. I greatly look forward to the next installment.
I mention this as the flavor of this first Christa Stone novel titled “Cold Shot to the Heart” is heavily influenced by the “Stark” books, with Mr. Stroby’s take on events featuring a female lead character. If you miss the Parker books as much as I do, than this may just be your cup of tea.
The novel takes a few pages to introduce the situation and the players as the events unfold. Once the background is filled in and the first semi-successful robbery is completed then were off to the races. Chirsta Stone is a formidable female lead. She is smart, cleaver and engaging, tough and complex. Even though she carries an exceptional amount of baggage she also has heart and dignity.
I enjoyed this outing a great deal. As far as I count this is Mr. Stroby’s fourth book and the first of a series. I greatly look forward to the next installment.
December 20, 2014
I recently read Wallace Stroby's standalone novel Gone 'Til November, and was disappointed in it, mostly because of the inefficiency of the lead female character, who proved to be non-essential to the story and seemed terrible at being a police officer once the action started popping off. So I was a little hesitant going into this book. But, my worries were in vain! Stroby creates one badass series character in Crissa Stone (book 4, The Devil's Share, comes out next year), one that is a breath of fresh air in crime fiction. There are a bunch of female protagonists in crime today, but mostly of the do-gooder detective type, like Kinsey Millhone or Tess Monaghan, but I don't know of any straight rumble-tumble, female criminal antiheroes similar to Richard Stark's Parker. Until now. Or maybe not now, but in 2011, when this book came out...
Crissa Stone is an efficient thief, who's all business, always has a plan, never works near her home in NYC, has never needed to fire her gun on a job, and is careful about the people she works with. But it all goes to hell once pricey payoffs to the sleazy Texas lawyer dealing with the case of her imprisoned mentor, partner, and lover pressure her to take a job ripping off a high stakes poker game in South Florida. Things go south bad. And now Crissa is targeted by a psycho Mob hitter named Eddie The Saint.
I loved reading about Crissa going about her business and setting up heists. I always love reading about people being good at their jobs, and especially about women who can throw down on their own in a fight. But Crissa is not just an emotionless criminal. She's trying to make money to provide a nice life for her estranged daughter, who is being raised by Crissa's cousin and doesn't know Crissa at all. And she finally wants to have something of her own and set roots by finally buying her dream house in Connecticut. That's why she decides not to run. She needs to protect what's hers. So she decides to face off with Eddie The Saint. And stand tall while doing it.
Crissa Stone is an efficient thief, who's all business, always has a plan, never works near her home in NYC, has never needed to fire her gun on a job, and is careful about the people she works with. But it all goes to hell once pricey payoffs to the sleazy Texas lawyer dealing with the case of her imprisoned mentor, partner, and lover pressure her to take a job ripping off a high stakes poker game in South Florida. Things go south bad. And now Crissa is targeted by a psycho Mob hitter named Eddie The Saint.
I loved reading about Crissa going about her business and setting up heists. I always love reading about people being good at their jobs, and especially about women who can throw down on their own in a fight. But Crissa is not just an emotionless criminal. She's trying to make money to provide a nice life for her estranged daughter, who is being raised by Crissa's cousin and doesn't know Crissa at all. And she finally wants to have something of her own and set roots by finally buying her dream house in Connecticut. That's why she decides not to run. She needs to protect what's hers. So she decides to face off with Eddie The Saint. And stand tall while doing it.
December 1, 2014
It's been a long time since I've read a new author I enjoy reading as much as I've enjoyed the reading (and writing) of Wallace Stroby.
Just because I am who I am, I get a butterflies in my stomach when I think of reading a new author. I love reading the 'tried and true' authors who I know (relatively certain anyhow) that I'll enjoy. And unfortunately I've found it to be true that the majority of writers I read who are new to me are not to my liking. Recommendations from GR friends are the exception...in this case my GR friend Richard Vialet.
This writer though...he hit the jackpot with me with his characters and storyline. His writing does not remind me of Elmore Leonard but he did turn the tables much like Leonard did numerous times making the 'bad guy' a likable character who we hope 'wins' the battle whatever the battle may be.
Using 'bad guy' term generically. In this particular case the 'bad guy' is actually a woman with the sexy name of Crissa. She's great...walks on the wrong side of the law, but she's still great.
This is number one in the series and Wallace Stroby is no longer just another author's name...he's one I'm familiar with so I won't get butterflies next time I pick up one of his books.
