Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby The Mystery Gazette. Her beloved “instructor” is up for parole, but that costs under the table money to grease the skids in order to insure a positive outcome. Crissa Stone does not have that sum of cash, but wants her mentor free. Thus, loyal Crissa signs onto a robbery worth millions in Fort Lauderdale with her cronies though she is concerned about the skill level of her partners in crime. Nothing goes right with the heist of a high stakes poker game with the worst element being the shooting of a New Jersey mob connected Lou Letteri. Hit man Eddie “the Saint” Santiago has just been let out of jail. Since he has no cash, he needs to find some easy money fast. He knows of the shooting from the mob who hires him to kill the culprits ending with the person who has the money Crissa. This tense crime thriller pits a cold hearted professional killer stalking a kind hearted thief, one partner at a time. The story line is linear with each step of the way that The Saint takes being one closer to the confrontation. That High Noon climatic altercation that readers anticipate lives up to the expectations that the preliminary lethal encounters provided. Cold Shot to the Heart is a terrific taut tale. ISBN 13: 9780312552725. Career-criminal Crissa Stone never works too close to home, or with the same crew, or rushes a job. These rules have kept her from doing any 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 the money to help grease the wheels. Word is that there's an illegal card game set for less than a week from now. The take? Plenty. Desperate, Crissa slaps a plan together, but when one of her crew starts shooting, she catches the attention of Eddie the Saint. A hit man, Eddie is no less of a pro than Crissa, and he could use the work. One of the most talented writers working in crime fiction today, Wallace Stroby's Cold Shot to the Heart is a tight, propulsive story that will hold readers captive until well after all the crooks have fled the scene. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. WALLACE STROBY is an award-winning journalist and a former editor at The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. Cold Shot to the Heart is his fourth novel, following the acclaimed Gone 'til November and the Barry Award finalist The Barbed-Wire Kiss . He lives in New Jersey. Cold Shot to the Heart. 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 in Cold Shot to the Heart that will hold readers captive until well after all the crooks have fled the scene. CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR. OFFICIAL SITES. Related Links. SIGN UP FOR AUTHOR UPDATES. MACMILLAN NEWSLETTER. Sign up to receive information about new books, author events, and special offers. Book Excerpt Reviews About the Author Community From the Publisher. EXCERPT. Three minutes after she walked in the front door, Crissa had the manager and two clerks facedown on the floor, their hands bound behind them with plastic cuffs. She took away their guns—snub-noses in belt clip holsters—and. Reviews. Praise for Cold Shot to the Heart. “Another fast, taut winner from Stroby. As for Crissa, she may be crime fiction's best bad girl ever.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “This is a raw, hard-edged, nourish novel, dark and violent. It's good, too… Stroby has been called a nascent Crumley or Pelecanos. He shares their sense that cynicism is the last post left to a romantic.” — Booklist. “Stroby pits a resourceful crook against a ruthless killer in this well-crafted crime novel… The action builds to the inevitable and exciting showdown.” — Publishers Weekly. “Told in a taut style that doesn't waste a single word, Stroby's latest features an interesting anti-heroine. [A] straightforward story of two criminals on a collision course.” — RT Book Reviews. “This hardboiled 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. “In Gone 'til November , Wallace Stroby's mastery of character and dialogue is mated to a hellacious narrative engine. His heroine, Sara Cross, is a wonderful creation.” —George Pelecanos on Gone 'til November. “Stroby continues to show a real flair for blending noir into a tightly plotted fireball of suspense. . . . Stroby infuses his action-packed story with unpredictable twists. The Heartbreak Lounge continues the high standards Stroby set in his debut.” — South Florida Sun-Sentinel on The Heartbreak Lounge. “A cat-and-mouse story that inspires j… More… “Another fast, taut winner from Stroby. As for Crissa, she may be crime fiction's best bad girl ever.