The Teller

Almost without thinking, 23-year-old Queens bank teller Elaine Kelly, the protagonist of this uneven crime thriller from Stone (Moving Day), transfers $1.3 million from a customer’s account to her own after the customer, elderly Antonio Desirio, is struck dead by a truck in the street outside the bank. Elaine contemplates using the money to start life anew, perhaps in Buenos Aires or Rome, but complications arise. The police discover that Desirio made similar suspicious deposits at many banks. Then a second Antonio Desirio appears at Elaine’s bank, demanding his money. The men behind the money are scary, and Elaine soon discovers she has no place to hide. NYPD Det. Evan Nussbaum offers sympathy, but she can’t tell him her problem without confessing her crime. Stone strains credulity as Elaine goes from teller to captive to hero in less-than-convincing fashion. Jill Marr, Sandra Djikstra Literary Agency. (Apr.)