Just because I am who I am, I get a butterflies in my stomach when I think of reading a new author. I love reading the 'tried and true' authors who I know (relatively certain anyhow) that I'll enjoy. And unfortunately I've found it to be true that the majority of writers I read who are new to me are not to my liking. Recommendations from GR friends are the exception...in this case my GR friend Richard Vialet.
This writer though...he hit the jackpot with me with his characters and storyline. His writing does not remind me of Elmore Leonard but he did turn the tables much like Leonard did numerous times making the 'bad guy' a likable character who we hope 'wins' the battle whatever the battle may be.
Using 'bad guy' term generically. In this particular case the 'bad guy' is actually a woman with the sexy name of Crissa. She's great...walks on the wrong side of the law, but she's still great.
This is number one in the series and Wallace Stroby is no longer just another author's name...he's one I'm familiar with so I won't get butterflies next time I pick up one of his books.
August 11, 2016
Cold Shot to the Heart is a solidly entertaining start to Wallace Stroby's series about Crissa Stone, Professional Thief. Crissa is one tough cookie, taking no shit from men or women, with her eyes firmly on the prize, whether that be a $500,000 poker heist, a revenge killing or her dream house in the country. A female Parker with her own set of strengths and weaknesses, and happily being a woman in a man's world is not one of her weaknesses.
Beyond the very interesting morally grey protagonist Stroby offers up a whole collection of interesting supporting players, a network of connections through which Stone works and a sufficiently reprehensible villain; Eddie the Saint is not the kind of guy you want to piss off, not if you plan on continuing to breathe afterwards and yet he is written so well that even he has redeeming character traits, in another novel he would be his own Parker-like protagonist.
I hear tale that the series just keeps getting better, and I'll certainly be looking for further adventures alongside Crissa.
Beyond the very interesting morally grey protagonist Stroby offers up a whole collection of interesting supporting players, a network of connections through which Stone works and a sufficiently reprehensible villain; Eddie the Saint is not the kind of guy you want to piss off, not if you plan on continuing to breathe afterwards and yet he is written so well that even he has redeeming character traits, in another novel he would be his own Parker-like protagonist.
I hear tale that the series just keeps getting better, and I'll certainly be looking for further adventures alongside Crissa.
February 11, 2015
Brilliant crime thriller from an author new to me. This is hard boiled, noir fiction at its best. Dark, cruel and unsentimental in its telling, the story races along at a furious pace and I defy anybody to put this book down once you hit the lat 50 pages.
October 21, 2011
This adrenaline-fueled caper pits a hardboiled lady thief named Crissa Stone against a psycho ex-con named Eddie the Saint. The suspense builds as the body count rises, all in the pursuit of the Almighty Buck. The thrill that kept me reading was to see just who ends up with the boodle after all the shooting ends, and the smoke clears away. Crisp prose adds to the crime novel's considerable appeal. Great noirish stuff, it reminds me of Stark's Parker but with a lot more tension built in.
February 23, 2017
Great book
This character and story reminded me of Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake. Great style and voice in the writing. This is a heist that goes wrong similar to the Parker stories. Well worth the read.
This character and story reminded me of Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake. Great style and voice in the writing. This is a heist that goes wrong similar to the Parker stories. Well worth the read.
June 7, 2017
Crissa Stone is a professional thief. When she's recruited into a three-person crew to rob a high-stakes card game in Florida, she's wary, but financial pressures -- a kid in school, a lover in jail -- overcome her reservations. What she doesn't know is that the heist is just a cover for some nasty mob machinations, and that her life will soon be on the line.
Eddie Santiago -- Eddie the Saint -- is fresh out of prison. A hitman who doubles as a psycho, he takes on an assignment for small-time mobster Tino, little realizing it'll set him on the trail of the three people who held up a Florida card game . . .
I bought this book a while ago, and it lurked on the shelf until, the evening before last, I picked it up not expecting much more than a fast read. I was right about the fast read part, wrong to not expect much. This is a fine noir thriller of the kind that would have made the pulp writers of the past proud. I'm disappointed to discover that it's the first in a series -- it's perfectly satisfying in itself, and needs no add-ons -- but if I see any non-series title around by Stroby I'll definitely be in the market.
Eddie Santiago -- Eddie the Saint -- is fresh out of prison. A hitman who doubles as a psycho, he takes on an assignment for small-time mobster Tino, little realizing it'll set him on the trail of the three people who held up a Florida card game . . .
I bought this book a while ago, and it lurked on the shelf until, the evening before last, I picked it up not expecting much more than a fast read. I was right about the fast read part, wrong to not expect much. This is a fine noir thriller of the kind that would have made the pulp writers of the past proud. I'm disappointed to discover that it's the first in a series -- it's perfectly satisfying in itself, and needs no add-ons -- but if I see any non-series title around by Stroby I'll definitely be in the market.
