Safe Return Doubtful

Three men execute a carefully devised plan. They drive to an upmarket suburban Long Island neighbourhood and break into a jewellery store. Before they can get away however, two police cars roll up and a gun battle ensues. Two of the cops and two of the crooks get killed, but the third thief gets away.

While the thieves are working, Gerald Hanna, an ordinary guy with an ordinary job is playing poker. A usually cautious guy, Hanna takes a big chance and winds up winning a sizeable pot. Driving home, as he considers his luck, his car door is suddenly pulled open and the third thief jumps in with a bag full of jewels and a gun.

This all happens in the first few pages, and the reader is given to think that White might have shot his bolt, but he would be wrong.

White was a master of the heist novel, but almost always in his other books, the story builds to the heist. By positioning the heist at the start here, this enables White to concentrate more on his key characters, which I really enjoyed. I understand that for some though, that less action, less violence, less later twists, maybe a disappointment.
But the study of Hanna, who remains upbeat and still sees his luck as being in, as his life gets gradually turned upside down, is compelling.