If there’s a blurb from Lee Child on the cover, you might consider reading it. Not a bad rule to follow, especially when it comes to Josh Haven’s debut crime thriller, Fake Money, Blue Smoke. Even better, this is a modern-day counterfeiting novel, which isn’t easy to find.

The book starts with Matt Kubelsky and Kelly Haggerty, former lovers estranged for years. Matt was in the Marines before he was accused of murder and sent to prison for eight years. Kelly, much to Matt’s surprise, meets him upon his parole. But she has more than a reunion on her mind. She wants to steal some Gustav Klimt sketches by hiring some unsavory characters Matt knows from prison. The catch? She wants to pay them in counterfeit money she printed herself. Matt and Kelly don’t think of themselves as bad people. They’re just trying to make ends meet, like anyone else. They think they’ve got the whole scheme plotted out. But what if one of their fellow thieves figured out they weren’t getting real cash?

Excellent pacing and crisp dialogue make Haven’s first crime novel a winner. The sharp, spare prose lends itself to the lightning-fast plot, interspersed with fascinating modern counterfeiting facts. Expect a wild ride, and you won’t be disappointed.