November 26, 2018
Very enjoyable. Crissa is a "planner" who does things right, but of course those she robs have different ideas... Suspenseful and believably written.
September 14, 2019
Man, you talk about a novel right in my sweet spot.... Walter Stroby's "Cold Shot to the Heart" has it all: solid writing, great dialogue, gritty subject matter, propulsive action, plus it's a quick read. It's full of characters you wouldn't want to deal with in real life and, in fact, there's not a non-criminal in the entire book unless you count the silent waiter in the Chinese lunch joint.
Crissa Stone, the main character in Cold Shot, is a professional criminal, emphasis on 'professional'. She's a meticulous planner, always works with other pros, makes excellent money, and does a good job managing risk. She runs into a little cash flow problem, takes a job on short notice when she probably shouldn't have that goes to hell, and finds herself in an awkward situation with an extremely bad guy who just got out of the joint and is wreaking havoc all over town. Cold Shot is a graduate-level course on how criminals think, motivate themselves, and generally take care of business. At the conclusion, I can safely say that Crissa probably was kicking herself for taking that job.....
Stroby mines the same material that Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos often write about, people who operate on the wrong side of the law but who still have standards and moral codes. This is a great example of a book populated with bad guys that you still find yourself rooting for (at least a couple of them).
Crissa Stone, the main character in Cold Shot, is a professional criminal, emphasis on 'professional'. She's a meticulous planner, always works with other pros, makes excellent money, and does a good job managing risk. She runs into a little cash flow problem, takes a job on short notice when she probably shouldn't have that goes to hell, and finds herself in an awkward situation with an extremely bad guy who just got out of the joint and is wreaking havoc all over town. Cold Shot is a graduate-level course on how criminals think, motivate themselves, and generally take care of business. At the conclusion, I can safely say that Crissa probably was kicking herself for taking that job.....
Stroby mines the same material that Elmore Leonard and George Pelecanos often write about, people who operate on the wrong side of the law but who still have standards and moral codes. This is a great example of a book populated with bad guys that you still find yourself rooting for (at least a couple of them).
January 29, 2018
Really a very Elmore Leonard-like, noir-ish story of a female career criminal...Crissa Stone is THE super-careful, super-skilled criminal who as able to live well by choosing the "just right" capers...that formula's breakdown is the fodder for this grist as a high-stakes poker game targeted ends in the death of a made Jersey gangster...the fun ensues, but without the sparkling dialogue of Leonard...I'll try the 2nd in the series to see if it improves...there's potential here!
October 23, 2021
Crissa Stone is a badass. And she's cool. But there's a problem. Her latest heist goes sour after one of her partners shoots a bystander. This unleashes turmoil within a fading organized crime family in New Jersey as they turn loose a relentless psychopathic killer to right the ship. That's all your getting for a plot summary and that's all you need.
Wallace Stroby created a Michael Mann esque atmosphere with Cold Shot to the Heart. It's minimalistic and dark. Plus it's good.
Wallace Stroby created a Michael Mann esque atmosphere with Cold Shot to the Heart. It's minimalistic and dark. Plus it's good.
July 28, 2021
Tightly constructed crime fiction with good pace, characters and a ferocious bad guy. Protagonist Crissa Stone is smart, tough and resourceful in staying alive after a heist goes sideways.
April 19, 2016
It's not exactly unprecedented for a crime novel to have a thief as a protagonist. We've seen gentleman thieves (Bernie Rhodenbarr), sociopathic thieves (Parker) and romantic thieves (Jack Foley). This ground's pretty well plowed. Since novelty isn't an issue anymore, it's all about execution. Wallace Stroby executes this story pretty well, with a couple caveats.
Chrissa Stone is a professional thief who needs a quick score to help get her partner/lover out of a Texas prison. She signs on to raid a high-stakes poker game in Florida. Needless to say, the job goes bad, and the badness draws the attention of hard-case ex-con Eddie Santiago, whose hobby is murdering people who get in his way. It should be no surprise that these two characters eventually collide.
First the good. Chrissa is on the Rhodenbarr end of the likable-criminal spectrum. She treats her profession as a business, carefully plans her jobs, invests her money, stays away from violence, and typically doesn't rob people who can't afford it or don't deserve it. She's a grown-up. As such, it's not hard to root for her when the chips are down. The other major characters are vividly written and walk and talk like you'd expect people of their ilk to do.
