Kings of Midnight

The real-life Lufthansa heist from Kennedy Airport in 1978 provides the backdrop for Stroby’s suspenseful second novel featuring driven but ethical thief Crissa Stone (after 2011’s Cold Shot to the Heart). A scheme targeting ATMs ends with Crissa’s partners gunning each other down, and her finding a new outlet for her criminal energies with retired gangster Benny Roth. One of the few people involved in the famous robbery still alive, Benny has been roused from a quiet existence in Indiana by an old Mafia crony, Danny Taliferro, who believes Benny knows where recently deceased mob boss Joey Dio stashed more than $2 million from the heist. On the run from Danny and his crew, Benny recruits Crissa to help him retrieve the hidden loot. As coolly efficient and professional as its heroine, this thriller evokes Donald Westlake’s Parker novels with lean storytelling that pauses only for meticulously detailed descriptions of criminals at work or in conflict. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Apr.)