Queenpin - Megan Abbott

A young woman hired to keep the books at a down-at-heel nightclub is taken under the wing of the infamous Gloria Denton, a mob luminary who reigned during the Golden Era of Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. The moll to end all molls, Gloria is notoriously cunning and ruthless. She shows her eager young protgethe ropes, ushering her into a glittering whirl of late-night casinos, racetracks, betting parlours, inside heists and big, big money. Suddenly, the world is at her feet -- as long as she doesn't take any chances, like falling for the wrong guy.

It all falls to pieces with a few turns of the roulette wheel, as both mentor and protge scramble to stay one step ahead of their bosses and each other.

In the tradition of hardboiled potboilers such as Double Indemnityand The Griftersand mob tales such as Goodfellas, Queenpinoffers a feminine twist on a classic story of underworld seduction and greed, or tortured loyalty and inevitable betrayal.