The author's style is spare beyond measure; Elmore Leonard seems chatty next to Stroby. This can cut both ways. Reading goes NASCAR-fast because there's so little prose to go through and what there is moves like it's being chased. On the other hand, the author can get away with it mostly because we've seen New Jersey Mob movies and TV shows all our lives and know what that milieu looks like. If you grew up in the middle of the Sahara without TV or American movies, you'd have no idea what these places look or feel like by just reading the text. You'll have to decide whether that works for you.
The sheer momentum of the prose is a good thing, because there's little in the plot we haven't seen before (although it's usually cops following the trail of bodies rather than the putative bad guys). Even a little experience with the genre is all you need to call the plot points before they happen. That's not unique to this book and it doesn't really detract from the overall experience. However, don't expect to be surprised by the goings-on.
There are two missed opportunities here that account for the star shortage. The first may be an expectations issue: if a novel's headline character is a thief, I expect him/her to steal things. Chrissa's two jobs are done by the close of Chapter Twelve (out of thirty-four); she's trying to avoid Santiago the rest of time, which, frankly, isn't the most interesting use of her skills.
The second issue: I was attracted to this book because I was interested in seeing what differences a female criminal might bring to the proceedings, but it turned out there weren't many. I'm not convinced the character would've been noticeably different if Chrissa had instead been Chris. Yes, he might have had a young son being raised by a relative rather than a daughter, and he probably would've taken in a stray dog instead of a stray cat. Otherwise, Chrissa's actions, thought processes, even dialog wouldn't have to change much to work as male. Maybe that's the author's point, or maybe he ran into the guy-writing-a-gal problem. I eventually regarded Chrissa as an androgynous being going through these adventures, which worked well enough for me. If you're looking for a fully fleshed-out, recognizably female woman protagonist, you may be disappointed.
Cold Shot to the Heart is a straight-ahead, fast-reading crime novel set against a familiar backdrop and full of familiar character types doing fairly familiar things. There are three sequels if you want more. Buckle up for sheer speed, don't expect to be dazzled by original twists and turns, and you'll have a good time.
Chrissa Stone is a professional thief who needs a quick score to help get her partner/lover out of a Texas prison. She signs on to raid a high-stakes poker game in Florida. Needless to say, the job goes bad, and the badness draws the attention of hard-case ex-con Eddie Santiago, whose hobby is murdering people who get in his way. It should be no surprise that these two characters eventually collide.
First the good. Chrissa is on the Rhodenbarr end of the likable-criminal spectrum. She treats her profession as a business, carefully plans her jobs, invests her money, stays away from violence, and typically doesn't rob people who can't afford it or don't deserve it. She's a grown-up. As such, it's not hard to root for her when the chips are down. The other major characters are vividly written and walk and talk like you'd expect people of their ilk to do.
The author's style is spare beyond measure; Elmore Leonard seems chatty next to Stroby. This can cut both ways. Reading goes NASCAR-fast because there's so little prose to go through and what there is moves like it's being chased. On the other hand, the author can get away with it mostly because we've seen New Jersey Mob movies and TV shows all our lives and know what that milieu looks like. If you grew up in the middle of the Sahara without TV or American movies, you'd have no idea what these places look or feel like by just reading the text. You'll have to decide whether that works for you.
The sheer momentum of the prose is a good thing, because there's little in the plot we haven't seen before (although it's usually cops following the trail of bodies rather than the putative bad guys). Even a little experience with the genre is all you need to call the plot points before they happen. That's not unique to this book and it doesn't really detract from the overall experience. However, don't expect to be surprised by the goings-on.
There are two missed opportunities here that account for the star shortage. The first may be an expectations issue: if a novel's headline character is a thief, I expect him/her to steal things. Chrissa's two jobs are done by the close of Chapter Twelve (out of thirty-four); she's trying to avoid Santiago the rest of time, which, frankly, isn't the most interesting use of her skills.
The second issue: I was attracted to this book because I was interested in seeing what differences a female criminal might bring to the proceedings, but it turned out there weren't many. I'm not convinced the character would've been noticeably different if Chrissa had instead been Chris. Yes, he might have had a young son being raised by a relative rather than a daughter, and he probably would've taken in a stray dog instead of a stray cat. Otherwise, Chrissa's actions, thought processes, even dialog wouldn't have to change much to work as male. Maybe that's the author's point, or maybe he ran into the guy-writing-a-gal problem. I eventually regarded Chrissa as an androgynous being going through these adventures, which worked well enough for me. If you're looking for a fully fleshed-out, recognizably female woman protagonist, you may be disappointed.