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “This is a raw, hard-edged, nourish novel, dark and violent. It's good, too… Stroby has been called a nascent Crumley or Pelecanos. He shares their sense that cynicism is the last post left to a romantic.” — Booklist. “Stroby pits a resourceful crook against a ruthless killer in this well-crafted crime novel… The action builds to the inevitable and exciting showdown.” — Publishers Weekly. “Told in a taut style that doesn't waste a single word, Stroby's latest features an interesting anti-heroine. [A] straightforward story of two criminals on a collision course.” — RT Book Reviews. “This hardboiled 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. “In Gone 'til November , Wallace Stroby's mastery of character and dialogue is mated to a hellacious narrative engine. His heroine, Sara Cross, is a wonderful creation.” —George Pelecanos on Gone 'til November. “Stroby continues to show a real flair for blending noir into a tightly plotted fireball of suspense. . . . Stroby infuses his action-packed story with unpredictable twists. The Heartbreak Lounge continues the high standards Stroby set in his debut.” — South Florida Sun-Sentinel on The Heartbreak Lounge. “A cat-and-mouse story that inspires just the tiniest bit of sympathy for the predator . . . Readers will have a hard time putting down this three-ring circus of a book.” — The Star-Ledger (Newark) on The Heartbreak Lounge. “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. Reviews from Goodreads. About the author. Wallace Stroby. WALLACE STROBY is an award-winning journalist and a former editor at The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. Cold Shot to the Heart is his fourth novel, following the acclaimed Gone 'til November and the Barry Award finalist The Barbed-Wire Kiss . He lives in New Jersey. 'Cold Shot to the Heart': A book review. In 1962, the great Donald E. Westlake launched a series of crime novels centered on a professional thief named Parker. Westlake, employing the pseudonym Richard Stark, produced 28 Parker novels over five decades, all hardboiled tales in which little is known about the antihero protagonist save that he wants whatever money is owed him and woe to anyone who stands in the way of that relentless pursuit. (Think Lee Marvin in the 1967 film “Point Blank,” based on Parker’s debut, “The Hunter.”) The series ended in 2008 when Westlake died at age 75. Now, Wallace Stroby, an admirer of the Parker books, has created a character who would have been welcome in Parker’s gang no matter how dangerous the caper — and Stroby has added several twists of his own. In “Cold Shot To The Heart,” Stroby introduces Crissa Stone, a no-nonsense thief who, like Parker, knows what she wants and how to get it. Witness the opening sentence: “Three minutes after she walked in the front door, Crissa had the manager and two clerks facedown on the floor, their hands bound behind them with plastic cuffs.” Unlike Parker, Crissa has a past — a past that helps explain who she is and why she does what she does for a living. Her mentor and lover, Wayne, rots in a Texas prison and Crissa needs to raise enough cash to bribe members of the parole board to get him out. If she fails, it’s likely that the older Wayne will die before his release. Crissa also needs money to help support her school-age daughter, Maddie, who lives with a cousin and doesn’t know Crissa exists. Crissa’s complicated life gets considerably more complex after a robbery goes awry when a member of Crissa’s crew blows away a gambler with connections to a New Jersey mobster. Enter psychopath Eddie Santiago. Eddie’s assignment: Seek revenge for the murder. But Eddie gets greedy and goes after the dough Crissa and her colleagues scored in the holdup. As he achieved in the excellent “Gone ’Til November,” Stroby writes so smoothly and makes his characters so real that the pages seem to turn on their own. In that novel, Stroby introduced Sara Cross, a deputy sheriff in Florida. Perhaps he will bring her and Crissa together in a future book. It's a meeting that Stroby fans — and there should be many by now — would greet with great expectations. Vince Cosgrove is a writer based in Berkeley, Calif. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Disclaimer. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021). © 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Wallace Stroby Books In Order. Wallace Stroby is a renowned writer and an award winning journalist from America, who is popular for writing crime fiction, thriller, and mystery book. He has written the Crissa Stone and the Harry Rane book series, and is particularly famous for being the author of the former one. Author Stroby was born in the year 1960 in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, and was brought up in his hometown. He completed his graduation from the Rutgers University and obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism & Mass Media. During his time at the university, Stroby used to write for the Daily Targum of Rutgers and Livingston Medium. Stroby was selected by The Asbury Park Press in 1985 to work as its overnight police reporter. Later, he went on to become the editor of the Sunday edition of the paper. Stroby has also written book reviews for the same. Author Stroby was honored by the Professional Journalists Society with First-Place awards in 1988 and 1990 to 1992 for writing reviews. After this, Stroby worked as an editor for the Newark Star-Ledger. During the 1980s & 