Amazon.com (ISBN 0451208498, Paperback)

In Thieves' Paradise, bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey weaves an engaging tale of betrayal, desperation, love, and loss seen through the eyes of Dante Black. Unemployed and down on his luck, Dante spends most of his time frequenting an L.A. diner where he hopes to win over Pam, an attractive waitress and actress wannabe. The rest of his time is spent reluctantly working for Scamz, a colorful character from Dante's past with a taste for illegal operations, beautiful women, and flashy cars. Rounding out this cast of clichéd yet well-developed characters is Dante's best friend, Jackson, who's deep in debt and eager for a quick solution. Throughout the novel, Dante drifts through seedy pool halls and lavish mansions as his friends quickly become enemies, lovers, and unbearable burdens.

My life had been mean and violent, so all of that colored my perception... Hard to find peace in a storm. I'd been waiting for the storm to leave me. Sometimes you had to leave the storm.

Always fresh, often perceptive, occasionally funny, and undeniably sincere, Thieves' Paradise proves yet again why Dickey continues to top the charts with each artful novel he crafts. --Gisele Toueg