Dope Thief [Hardcover]

Dennis Tafoya (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

Ray and his best friend, Manny, close ever since they met in juvie almost twenty years ago, have a great scam going: With a couple of fake badges and some DEA windbreakers they found at a secondhand store, they pose as federal agents and rip off small-time drug dealers, taking their money and drugs and disappearing before anyone is the wiser. It’s the perfect sting: the dealers they target are too small to look for revenge and too guilty to call the police, nobody has to die, nobody innocent gets hurt, and Ray and Manny score plenty.

But it can’t last forever. Eventually, they choose the wrong mark and walk out with hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a heavy hitter, who is more than willing to kill to get his money back, is coming after them. Now Ray couldn’t care less about the score. He wants out---out of the scam, out of a life he feels like he never chose. Whether the victim of his latest job---not to mention his partner---will let him is another question entirely.

Dennis Tafoya brings a rich, passionate, and accomplished new voice to the explosive story of a small-time crook with everything to lose in Dope Thief, his outstanding hardboiled debut.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ray, the 30-year-old protagonist of Tafoya's raw and redemptive debut, is a sure bet loser. His mother's dead, his abusive father in prison. His own lengthy record includes car theft, burglary and a two-year jail stint. For the past year, Ray and his buddy Manny have been robbing dope dealers and meth labs in the Philadelphia area. Ray and Manny hit small operations disguised as DEA agents, knowing their victims can't go to the cops and don't have the resources to come after them. Inevitably, a job goes bad, resulting in gunshots and death. With too much money at stake and serious bad guys on his trail, Ray realizes that the criminal phase of his life is over. Tafoya gradually reveals pieces of Ray's past while detailing his increasingly desperate efforts to rid himself of those dogging him and threatening anyone connected to him. A boy born into the life makes a wrenching attempt to change course or die trying in a first novel that marks Tafoya as a writer to watch. (May)
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From Booklist

Ray and Manny, flashing bogus badges and wearing DEA windbreakers purchased at a “flea market in Jersey,” take down small drug dealers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It’s easy and lucrative, but they know it can’t last: “Everyone was high. Everyone was stupid. Everyone had guns.” Reality, in the form of New England bikers trying to muscle into the Philadelphia–New Jersey drug trade, rears its head quickly, and Ray and Manny are on the run. But that’s only half of this fine first novel. An abusive, criminal father and a number of jail stints beginning in high school seem to have doomed Ray to relive his father’s sordid life, but Ray is a bright man looking for a shot at redemption. When it comes, redemption is both unlikely and interesting. Tafoya is off to a promising start: Ray and a number of other characters are quirky and engaging. The locale of Bucks County, which ranges from city gritty to bucolic beauty, works well. The plotting is solid, and the action has a hard, violent edge that recalls Richard Price. --Thomas Gaughan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031253115X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312531157
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dennis Tafoya was born in Philadelphia and lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He is the Spinetingler-nominated author of Dope Thief and The Wolves of Fairmount Park, from Minotaur Books, and many short stories featured in anthologies such as Philadelphia Noir from Akashic Books and Crime Factory - The First Shift from New Pulp Press. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the Liars Club, a Philadelphia-area writers group. Both of his novels have been optioned for film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a pleasure to read!!, November 9, 2009

By 

the way I see it (Midwest) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dope Thief (Hardcover)

The other five-star reviewers have all made wonderful points in their assessment of this book, points that I would not have been able to make, which is the neat thing about allowing readers to write reviews (whether favorable or unfavorable). As for me, one of the most impressive aspects of Dope Thief is that I found myself truly caring about the characters, especially Ray, but also his doomed-to-the-lifestyle partner-in-crime, Manny, his step-mom, Theresa, and even his father, Bart. I can't tell you how many books I have read, even highly acclaimed ones, where I stopped halfway through as I came to realize that (1) I didn't care one bit about the characters, non even the main one(s) and (2) I didn't care how the book ended. I simply lost interest--or never had much interest to begin with--and stopped reading. That wasn't the case with Dope Thief.

Dope Thief is one that I read slowly and savored, because I sensed that I had something special in my hands. The dialogue is perfect, the plot flows smoothly, and the inner workings of Ray and his life story are wonderful. As I said, you really come to care about Ray, the hurts he has suffered, the poor choices he has made, and his attempt at redemption. And when he and Manny rip off the wrong meth-cookers/dealers, I can almost guarantee you that you will feel scared.

My only concern is that the title of the book may turn off potential readers, yet at the same time, it is a perfect title. Hopefully word of mouth will spread like wildfire so that other readers, even ones who don't typically read this genre or who may dismiss it because of the title, will be able to enjoy this wonderful book. Actually, I have one more concern, and that is for the author. How on earth will he be able to write a comparable second book when his first one is this good? I hope he will try, and I suspect that he will succeed, because he definitely has the writing chops. He is a truly gifted author and I am glad that he wrote Dope Thief. It is compelling, scary at times, very touching and tender, and always, always credible.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting newcomer, May 26, 2009

By 

parisreader (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dope Thief (Hardcover)

I never thought I'd be recommending a book about low-life (as they describe themselves) criminals who are involved in one act of bloody violence after another, but this is a brilliant novel by a new writer who is starting at the top of the form. Yes, it's hard to put down -- not simply because of the brisk and visual and even poetic writing style, but also because it has characters delineated with great delicacy and honesty. I can't wait for Tafoya's next book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the year's best books, May 9, 2009

By 

Jon McGo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dope Thief (Hardcover)

Dope Thief is easily one of the best books I've read this year, a remarkable combination of action and dread, brains and heart, with everything I look for in great crime fiction, and more. While the "mystery" on the cover is certainly a misnomer, there is mystery within it, as well as a great plot and characters that live and breathe and suffer and change and stay with you long after you have put the book down.