Cold Shot to the Heart
Wallace Stroby
Minotaur, Jan 18 2011, $24.99
ISBN: 9780312560256

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.

Harriet Klausner