Five-Finger Discount Audiobook By Helene Stapinski cover art

Five-Finger Discount

A Crooked Family History

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Five-Finger Discount

By: Helene Stapinski
Narrated by: Helene Stapinski
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Now a PBS documentary, this astonishing memoir of growing up in rough-and-tumble Jersey City “will steal your heart” (People)

With deadpan humor and obvious affection, Five-Finger Discount recounts the story of an unforgettable New Jersey family of swindlers, bookies, embezzlers, and mobster-wannabes. Helene Stapinski ingeniously weaves the checkered history of her hometown of Jersey City - a place known for its political corruption and industrial blight - with the tales that have swirled around her relatives for decades. Navigating a childhood of toxic waste and tough love, Stapinski tells an extraordinary tale at once heartbreaking and hysterically funny.

©2001 Helene Stapinski (P)2018 Random House Audio
True Crime Women Funny Witty Memoir
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

“By turns hilarious and alarming, [Helene Stapinski’s] book reads on the surface like something by Damon Runyon and Elmore Leonard, with a dark undertow of real-life pain and disillusion.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

“What [Frank] McCourt did for Limerick, Ireland, Helene Stapinski does for Jersey City.” (The Star-Ledger)

“Hugely entertaining.” (The Sunday Times - London)

All stars
Most relevant  
With tales of crime, corruption and Aunt Millie's famous meatballs, the author recounts in her own echt Jerseyite voice the rough-and-tumble milieu of Hudson County that she grew up in—one she spent years trying to escape before acknowledging a certain affection for its snaggletoothed charm. Listeners on the other hand will soon admire this memorable memoir and the fascinating history it holds.

A Heartwarming & Foulmouthed Memory of Jersey City

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.