Knock, Knock! Who’s There? by James Hadley Chase is an excellent hard boiled crime novel, set in the 1950s. Johnny Bianda has worked for Joe Massino for years. He is considered an excellent gunman but he isn’t being paid what he thinks he deserves and doesn’t see anything to look forward to in the future. He knows that as he gets older the boss will give him less important jobs and eventually he will simply be put out to pasture. He wants more for himself and dreams of owning a thirty foot boat, but the only way to get it is to take money from the mob. He comes up with a fool-proof plan but of course, something goes awry and he finds himself on the run and without the money which he stashed in a locker at the bus station.

Now he has hooked up with a woman who claims to love him, but Johnny thinks perhaps she loves the money a little more. They are trying to stay one step ahead of his trackers and hope that eventually they will be able to circle back and get the money so that he can live out his dream. All he wants is two or three years of the good life and then he will be ready for it all to end when they find him cause he knows that you don’t steal from the Mafia and expect to get away with it.

Originally published in 1973 when mafia books were at their height of popularity due to The Godfather, the author has delivered a tense, fast paced story that has you rooting for Johnny to get away with it even though you know better than to bet against the mob. I found this to be an entertaining and exciting read. ( )