cover image Ladystinger

Ladystinger

Craig Smith. Crown Publishers, $20 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-517-59012-6

``I'm just like you, Maggie. A cheat,'' Jack Shanks informs grifter Maggie Rohrer when they meet in this top-notch, immaculately written tale of deception and intrigue. Maggie plies her trade in the hotel bars of New Orleans--picking up convention-goers, drugging their drinks and then luring them back to their rooms. Once the marks are unconscious, she robs them, splitting the proceeds with Barry, her partner in crime. It's all in an easy night's work, but lately the life has been wearing on Maggie: she's sick of Barry, tired of playacting all the time and, worst, beginning to have pangs of conscience. Enter Jack Shanks, a targeted mark with a scam of his own. He has been watching Maggie operate, and he invites her to join his next job, which involves a quick shakedown and an overnight trip to Jamaica. More easy work, Maggie figures, and a fast $10,000 in the bargain--just enough to bankroll a new, scam-free life. But--and Maggie's professional intuition tells her as much--nothing is what it seems with Jack, and the work soon turns violent and incredibly dirty. Nonstop action and plot twists aplenty ensue in the Caribbean, making for a page-turning denouement. This is a tale Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake would no doubt thrill to, as will their fans. Movie rights to Viacom. (Aug.)