Grifter's Game

Grifter's Game

Rating

9.0

The Pequod Review:

Lawrence Block's first novel Grifter's Game (originally published as Mona) is a short and simple noir thriller about a small-time con artist (Joe Marlin) who stumbles into a much bigger score on a trip to Atlantic City. I don't want to spoil the plot, which is a constant pleasure as it unfolds, but suffice to say it's crisp and tight and the resolution packs a huge (and unexpected) punch. The book is written in such clear and purposeful prose; Lawrence Block would improve as a writer over the course of his career, but there is a directness to Grifter's Game that makes it my favorite of Block's books.