Tough guy Stoney, his business partner, "Fat Tommy" Rosselli, and their young associate, Tuco, are back in this fine follow-up to Green's hard-boiled debut, Shooting Dr. Jack
(2002). Stoney's been living in an apartment in New York City's East Village since his wife, Donna, kicked him out of the house, and his AA meetings provide structure but no comfort when he's missing his family. A rare rendezvous with his 17-year-old daughter, Marisa, puts him on the trail of a creepy Mr. Prior, whom Marisa describes as her mother's suitor. But when Stoney starts nosing around, he finds that Prior is actually stalking Marisa, who has been secretly working at a strip club. As Stoney probes Prior's shady affairs and apparently blank past, the dead bodies start piling up. Stoney sets up a wonderfully convoluted sting to take down the canny criminal who threatens his daughter. Green's well-drawn characters and nimble plot lift this above the common run of mysteries. (Aug.)
