Happy Hour…and Other Philadelphia Cruelties by Tony Knighton
A stunning anthology of Philadelphia-set crime stories. In Happy Hour, the title story, a small-time grifter steals an overcoat on Christmas Eve and finds a pair of gloves, a pack of gum, and forty thousand dollars in the pocket. But his unexpected score soon becomes an icy nightmare. In other stories, a struggling landlord has second thoughts after paying an arsonist to torch his apartment house, a scam artist plots to rob his dangerous employer, and a bank robber awakens in an upside-down car resting in a shallow stream after his getaway goes disastrously wrong. And more. Button up. It’s cold, outside.
Books by Tony Knighton
A Night at the Shore
A professional thief takes his girlfriend on a trip to the shore—but only to check out an easy heist he can't resist. She's had enough of his criminal life and intends to leave him. The 'easy' job goes bad fast, trapping him on an island in the midst of a deadly storm....pursued by the law and ruthless killers. He has to escape or he's going to lose the woman he loves... if he doesn't lose his life first.
A Few Days Away
After a heist goes fatally wrong, a professional thief returns to a corrupt town to settle the score.
Three Hours Past Midnight
A professional thief steals a state senator's safe full of cash...and then has it stolen from him...and then tears up the city trying to get it back.
Happy Hour…and Other Philadelphia Cruelties
A stunning anthology of Philadelphia-set crime stories. In "Happy Hour," the title story, a small-time grifter steals an overcoat on Christmas Eve and finds a pair of gloves, a pack of gum, and forty thousand dollars in the pocket. But his unexpected score soon becomes an icy nightmare.
Reviews For Happy Hour…and Other Philadelphia Cruelties
A gripping and fast-paced thriller, with a protagonist who is relatable, if not likable.
The novella Happy Hour is a lot like its main character: it doesn't pause for breath and it doesn't take a moment to think things over. It just keeps moving as fast as it can.
A masterclass in American pulp-noir fiction.
