I have never had anyone tell me that I was wrong in wholeheartedly recommending a Wallace Stroby novel. Quite the opposite. Friends thank me for doing so and ask if I know when the next one will be published. While Stroby’s output has been relatively sparse --- seven books, with the newly released THE DEVIL’S SHARE --- what he has lacked in quantity he has more than made up for in quality, while setting the standard for the contemporary crime novel genre as a result.

The prose presented in his books --- most of which are set (in whole or in part) in New Jersey --- is infused with dark, dangerous threads that stay with the reader for years. I can’t drive through the wrong side of town (any town) without thinking of passages from THE HEARTBREAK LOUNGE, or look at a woman with a rough-edged countenance smoking a cigarette without being put in the mind of Crissa Stone, Stroby’s brilliant and principled thief. That, to me, is good writing: prose that stays with you for a long time, in situations far removed from literature.

"THE DEVIL’S SHARE is the fourth Crissa Stone novel, a slowly building smoker that incrementally ratchets up the narrative tension before commencing a chain reaction of explosions that continue up to and through the book’s conclusion."

THE DEVIL’S SHARE is the fourth Crissa Stone novel, a slowly building smoker that incrementally ratchets up the narrative tension before commencing a chain reaction of explosions that continue up to and through the book’s conclusion. The story begins in the somewhat unfamiliar environs of Los Angeles, with a meeting between Crissa and an extremely wealthy gentleman named Emile Cota. Crissa has not done a job for over a year, and her resources are somewhat depleted; that does not mean she will throw caution to the wind. What Emile offers is tempting. He basically wants to pay Crissa to rob him in what is known as a “give up.”

It develops that Emile had illegally acquired some priceless Iraqi artifacts but was found, and is now being forced to return them to Iraq. The problem is that Emile has a buyer for the items. He wants Crissa to steal the artifacts while they are in transit and then deliver the goods to his buyer. Crissa can pick her own team and also has the very capable assistance of Hicks, Emile’s right-hand man, to transition the caper. It sounds like very easy money for relatively easy work requiring basic planning. As has been noted repeatedly, though, no plan of battle survives the first encounter with the enemy --- even when you’re working with the enemy --- and things go very badly wrong just after dusk one evening in the middle of the Nevada desert.

Crissa maintains her trademark integrity, hoping to salvage what she can from the deal and keep everyone involved out of prison. But her respect for agreements --- what we would call honor among thieves --- is not respected by all of her partners, so that she and an ever-dwindling number of people she can trust are soon in mortal danger and on the run. You can bet on Crissa, though not because her heart is pure. Far from it. But don’t make bets on who makes it to the end of the book and who doesn’t.

Crissa Stone shares the occupation of Richard Stark’s Parker, though not his personality. But while Stroby’s dark, turgid style is uniquely his own, I can’t think of another crime fiction author on the landscape who would be better qualified than Stroby to be named as Stark’s heir apparent. He is that good, pitch-perfect in every way, and THE DEVIL’S SHARE is his latest riveting, unforgettable symphony.