Con Ed

"Con Ed" by Matthew Klein, is the story of a hustler. Kip knows all the cons and has tried most of them. At one point he was even rich. But now he's working at a dry cleaners after spending some time in prison. He is trying to live an honest, lawful life, but a mysterious woman tries to pull him into a big con job. Kip refuses, until his son shows up. His son owes a lot of money to a Russian mob boss, and can't pay it back. But Kip doesn't have the money either -- not unless he pulls off the biggest con of his life.
"In a con, everyone takes part in a play. And everyone knows it is a play, except for one man. The thing you want to make sure is that the man is not you..."
Of course, Kip will try and pull off the big con. And I spent the rest of the book trying to figure out who was in on the real con, and who was a traitor working for the other side. Granted, I never figure out mysteries before the end of the book, so it other readers might catch on faster than I did. But even if you figure out the con, it is a very funny book. It's dark humor, with a lead character a bit like Sam Spade crossed with Tony Soprano. If you liked the movies "Inside Job" or "House of Games", give this a try.