Fantastic book.It contains many story lines and details not even mentioned in other books about the same era.In general,I loathe Rats,but the Crow is quite the character,which adds to the book's overall quality.Strangely enough,there was even a guy in my old neighborhood (West Side of Buffalo)who was running one of the Crow's tried and true scams in the same exact fashion at the same time(phony diamond ring)----made me wonder if they knew each other and was a further addition to the intrigue the book held for me personally !!!