Shoot the Woman First — Wallace Stroby

In the third stunning novel in Wallace Stroby's acclaimed crime series, a professional thief desperately tries to help the family of her slain partner--even if it costs her her life

A half million dollars in drug proceeds, guarded by five men with automatic weapons. For Wallace Stroby's determined heroine, professional thief Crissa Stone, and her team, stealing it was the easy part. But when the split goes awry in a blaze of gunfire, Crissa finds herself on the run with a duffel bag of stolen cash, and bound by a promise to deliver part of the take to the needy family of one of her slain partners.

In pursuit are the drug kingpin's lethal lieutenant, and a rogue Detroit cop with his own deadly agenda. They think the money's there for the taking, for whoever finds her first. But Crissa doesn't plan to give it up without a fight, even as her mission of mercy puts her and a young child in mortal danger, with forces on both sides of the law closing in. After all, a debt is a debt . . . even if it has to be paid in blood.

Wallace Stroby delivers another powerful, lyrical novel, his third featuring one of the most original female characters in hardboiled fiction.