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Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Heist [Hardcover]

Michael A. Black (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)


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Book Description

Five Star First Edition Mystery June 10, 2005
Linc Jackson and his buddy Rick Weaver thought they'd seen it all on the brutal battlefields of Desert Storm, but found themselves displaced and forgotten men when they came back to the States. Now, a year later, the opportunity of a lifetime suddenly drops in their laps . . . That is, if they don't mind tiptoeing on the dark side to make the score. During a freak flood that causes havoc in the downtown business hub of Chicago, Linc and Rick put everything on the line as they execute a heist that they hope will put them on Easy Street for the rest of their lives. It involves a foolproof plan for grabbing what they believe is a cool million of the mob's money. But that's when things start to go terribly wrong. As the Mafia calls in a specialist, nicknamed "The Regulator," to get back their property, the two ex-marines find that they not only have the bad boys of the outfit hot on their trail, but some pretty tough cops as well. It will take all their battle-tested skills just to escape with their lives, in an ultimate showdown that's guaranteed to make what they went through in Operation Desert Storm look like a cakewalk.

Award-winning author Michael A. Black holds an MFA degree in Fiction Writing from Columbia College. He has been a police officer in the south suburbs of Chicago for the past twenty-six years. He is currently a sergeant on the Matteson, Illinois Police Department. (20050601)


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Black's fast-paced third novel (after 2004's Windy City Knights), a stand-alone thriller, the veteran Chicago police officer skillfully interweaves several plot strands-the decision by Johnny "The Mink" Osmand, a high-level Chicago mobster, to cooperate with law enforcement; the schemes of Osmand's boss, Salvatore "Vino" Costelli, to evade prosecution; and the plans of two ex-Marines, Linc Jackson and Rick Weaver, to hit the jackpot by stealing the contents of Osmand's safe-deposit box. Jackson and Weaver don't know that the box holds little of value apart from a videotape documenting a double murder that would put Costelli away for life. When a water-main break disables the security systems of the bank storing the videotape, Jackson and Weaver proceed with the heist of the title, which leads to complicated and unexpected consequences for all parties involved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gulf War vets Lincoln Jackson and Rick Weaver fantasize about pulling off a big heist at a bank in the Chicago Loop. When a massive flood in the underground tunnel system disables the alarm systems, the boys spring into action. They target a safety-deposit box owned by a midlevel Mob soldier, but instead of a half-million in cash, they end up with chump change and a videotape showing the Chicago godfather bludgeoning two associates to death. What they don't know is that the soldato was leveraging the tape against a federal indictment. Soon the mobster and his lawyer are dead, an assassin has kidnapped Linc's girlfriend, and a cop is hot on their case. Once a marine, always a marine, so as far as Linc and Rick are concerned, it's "pass the Lord and praise the ammunition" as they prepare to exchange the tape for Linc's girlfriend. Black, a Chicago-area cop, knows lawyers, guns, and money very well. Comparisons to a younger Elmore Leonard have been made, but the no-nonsense style and Chicago setting may remind readers more of the late, much-missed Eugene Izzi. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 292 pages
  • Publisher: Five Star; 1 edition (June 10, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594142777
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594142772
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,849,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael A. Black graduated from Columbia College, Chicago in 2000 with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Fiction Writing. He previously earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northern Illinois University. Despite his literary leanings, he has often said that police work has been his life. A former Army Military Policeman, he entered civilian law enforcement after his discharge, and for the past twenty-eight years has been a police officer in the south suburbs of Chicago.

The author of over forty articles on subjects ranging from police work to popular fiction, he has also had over thirty short stories published in various anthologies and magazines, including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. His first novel, A KILLING FROST, featuring private investigator Ron Shade, was published by Five Star in September 2002 with endorsements from such respected authors as Sara Paretsky and Andrew Vachss. The novel received universally excellent reviews, and was subsequently released in trade paperback.

WINDY CITY KNIGHTS, the second novel in the Ron Shade series, came out in March of 2004. His third novel, THE HEIST, a stand-alone thriller set during the freak Chicago flood of 1992, came out in June, 2005. He has also written two nonfiction books, THE M1A1 ABRAMS (tank), and VOLUNTEERING TO HELP KIDS, which were published by Rosen Press.

He has worked in various capacities in police work including patrol supervisor, tactical squad, investigations, raid team member, and SWAT team leader. He is currently a sergeant on the Matteson, Illinois Police Department. His hobbies include weightlifting, running, and the martial arts. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. It is rumored he has five cats.

Mike's newest novel, FREEZE ME, TENDER (think: Frozen Elvis) is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com now.

 

Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Kept me up all night!, September 7, 2005
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This review is from: Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Heist (Hardcover)
The best novels out there are those where the author takes control from the start and doesn't let go. Michael A. Black, who wow-ed me with his terrific Chicago PI series featuring Ron Shade (A KILLING FROST and WINDY CITY KNIGHTS) is back with a standalone thriller that never lets up on the excitement. This author is always in total control.

THE HEIST, set during Chicago's freak flood of 1992, follows Linc and Rick, two ex-marines attempting the titular Heist by taking advantage of the temporarily silenced Loop alarms. As in all great books, what they get turns out to be much different than what they expect, and the book's ensemble cast of back-stabbing mobsters and tenacious cops keeps the pages turning far into the night. I'm hard-pressed to pick a favorite character, because all of them are drawn so well, but Tony the cop (I could see Clint Eastwood in this role), and the chilling "Regulator," are standouts.

If you're looking for a great read that keeps you guessing, you'll love THE HEIST. Michael Black does what so many authors only hope to do. He gets better with every one. I can't wait to see what he has planned next.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An action packed thriller, June 25, 2005
This review is from: Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Heist (Hardcover)
Desert Storm veterans Linc Jackson and Rick Weaver served their country well, but have been discarded since returning to civilian life in Chicago. However, an opportunity arises when a rare flood threatens downtown. The two former combat soldiers think that during the mass confusion they can steal about a million dollars from the Mafia with no detection and the raising waters serving as the escape.

Linc and Rick succeed in the heist beyond their wildest imagination, but failed to have a post game plan on how to spend the loot. The mob cannot afford to allow anyone to hijack their cash so they send their best The Regulator to clean up the problem. At the same time, cops, some questionable on which side of the law they lie also want the former marines and the money they stole. High noon in the ocean of Chicago is coming.

This is an action packed thriller that moves at a rapid pace once Linc and Rick decide to use their military skills under the cover of the weather to pull off THE HEIST and never slows down as the Regulator keeps coming after them. The story line is caper driven with the events enabling the audience to somewhat see how the characters, especially the lead duo, react. No one stays on the legal side of the law leading to a fun testosterone overflow Chicago joy ride.

Harriet Klausner

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