Cold Shot to the Heart is a straight-ahead, fast-reading crime novel set against a familiar backdrop and full of familiar character types doing fairly familiar things. There are three sequels if you want more. Buckle up for sheer speed, don't expect to be dazzled by original twists and turns, and you'll have a good time.
May 8, 2012
My favorite genre is mystery, and I especially enjoy mysteries that revolve around a female protagonist. Karin Slaughter, Linda Castillo, and Lori Armstrong write great mysteries that involve strong female protagonist who often find themselves searching for the person who is up to no good. Enter, Mr. Wallace Stroby who has written three other novels with his latest novel, Cold Shot to the Heart published by Minotaur.
I think this name turned up on the Barnes and Noble Book Club mystery/crime fiction blog as a top ten author to read this year. Later, I realized that this book is published by DH's company but I got my copy from the local library.
Cold Shot to the Heart is a tightly written crime/heist/murder mystery novel worth checking out. It is the perfect length for readers who do not enjoy reading this type of genre, yet it is written well enough to keep mystery fans like myself interested until the last page. The novel is centered around female protagonist, Crissa, who has just completed a mediocre heist of a local check cashing store. Now, her beau (and fellow heist professional) is up for parole and she is needing at least 250K to help "grease the wheel" of his upcoming hearing. When a job turns up with the promise of at least 1 million dollars divided by three people, Crissa takes her chances. But, this is a mystery and someone is murdered during the heist which leaves Crissa on the run from "the family." The rest of the story unfolds over less than 300 pages with an ending that definitely left me pleased yet wanting another Crissa-centered novel.
Most readers would think of this novel as a typical beach read which is true yet it is worth a second look if you are wanting to read something different from your normal genre. I highly recommend this wonderful female-centered novel to a wide variety of readers especially book clubs.
I think this name turned up on the Barnes and Noble Book Club mystery/crime fiction blog as a top ten author to read this year. Later, I realized that this book is published by DH's company but I got my copy from the local library.
Cold Shot to the Heart is a tightly written crime/heist/murder mystery novel worth checking out. It is the perfect length for readers who do not enjoy reading this type of genre, yet it is written well enough to keep mystery fans like myself interested until the last page. The novel is centered around female protagonist, Crissa, who has just completed a mediocre heist of a local check cashing store. Now, her beau (and fellow heist professional) is up for parole and she is needing at least 250K to help "grease the wheel" of his upcoming hearing. When a job turns up with the promise of at least 1 million dollars divided by three people, Crissa takes her chances. But, this is a mystery and someone is murdered during the heist which leaves Crissa on the run from "the family." The rest of the story unfolds over less than 300 pages with an ending that definitely left me pleased yet wanting another Crissa-centered novel.
Most readers would think of this novel as a typical beach read which is true yet it is worth a second look if you are wanting to read something different from your normal genre. I highly recommend this wonderful female-centered novel to a wide variety of readers especially book clubs.
January 31, 2017
Apparently I have a _need-to-rate-review shelf from like 8 months ago that, like many of these books, I forgot existed. So we're going to blast through them Mad Max style, in no way giving them the attention I am sure they deserve.
What I remember about this audiobook is that I didn't know how to review it at the time. Obviously, that hasn't changed since I had to read Kemper's review to remember what this book even was. Which isn't the slight it might sound like. I frequently don't recall the plots of even books I adore. Reading is very transient for me. My last status update for this book is complaining about the lead being an idiot, which is a bad sign. But I tend to get overly annoyed by idiots while in the act of reading, so maybe not. My guess is that this is a solid book with a lead that does idiotic things, giving me mixed feelings when it came time to review it.
3 "I called the lead 'too stupid to live' so it can't be amazeballs" stars
What I remember about this audiobook is that I didn't know how to review it at the time. Obviously, that hasn't changed since I had to read Kemper's review to remember what this book even was. Which isn't the slight it might sound like. I frequently don't recall the plots of even books I adore. Reading is very transient for me. My last status update for this book is complaining about the lead being an idiot, which is a bad sign. But I tend to get overly annoyed by idiots while in the act of reading, so maybe not. My guess is that this is a solid book with a lead that does idiotic things, giving me mixed feelings when it came time to review it.
3 "I called the lead 'too stupid to live' so it can't be amazeballs" stars
March 6, 2013
Not bad! I didn't think I was going to finish this because I immediately loathed Eddie with a hot, white heat, but that's where Stroby caught me; I had to keep on til the end so I could see the guy get his comeuppance. And I'm happy to report that I found the whole thing pretty darn satisfying.
