In the oriiginal run of Stray Bullets, Beth Kozlonowski ends up hiding out in California with a couple suitcases of drugs and money. This volume of the sequel series doubles back to 1981 to fill in the details of the heist that made the escape from Baltimore possible. As always, it's an enthralling read with plenty of violence and humor. The humor may actually be a little overdone this outing as the caper practically devolves into slapstick at times.

These are not professional thieves. ( )