The abridged version of this novel (compliments of Reader's Digest Condensed Books) is but 30% of the original, but is skillfully rendered; it presents a full plot without noticeable holes. From reading reviews of the full work, I infer that what's been removed are extended descriptions of how the protagonist, Cassie Black, has pulled off her various robbery capers.

Cassie, who previously served five years in prison for her role in robbery of a Las Vegas casino (the Cleopatra), has been recruited to rob that same casino. The projected "victim" is a supposed high roller who has been flashing money around at an extended stay at the Cleo. Cassie successfully robs him in his hotel room but winds up with far more money than any casino patron should have been carrying. As it turns out, he was acting as a courier, carrying 2.5 million for the Miami mafia, intended as a payoff to Vincent Grimaldi (the casino owner) for rights to buy the Cleo. The payoff scheme was a scam. Grimaldi was after the money and had no intention of selling to the Miami gang; in fact, he'd had the courier killed after the robbery. When Grimalid hires Jack Karch to track down the money, Cassie is on the run, and has to outwit Karch to save her own life and that of her daughter. A summary of the plot is available at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Void_Moon. The title, incidentally, refers to an astrological superstition of a supposed risky time when the moon "travels" from one zodiac sign to the next.

I enjoyed this abridged work as a escapist crime fiction, and am inclined to seek out the full novel. Interestingly, it represents the author's first attempt with a female protagonist, and his first to present a criminal protagonist for which the reader has sympathy. ( )