May 15, 2021
A fact paced mystery with a female protagonist. Crissa is a scammer - she never did an honest day's work in her life. She has friends and connections who set her up for various robberies and other scams. Her love is in prison in Texas and she has a daughter, whom she persuaded a relative to take as her own. She still has photos of the girl, arranges to see her every six months or so - the child does not know about Crissa. The author tries to make us feel sorry for Crissa for giving up the child. It does not work. Crissa goes from one scam to another, lives well in New York city, and partners with people she trusts. One scam does not go well. One of her partners panicked and shot a man they had robbed. The man who was killed was a son-in-law of a big Mafia don in NYC. He has to get revenge for the murder of his daughter's husband. So, instead of going home to rest, Crissa has to run with one of the partners - the left the other one who pulled the trigger alone to face the mob boss. In the meantime, Crissa has to contact her own friends to persuade the mob boss that it was an accident and to get him off her trail. This is a genuine mystery, on the run, fast moving, tricks, people getting killed and a fun read. Escapism, I think it is called.
August 13, 2022
Escapist entertainment from this well-executed cat-and-mouse thriller. Crissa Stone is a professional thief who’s avoided arrest by being smart and careful and following her own rules. But now her lover and mentor (who got a bit sloppy himself and was caught and imprisoned) is up for parole and Crissa needs a big payday to come up with the cash to pay off his lawyer and whoever else needs a taste. So she bends a few of her own rules and, sure enough…. She and the two men in her crew invade a high-stakes poker game and things go sideways. Enter Eddie the Saint, a psychopath who’s been hired by a mafia boss to put the hurt on whoever raided that game. Crissa’s got a target on her back. Is she going to be able to outwit the killer on her trail?
December 9, 2024
On one hand, I’m embarrassed I’ve been sitting on this phenomenal novel for so many years; on the other hand, I’m glad I finally tried @wallacestroby’s Cold Shot to the Heart. Fantastic characters in this one, including an all-timer villain. Can’t wait to continue this heist series.
December 13, 2015
PROTAGONIST: Crissa Stone, robber
SETTING: New York, Florida, Connecticut
RATING: 4.5
Things aren’t going very well for Crissa Stone, a clever robber whose mentor, Wayne, is stuck in a prison in Texas. Normally, she hears of a possible assignment through her intermediary, Hector, and works on a team with similarly procured individuals. She’s damn good at her job—she’s always kept her cool and never had things go wrong. Working with two colleagues, she plans a heist that resulted in only one-third of the expected profit, with her share being roughly $30,000. She needs $250,000 to pay a lawyer to work on getting Wayne out of jail. So against her better judgment, she agrees to participate in the robbery of a high-stakes poker game in Florida. There isn’t much time to plan, but the predicted 7-figure payout is too tempting to pass up.
Despite the lack of time to prepare, the robbery goes well until one of the team, Stimmer, kills one of the players in the game. Crissa, Stimmer and the other robber, Chance, are able to get out of there with the money intact; but their troubles have only begun. The victim is the son-in-law of a New Jersey Mob guy, who puts out a hit on the team. The hit man, Eddie the Saint, is a total psychopath and operates like an executioner. Stimmer engages in a major double cross, and Crissa and Chance are on their own. Crissa recognizes that there is no choice but to face up to the threat; the kind of people they are dealing with don’t give up.
Crissa is a great character. Despite the fact that she is a criminal, she has a lot of admirable qualities. She is loyal to her friends and resourceful in how she approaches life. The plot is nicely complex, and the suspense rises as Eddie the Saint mows down everyone in his path, with the ultimate showdown between him and Crissa and Chance leading to a satisfying resolution. The book has a noir sensibility but offers some rays of hope along the way. There are just a few minor flaws, things like Crissa being unable to pull the trigger when she has the assassin in her sights in a life-and-death situation.
Over the past few years, Stroby has become an author whose books I look out for. I was originally pulled in by his series set in New Jersey and featuring ex-State trooper Harry Rane. His first standalone, GONE ‘TIL NOVEMBER, was one of my favorite reads of 2010. I had hoped that work would turn into a series and was initially disappointed to see that COLD SHOT TO THE HEART was a standalone as well. I needn’t have worried—Stroby is an excellent writer, and I found the book to be one that I thoroughly enjoyed. The book is being compared to the best of the Parker books written by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), and the comparison is a valid one.
