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The Long Tail - Chris Anderson »

I love a good long con. The Girl With The Long Green Heart is a classic grifter's tale told by an author who seems to really know his stuff. Every detail of this con is laid out for you so that you could use it for reference if you ever wanted to pull off a real estate scam of your own. Of course, if you do remember to make sure not to get too close to the girl because that's how these things always go awry.

Johnny, the lead character, is a con man looking to retire quietly and needs to pull off one last con that will net him the money to do so. The con targets a businessman named Gunderman in upstate New York who got burnt on a Canadian real estate scam a while back and may be prime for another scam that gets him even worse as long as he thinks he's actually making his money back and more. The source of the con is Gunderman's secretary and mistress, Evelyn, who he had long promised to marry but has never delivered on that promise.

Written in 1965 and reprinted under the Hard Case Crime paperback imprint, this story holds up really well over time. The setting is pleasingly dated but the intricacies of the con and the desires of Johnny and Evvie to begin a better life make it timelessly enjoyable reading.

Posted at September 15, 2006 02:32 PM