THE DEVIL'S SHARE by Wallace Stroby

* Book 4 of the Crissa Stone series *

Crissa Stone is back and this time she's taken a job in my neck of the woods, in sunny Los Angeles,

the City of Angels. She's there to lead the easy heist of millionaire, Emile Cota's prized art pieces as

they're being driven from Vegas to the Port of Los Angeles. It's a piece of cake job because Emile Cota himself is the one who hired her! Can't be anything easier than robbin' a dude who's asking to get robbed right...? Wrong. Dead wrong.

One of the things I've been a bit worried about with this series is the potential to become repetitive and boring. But Stroby has been able to keep it fairly fresh with each installment. And this newest novel definitely feels more distinct, and a bit more dangerous for our diligent heroine this time around. This one feels more assured and you can feel the author really getting into the groove of the series in his writing. I really appreciated how the "villain" this time around turned out to not be as one-dimensional and mustache-twirling as the previous ones have been. But I still want to see the series really evolve more and not fall into the usual series trap of not growing and not raising the stakes. Wallace Stroby, if you're reading, what about maybe having Crissa, in her desperation to be with jailed boyfriend Wayne, plan an epic breakout that might go horribly wrong, or maybe have her do a job that becomes really personal, like one that Wayne organizes or something? Something like that would be awesome and really step things up in the future!

But in the meantime, although the writing is as usual pretty straightforward and workmanlike, mostly surface with no frills and no time for real explorations of inner drama, this style really works with Crissa's character. The series is full of exciting action and all the books are quick, fun reads. And The Devil's Share might be the most satisfying and well-imagined book of the series.

GRADE: B+

SHOOT THE WOMAN FIRST by Wallace Stroby

GRADE: B

*Book 3 of the Crissa Stone series*

Crissa Stone is back at it again. She's reunited with a couple of old colleagues (including Charlie Glass from the check cashing heist in Cold Shot to the Heart) and is getting ready to rob a car-full of cash just sitting out in the middle of a Detroit street. But, once again, everything gets all screwed-up, dumbasses make mistakes, people get shot, and Crissa ends up being hunted for the dough.

And yet again, Crissa lets her sense of morality and goodness get in the way. That's the thing that sets her character apart from her male literary counterpart, Parker, who she's constantly compared to. She actually has a heart, no matter how much she tries to conceal it. I guess that's a good thing, but if she didn't feel the need to do things like help a dead friend's family, things would go a lot easier for her. But, on the other hand, if she didn't do those things we wouldn't have these fun, action-packed books. Like the two previous books, this one is sleek and propulsive with very little filler. Another exciting chapter in a consistent series about one badass anti-heroine!

"When they're training these counterterror teams, they tell them when they're going into a situation where there's multiple targets––men and women– you shoot the women first."

"Why?"

"Because in a gang or a crew or whatever, a woman's got to be three times as tough, three times as committed, three times as hard-ass for the men to take her seriously."

KINGS OF MIDNIGHT by Wallace Stroby

GRADE: B

*Book 2 of the Crissa Stone Series*

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 agrees 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 need. But it also would 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.

COLD SHOT TO THE HEART by Wallace Stroby

GRADE: B+

*Book 1 of the Crissa Stone Series*

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 like 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.