When a woman witnesses a fatal car accident outside the Jersey Shore motel she manages, she’s suddenly thrust into a nightmare of gang violence, guns, and money that she can’t outrun.

HEAVEN’S A LIE
by Wallace Stroby
Mulholland Books, April 2021
(chez Writers House – voir catalogue)

Joette’s life brings new meaning to the phrase “paycheck to paycheck.” Struggling to afford her mother’s sky-high medical bills and also keep the lights on in her trailer home, Joette needs a break. So, when she spies a briefcase full of money amongst the fiery wreckage of a fatal car accident, she knows she can’t just let it be. Inside is a bounty better than she could have dreamed—just shy of $300,000 in neatly stacked hundreds and fifties. Enough to pay off her debts, give her mother the care she deserves, and maybe even help out a few of her friends. But, of course, the missing briefcase didn’t go unnoticed by the original owner, Travis—a ruthless dealer that’ll stop at nothing to get back what’s his. Joette is way out of her depth, but can’t seem to stop herself from participating in this cat-and-mouse chase. But can she beat Travis at his own game?

Wallace Stroby is an award-winning journalist and the author of seven novels, four of which feature Crissa Stone, the professional thief labeled “crime fiction’s best bad girl ever.” His first novel, The Barbed-Wire Kiss, was a Barry Award finalist for best debut novel.