The Hard Stuff

In this humorous, action-packed crime thriller, a strip club bouncer working for a coalition of mob bosses must steal $4 million in diamonds—twice.

Ex-black-ops-specialist-turned-strip-club-bouncer Joe Brody has a new qualification to add to his resume: an alliance of New York City's mob bosses has deemed him its "sheriff." In the straight world, when you "see something" you "say something" to the law. In the bent world, they call Joe.


Still reeling from a particularly difficult operation—and having plummeted back into the drug and alcohol addiction that got him kicked out of the military as a result—Joe has just managed to detox at the clinic of a Chinese herbalist when the mob bosses phone. They need Joe to help them swindle a group of opioid dealers (of all things). But these are no typical drug-ferrying gangsters. Little Maria, the head of the Dominican mob, has discovered that her new heroin suppliers belong to an al Qaeda splinter group, and that they're planning to use their drug funds to back their terrorist agenda. With Joe in command, the mob coalition must pull off an intricate heist that will begin in Manhattan's diamond district. At stake is not only their business, but the state of the world.


For readers who like a liberal dose of humor mixed with gritty crime, The Hard Stuff is a brilliant, action-packed thriller from a fresh virtuoso of the crime caper genre.

Praise for The Hard Stuff

"With The Bouncer (2018), Gordon established himself as a major player in comic thrillerdom, right up there with Thomas Perry . . . Much of Gordon's genius comes from his ability to build character in a few subtle brush strokes, so his entire cast . . . get under our skins in an instant and stay put. There are some grisly doings this time, but the lightness of touch that distinguishes Gordon's prose, whether his characters are bantering or dismembering, is still what makes this series soar." —Booklist (starred review)


"Highly entertaining. . . . Gordon has a knack for twisty story lines, nonstop action, and over-the-top sequences." —Publishers Weekly

"Gordon is fashioning himself an impressive crime world niche somewhere between Donald Westlake and Elmore Leonard, with his raucous, rollicking stories of New York City crime. . . . Come for the intricate, surprising crime scenarios; stay for the banter." —CrimeReads