SETTING: New York, Florida, Connecticut
RATING: 4.5
Things aren’t going very well for Crissa Stone, a clever robber whose mentor, Wayne, is stuck in a prison in Texas. Normally, she hears of a possible assignment through her intermediary, Hector, and works on a team with similarly procured individuals. She’s damn good at her job—she’s always kept her cool and never had things go wrong. Working with two colleagues, she plans a heist that resulted in only one-third of the expected profit, with her share being roughly $30,000. She needs $250,000 to pay a lawyer to work on getting Wayne out of jail. So against her better judgment, she agrees to participate in the robbery of a high-stakes poker game in Florida. There isn’t much time to plan, but the predicted 7-figure payout is too tempting to pass up.
Despite the lack of time to prepare, the robbery goes well until one of the team, Stimmer, kills one of the players in the game. Crissa, Stimmer and the other robber, Chance, are able to get out of there with the money intact; but their troubles have only begun. The victim is the son-in-law of a New Jersey Mob guy, who puts out a hit on the team. The hit man, Eddie the Saint, is a total psychopath and operates like an executioner. Stimmer engages in a major double cross, and Crissa and Chance are on their own. Crissa recognizes that there is no choice but to face up to the threat; the kind of people they are dealing with don’t give up.
Crissa is a great character. Despite the fact that she is a criminal, she has a lot of admirable qualities. She is loyal to her friends and resourceful in how she approaches life. The plot is nicely complex, and the suspense rises as Eddie the Saint mows down everyone in his path, with the ultimate showdown between him and Crissa and Chance leading to a satisfying resolution. The book has a noir sensibility but offers some rays of hope along the way. There are just a few minor flaws, things like Crissa being unable to pull the trigger when she has the assassin in her sights in a life-and-death situation.
Over the past few years, Stroby has become an author whose books I look out for. I was originally pulled in by his series set in New Jersey and featuring ex-State trooper Harry Rane. His first standalone, GONE ‘TIL NOVEMBER, was one of my favorite reads of 2010. I had hoped that work would turn into a series and was initially disappointed to see that COLD SHOT TO THE HEART was a standalone as well. I needn’t have worried—Stroby is an excellent writer, and I found the book to be one that I thoroughly enjoyed. The book is being compared to the best of the Parker books written by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), and the comparison is a valid one.
March 31, 2017
This is the first in the Crissa Stone series of novels but its the third I've read and reading them out of sequence certainly hasn't spoiled my enjoyment of the series at all.
In this novel Crissa carries out a successful heist with a team of other independent criminals but unfortunately the 'take' is much smaller than they anticipated and Crissa needs cash desperately to grease the palms of the solicitor who is trying to get her partner Wayne an early parole hearing. She also needs to pay her sister for bringing up her estranged daughter and also to bankroll her own life. Immediately after this latest heist she embarks on another 'job' with guys she knows from her and Wayne's past and although it's a rush job the payroll is just too big to turn down. Unfortunately the heist goes sideways and the gang find themselves being hunted down by Eddie the Saint, newly released from prison, desperate for cash and a guy who leaves no loose ends.
This is another great novel from Wallace Stroby. The writing is just so tight that there's not a wasted sentence or word on each page. The dialogue is also brilliant and Stroby is possibly only second to the great Elmore Leonard in that department. Its not only what's said and the nuances that are present in the dialogue but it's also the things that can be read into what's not said. The characterisation is also excellent and in 'Eddie the Saint' Stroby has created a truly evil bad guy. He is relentless in the pursuit of his goals and doesn't worry who he knocks heads with but also he is ruthless and leaves no witnesses behind that could ultimately incriminate him.
I'm slowly working my way through Wallace Stroby's back catalogue but I don't want to get through them to fast as I like to savour each novel.
In this novel Crissa carries out a successful heist with a team of other independent criminals but unfortunately the 'take' is much smaller than they anticipated and Crissa needs cash desperately to grease the palms of the solicitor who is trying to get her partner Wayne an early parole hearing. She also needs to pay her sister for bringing up her estranged daughter and also to bankroll her own life. Immediately after this latest heist she embarks on another 'job' with guys she knows from her and Wayne's past and although it's a rush job the payroll is just too big to turn down. Unfortunately the heist goes sideways and the gang find themselves being hunted down by Eddie the Saint, newly released from prison, desperate for cash and a guy who leaves no loose ends.
This is another great novel from Wallace Stroby. The writing is just so tight that there's not a wasted sentence or word on each page. The dialogue is also brilliant and Stroby is possibly only second to the great Elmore Leonard in that department. Its not only what's said and the nuances that are present in the dialogue but it's also the things that can be read into what's not said. The characterisation is also excellent and in 'Eddie the Saint' Stroby has created a truly evil bad guy. He is relentless in the pursuit of his goals and doesn't worry who he knocks heads with but also he is ruthless and leaves no witnesses behind that could ultimately incriminate him.
