It’s not often that I read a book that makes me stop and think, “I don’t think I’ve seen a story told quite this way before.” Crooks marks the second time I’ve thought that about a book written by Lou Berney.

The book spans six decades, telling the story of the Mercurios. We learn about patriarch Buddy meeting his soon-to-be wife, Lillian, in 1960s Las Vegas, while Buddy was working for the mob. When criminal endeavors go awry, Buddy and Lillian gather up their four children (which would eventually grow to five) and hightail it out of town, settling in Oklahoma City. We then get a glimpse into how they eventually came to own the first disco club in OKC in the ’70s, and Buddy and Lillian rekindle their love for each other in one of the funniest ways possible.

From there, each decade has a story focusing on a different child. We see charming pretty boy Jeremy fall into a charmed life in ’80s Los Angeles until it all comes crashing down. The “adopted” (they do actually adopt her, but the way they initially get her is unconventional) Tallulah works with an acrobat troupe who also moonlight as high-end burglars in 1994 Moscow. Ray — the oldest, quietest, and the one everyone assumes is the least intelligent — works as muscle for an old-school Vegas club manager in the mid-90s. Alice, who swore off criminal endeavors, works as a Manhattan attorney in the early 2000s. And Paul — whom the other siblings call Piggy, who, being born ten years after the rest, was practically an only child and the only one who could be considered normal — just wants the family to reunite as he struggles with writer’s block in 2016.

Each portion is a compelling novella in its own right, but the way they all dovetail in the end makes for an epic story with an ending that may very well put a smile on the face of fellow writers out there.

Every time I read Lou Berney, I wonder why he isn’t a bigger deal. Crooks seems ripe for a streaming adaptation, so I was surprised there aren’t already any plans for one. I did learn, however, that Berney is a staff writer on FX’s The Lowdown, starring Ethan Hawke. It even has an episode written by Walter Mosley! The show has been on my list ever since it came out, but now I believe I’ll be starting it over the weekend.

If you’ve never read Lou Berney and you like crime or mystery, you can’t really go wrong with any of his books. He has a series as well as several stand-alone books, but if I had to recommend only one, it would be The Long and Faraway Gone. It has dual protagonists and dual mysteries, with even a bonus mystery thrown in. As for me, I’m going to start watching The Lowdown.