1990s, author Stroby used to contribute to numerous magazines, such as the Reader’s Digest, Filmfax, Esquire Japan, Fangoria, Writer’s Digest, Outre, etc. The first novel that Stroby wrote is called The Barbed Wire Kiss. It came out in 2003 and introduced author Stroby’s first protagonist Harry Rane. Stroby described Harry Rane as a former state trooper from New Jersey, who gets entangled with his wife and a local gangster. After the successful publishing of his first book, author Stroby penned another Harry Rane book in 2005 and then went on to work out a couple of short stories. In 2011, author Stroby created another lead protagonist named Crissa Stone, and introduced her under the label of St Martin Press in the book called Cold Shot To The Heart. Stroby has given the character description of Crissa Stone as that of a professional thief. After the successful run of the first Crissa Stone book, Stroby developed and published three more books. All the 4 books have been widely praised by various literary journals. Many critics and fellow writers liked Crissa Stone’s character and praised author Stroby for coming up with her unique character description. The novels of Crissa Stone were optioned by the Showtime network in 2013 for adapting them into an original TV series. A pilot script was prepared by the Oscar award winning screenwriter Ted Tally. In addition to writing short stories and full length novels, Stroby has contributed extensively about crime films and film noir of the 1970s America. Even today, he hosts film festivals and screenings. Occasionally, Stroby co-hosts at the Film Festival of Bryant Park Summer in New York City. Author Stroby is the native of New Jersey’s Long Branch and is Jersey Shore’s lifelong resident. He was nominated for a Barry Award in 2004 for his debut book in the category of the Best First Novel. Over the years of his literary career, author Stroby has received many accolades and is respected all over the world for his excellent contributions to literature. He looks forward to writing many more interesting novels in the future. The Crissa Stone series written by author Wallace Stroby is comprised of a total of 4 books, which were released between the years 2011 and 2015. All the books of this series show Crissa Stone in the lead role. She is depicted as a professional criminal living in New York City. She has a daughter, who she hopes to get back someday, and a lover who is in prison. Besides Crissa Stone, the other important characters mentioned by Stroby include Eddie, Benny Roth, Joey Dio, Emile Cota. The books’ stories take place in Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York City. The debut book of this series is entitled ‘Cold Shot To the Heart’. It was released by the Minotaur publishers in the year 2011. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that Crissa Stone is an excellent thief and a pro in her work. She does not like to work closer to her home, keeps changing the crew for every new job, and never shows any hurry in completing a job. By following these rules, Crissa Stone has managed to prevent herself from getting caught. These rules were taught to her by her lover and mentor, who himself didn’t follow them closely and landed in jail. Crissa didn’t carry out a theft for a long time and seems to desperate to make some money very fast. She learns that a card game is about to be organized in a week’s time and the outcome is in seven figures. She hatches a plan and puts together a crew to carrying out a successful theft. Crissa makes it clear to each crew member that she wants to complete the task smoothly and doesn’t want any problems. And more importantly, it’s a robbery and not murder, so she expects them to keep their cool. However, one member ends up losing his cool and Crissa is forced to give up the plan. Eddie, the Saint, comes to know about Crissa. He is a hit man and a pro like Crissa. Getting released from jail after a long time, Eddie thinks he can team up with Criss and make some money. Another very good book of this series is known as ‘Shoot the Woman First’. It was also published by Minotaur in 2013. At the beginning of the story of the book, it is depicted that drugs work half million dollar proceeds with 3 guards having automatic weapons. Crissa steals this treasure easily with her dedicated team. But, when the time comes for splitting the money, things go wayward with blazing gun fires. Criss Stone runs for her life with the bag full of cash. She wants to keep her promise of delivering a part of the cash to the family member of one of her dead crew members. She is pursued by the drug lords deadly lieutenants and an ex-cop from Detroit with an agenda of his own. Everybody thinks they can take the money. What they don’t know is that Crissa is not going to give up easily, and will not stop from putting up a fight. Crissa doesn’t care to put her own life in danger as long as she is able to fulfill her promise. And as her pursuers close in, Crissa Stone decides it is time for her to act fast and get rid of the dangers.