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A murder this dirty, revenge can’t be sweet ...an unnerving excursion into the Russian mafia’s urban turf.
Her name is Rachel. Married, divorced. Two kids, endless expenses, like those private school tuition bills. In New York City. It’s not been easy, but Rachel’s been making ends meet, barely, between her pimp and the escort service. And recently a Russki with big bucks and bad ideas.
Some crimes cry for vengeance, like the one that washes Rachel Wilson up on a beach, her head bald, her body mutilated. It’s a cry that Agnes Lynn, a hooker gone straight and Rachel’s long-time friend, can’t ignore. Steely and resourceful, with a determination impervious to fear, Agnes aims to settle scores with pimps and porn kings—and unwittingly, blindly, sets herself in the path of the formidable Russian mob boss Viktor Timkin.
Stalked by the Mafiya, pursued by the police—not least, a maverick Russian-born detective whose broken English hides an intelligence as cold as any among his countrymen on the other side of the law—Agnes can only run. Until she gets herself red leather boots, lipstick, a boning knife, and a plan.
What she doesn’t plan on, though, are crooked cops, a Saudi weapons dealer, gangland assassins, a turf war, and redfella deviants. What she doesn’t plan on could get her killed.
“Stella has crafted a true page-turner … Agnes is a flawed heroine, a refreshing change from too many lesser novels, and Stella remains a master of creating complex and believable characters. Stella has quickly become one of crime fiction's leading lights, and this latest effort will burnish that well-deserved reputation. A great book.” — Library Journal *Starred* Review
Stella has been
a “rising star” for some time now, and if his sixth thriller doesn’t
place him in the firmament, it does confirm his rock-solid ability to
deliver the goods...this revenge-driven tale will satisfy fans of
strong women and contemporary crime—as you’ll guess from the title, the
bad guys aren’t your father’s Mafia. — Booklist
MAFIYA is a fascinating crime thriller starring an intrepid reformed
bad girl and her experienced partner against the Russian mob. — The
Mystery Gazette
Mafiya is a fast, dark and compelling novel from an author whose work, if there is any justice, will be being read years from now as one of the classic authors of modern crime fiction. It’s already been said that Stella deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the greats of the genre, but as he proves his versatility and ability with this, his sixth novel, such statements become superfluous: Stella may just be the best crime writer you have yet to discover. His novels are imbued with an essential humanity, and an understanding that sometimes the world just throws us a curveball and all we can do is try our best to survive. — Crime Scene Scotland
Suspense also
reigns in “Mafiya,” Charlie Stella’s page turning tale of Agnes Lynn, a
former prostitute now working as an office temp. Her friend Rachel,
still “in the trade,” turns up dead. Agnes’ investigation turns up a
mysterious Arab, a snuff film and the Russian mafia. Critics are giving
the novel starred reviews, noting how refreshing it is to read about a
“flawed” heroine.
- The Cuba Circulating Library Director’s Pick
Now I see why East Coast Don was high on Charlie Stella, this being one he has not read yet, and the only one which has come to Amazon’s kindle ... Stella does a great job delivering a staccato style dialogue which carries the action effectively. The plot is fast and aggressive ... With murders happening everywhere, some of them being quite grizzly, it is, my professional opinion is that Charlie Stella is a sick man and that we are all the richer for his writing efforts. — West Coast Don, Men Reading Books
He's been likened to Elmore Leonard, but that might be undercutting Stella a tad. ... As a producer of pure thrillers, Stella takes a back seat to no one. Mafiya is a non-stop bloodbath featuring Manhattan hits, corrupt cops, the bloodiest sex in literature and entire mob crews found floating in the bay. — By Pete Kotz, True Crime Report