Connie Ogle, The Minnesota Star Tribune

The Mercurios are probably not what you think of when you hear the phrase “crime family.” The words evoke traditional images of gruff, dangerous men in suits — Tony Soprano or Michael Corleone, spewing threats and radiating violence.

But in Lou Berney’s latest novel “Crooks,” the Mercurios are an actual family. A mom and dad, five siblings, all but one inclined to felonious behavior, united in their inability to shed their lawless lives.

Author of such novels as “Double Barrel Bluff,” “November Road” and “ The Long and Faraway Gone ” and winner of the Edgar, Hammett, Barry, Macavity, Lefty and Anthony awards, Berney leaves no doubt as to the influence of legacy on the Mercurios. The first sentence — “It’s in his blood,” directed at patriarch Bud

See Full Page