Eddie's World -- Charlie Stella

I've read some of Charlie Stella's short stories but not his novels, so I figured it was time to change that.  I started with his first, Eddie's World, and it was a dandy.  Now I'll have to look around for the others.

Eddie Senta's a connected guy, but not in the mob.  He's a sort of half-way guy, involved in the rackets but also his own man.  He even has a straight job (word-processing) that he works from time to time.  He's having marital troubles, and he has a friend who needs money, so Eddie decides to pull a robbery.  It should be a snap.  You know how that works.  Things go seriously wrong, and the next thing Eddie knows, he's a murder suspect, he's dangerously involved with the Russian mob, and a killer who's under federal protection is after him.  

The book is short (which is to say, just the right length), funny at times, fast-moving, and over-all very entertaining.  If you haven't read anything by Stella, you should definitely check it out.