I'm slowly working my way through Wallace Stroby's back catalogue but I don't want to get through them to fast as I like to savour each novel.
March 12, 2011
Crissa Stone is a very unusual criminal. She may be considered the ultimate robber. Her robberies are committed away from her New York apartment, they are well thought out and researched. She never uses the same accomplices more than once, and she has never had to fire her gun.
Crissa pulls a job in Pennsylvania that borders on perfection, except that the take is far less than what she expected. Needing more money to try and get her husband out of prison, Crissa breaks several of her cardinal rules when she is informed of a high stakes poker game in Miami.
The heist goes off without a hitch, until one of the players is shot and killed. The player happens to be the son-in-law of a crime boss.
The boss, in seeking revenge, hires Eddie "The Saint" Santiago, who has just been released from prison, to find and kill the persons responsible.
Eddie sees an opportunity here that will not only get him the money for the "hit", but he may also find and keep the money taken in the poker game.
Crissa is informed by her underground contacts that her crew is being pursued. Now begins a "cat and mouse" chase that has her meeting with Eddie at a remote location to hand over the money from the heist.
A major battle takes place that will have either Crissa or Eddie coming out alive, but little to show for their efforts. One will be left to start their life over, their criminal life that is.
A really interesting and different story that keeps the reader actually cheering and hoping that Crissa will come out on top.
Crissa pulls a job in Pennsylvania that borders on perfection, except that the take is far less than what she expected. Needing more money to try and get her husband out of prison, Crissa breaks several of her cardinal rules when she is informed of a high stakes poker game in Miami.
The heist goes off without a hitch, until one of the players is shot and killed. The player happens to be the son-in-law of a crime boss.
The boss, in seeking revenge, hires Eddie "The Saint" Santiago, who has just been released from prison, to find and kill the persons responsible.
Eddie sees an opportunity here that will not only get him the money for the "hit", but he may also find and keep the money taken in the poker game.
Crissa is informed by her underground contacts that her crew is being pursued. Now begins a "cat and mouse" chase that has her meeting with Eddie at a remote location to hand over the money from the heist.
A major battle takes place that will have either Crissa or Eddie coming out alive, but little to show for their efforts. One will be left to start their life over, their criminal life that is.
A really interesting and different story that keeps the reader actually cheering and hoping that Crissa will come out on top.
April 3, 2011
Very reminiscent of the Parker novels. List of characters:
Crissa: A woman with a child who does not know her who she had to leave with a family in Texas. She works as a thief, much like Parker, getting jobs through an intermediary , Hector, sometimes with unknown partners, but she always screens them carefully.
Stimmer: Sets up a job for Crissa and Chance that involves half-a-million at a card game in Florida. Just as everything seems to be going perfectly, he does something stupid. Then he does something even dumber.
Eddie: The ex-con, hired by Tonio, the crime boss to find the killer of his son-in-law and retrieve the money. Eddie decides to strike out on his own, understanding Tonio had a hidden agenda. He’s a very loose cannon.
Terry: The mousy burglar trying to get away from his old life with Angie but who is forced back into the game by Eddie.
Chance: Crissa’s partner in the card heist. He’s got his own problems.
The story just charges ahead from Crissa’s and Eddie’s perspectives. If you like Richard Stark and the Parker novels you will want to scarf this up. Stroby is definitely one to watch. Perfect for a plane ride.
Crissa: A woman with a child who does not know her who she had to leave with a family in Texas. She works as a thief, much like Parker, getting jobs through an intermediary , Hector, sometimes with unknown partners, but she always screens them carefully.
Stimmer: Sets up a job for Crissa and Chance that involves half-a-million at a card game in Florida. Just as everything seems to be going perfectly, he does something stupid. Then he does something even dumber.
Eddie: The ex-con, hired by Tonio, the crime boss to find the killer of his son-in-law and retrieve the money. Eddie decides to strike out on his own, understanding Tonio had a hidden agenda. He’s a very loose cannon.
Terry: The mousy burglar trying to get away from his old life with Angie but who is forced back into the game by Eddie.
Chance: Crissa’s partner in the card heist. He’s got his own problems.
The story just charges ahead from Crissa’s and Eddie’s perspectives. If you like Richard Stark and the Parker novels you will want to scarf this up. Stroby is definitely one to watch. Perfect for a plane ride.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews