Category Archives: Friday 56

Friday 56 #135 – Twenty Four Potential Children of Prophecy by Emily Martha Sorensen @CleanYAFantasy

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I have been a fan of Emily Martha Sorensen’s ever since I read Dragon’s Egg, so I was excited to get my hands on Twenty Four Potential Children of Prophecy, her new novella series.

Twenty-Four Potential Children of Prophecy (The Numbers Just Keep Getting Bigger Book 1)

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

I hid behind one of my favorite garbage receptacles to root through…

(56% in Kindle, published in May of 2017)

Book Beginnings

It was Prophecy Day at the market, and I had to duck through and doge around hundreds of people as I fought to get to the front of the crowd. The food stalls around the edges were selling snacks and breakfasts in a frenzy, and the whole place had the air of a festival.

MY REVIEW

Many times I find it hard to rate novellas. I like a lot of depth and detail in my stories, but sometimes the characters win me over, and Henina does that very nicely.

Henina is a fabulous character that kept me in stitches with her antics. She never stops talking and loves to argue. She’s in no hurry to get married and have children, like so many other girls.

She is an apprentice for her father, dumpster diving for items they can repair and sell.

“The days of the war are numbered…She will rule with wisdom and grace.”

Twenty four girls were rounded up and taken to the castle, Henina among them. Because of her personality, she never thought of herself as the chosen one.

A fun and quick read, filled with lots of smiles and chuckles.

I’m excited to meet her dog, Mud, and spend more time with her in Fifty Three Assassins With a Head Cold.

I found this hard to rate and bounced between 3 and 4…but because I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at Henina’s antics, loving her brash and witty personality, and left wanting more, I went high.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Twenty Four Potential Children of Prophecy by Emily Martha Sorensen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB:  Henina tends to irritate people. She can’t help it — she’s bad at shutting her mouth. So when a prophecy is made that someone will stop the war, she figures she’s the worst possible choice.

Too bad.

The Fates have their sights set on her, and it will take all her cleverness and quite a lot of offending the king to foist the prophecy off on somebody else instead.

But she can do it. After all, there are a lot of potentials to choose from.

MY REVIEWS FOR EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN

 

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #134 – Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton @lkhamilton

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton is another book I picked up from a grocery store bin.

It must have been fate, because I rarely step foot in a grocery store. LOL

I am always up for one of her novels. How about you?

Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #19)

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“If my choice is between opening a vein to you with Jean-Claude and Anita, or making that sadistic bastard Narcissus the animal king of St Louis, I’ll donate the blood.”

( page 56, in hardback,1st edition, published in 2010)

Book Beginnings

I was worming my way through a mass of parents and children with a tiny clown hat clutched in one hand. In my navy blue skirt suit I looked like a dozen other mothers who had had to come straight from work to the dance recital. My hair was a little curly and a little too black for all the blond mothers, but no one gave me a second glance. The one saving grace as I threaded my way through the crowd of parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings was that I wasn’t one of the parent. I was just here as moral support and last minute costume rescuer.. It was just Monica Vespucci’s style to leave part of her son’s costume at her house and need an emergency save. Micah and I had been running late with client meetings so we got to ride tot the rescue, and now since the vast majority of the performers were female I was the only one safe to go backstage without scandalizing the mothers. What did little girls who only had male relatives do at things Like this? My dad would have been at a loss.

GOODREADS BLURB:  The music came back up and the next group of little girls, slightly older, came out. There was a lot of that in the next hour and change. I liked dance, and it was no reflection on the kids, but my will to live began to seep away on about the fifth group of sequined children…

Anita Blake is back in St. Louis and trying to live a normal life-as normal as possible for someone who is a legal vampire executioner and a U. S. Marshal. There are lovers, friends and their children, school programs to attend. In the midst of all the ordinary happiness a vampire from Anita’s past reaches out. She was supposed to be dead, killed in an explosion, but the Mother of All Darkness is the first vampire, their dark creator. It’s hard to kill a god. This dark goddess has reached out to her here-in St. Louis, home of everyone Anita loves most. The Mother of All Darkness has decided she has to act now or never, to control Anita, and all the vampires in America.

The Mother of All Darkness believes that the triumvirate created by master vampire Jean-Claude with Anita and the werewolf Richard Zeeman has enough power for her to regain a body and to immigrate to the New World. But the body she wants to possess is already taken. Anita is about to learn a whole new meaning to sharing her body, one that has nothing to do with the bedroom. And if the Mother of All Darkness can’t succeed in taking over Anita’s body for herself, she means to see that no one else has the use of it, ever again. Even Belle Morte, not always a friend to Anita, has sent word: “Run if you can…”

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

I have the second cover and some of the differences are very subtle.

Which do you like the best?

Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #19)Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #19)Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #19)

 

Friday 56 #133 – Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs @Mercys_Garage

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs is another book I picked up from a grocery store bin.

It must have been fate, because I rarely step foot in a grocery store. LOL

I am always up for one of her novels. How about you?

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, #5)

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“Pack existed before ceremonies,” Sam said, sounding amused. “Magic binds more obviously, more extensively, but not more deeply.”

( page 56, in hardback,1st edition, published in 2010)

Book Beginnings

The starter complained as it turned over the old Buick’s heavy engine. I felt a  lot of sympathy for it since fighting outside my weight class was something I was intimately familiar with. I’m a coyote shapeshifter playing in a world of werewolves and vampires – outmatched is an understatement.

GOODREADS BLURB:  Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, never knows what the day – or night – may bring in a world where “witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters live beside ordinary people” (Booklist). But she is about to learn that while some secrets are dangerous whose who seek them are just plain deadly…

Mercy is smart enough to realize that when it comes to the magical fae, the less you know, the better. But you can’t always get what you want. When she attempts to return a powerful fae she previously borrowed in an act of desperation, she finds the bookstore locked up and closed down.

It seems the book contains secrets – and the fae will do just about anything to keep it out of the wrong hands. And if that doesn’t take enough of Mercy’s attention, her friend Samuel is struggling with his wolf side – leaving Mercy to cover for him lest his own father declare Samuel’s life forfeit.

All in all, Mercy has had better days. And if she isn’t careful, she may not have many more…

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

I have the second cover and some of the differences are very subtle.

Which do you like the best?

Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, #5)Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, #5)Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, #5)Le Grimoire d'argent (Mercy Thompson, #5)

 

Friday 56 #132 – Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong and grabbed Spell Bound from a grocery store bin.

It must have been fate, because I rarely step foot in a grocery store. LOL

I have missed some of the books, but hope to make it through all of them…some time.

Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

The council record of Wanda’s death was barely a paragraph long, noting the date, the complainant, the nature of the complaint, and the grounds for refusal, namely that witch-hunters didn’t exist.

( page 56, in hardback,1st edition, published in 2011)

Book Beginnings

Sitting cross-legged on my motel bed in the dark, I cast my light ball spell for the twentieth time. As I recited the incantation, I waited for the mental click that told me it had worked. When that didn’t come, I opened my eyes, still expecting to see the glowing ball floating over my fingers. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen it the first nineteen times. It was a damned light ball spell, so simple I usually didn’t even need to finish the incantation before it worked.

GOODREADS BLURB:  At last, in the novel every Kelley Armstrong fan will need to own, all the major heroines and heroes of Otherworld are united. It’s been ten years since Bitten, the first novel in Kelley Armstrong’s New York Times bestselling Otherworld series. In that time hundreds of thousands of fans have ravenously devoured the adventures of Armstrong’s witches, demons, and werewolves. Now, in Spell Bound, she brings them all together for her most sweeping tale yet. Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she’s powerless to help herself. At the heartbreaking conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would prevent further pain for a young orphan. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise. And now, witch-hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell-casting talent, the thing she counts on most. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Armstrong gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jamie, Hope, and other beloved characters, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within.

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

I have the second cover and some of the differences are very subtle.

Which do you like the best?

Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld #12)Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)

 

Friday 56 #131 – A Wildcatter’s Trek by Gene Ames Jr #GeneAmesJr

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

A Wildcatter’s Trek by Gene Ames Jr reads like a true story, told by a real oilman.

Think you know about the oil business, think again.

If you are a fan of the TV series, Dallas, A Wildcatter’s Trek by Gene Ames Jr will fill in some of the blanks and show how much oil people really contribute to technology, education, the arts…

You can see my review HERE.

A Wildcatter's Trek: Love, Money & Oil

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“And I want a home – a big home. Now. I’m not waiting any longer. I can’t stand this garage apartment. We’ve visited your oil field friends in their new stone mansions with huge lawns and gardens and white board fences that run around their property for miles. If you won’t build me a mansion, I’m going back to Oklahoma.”

( page 56, in paperback,1st edition, published in 2016)

Book Beginnings

THAT’S ONE ANGRY river, Jordan Phillips thought, standing in front of his truck loaded with oil well casing, looking across what seemed like a half a mile of fast moving, rolling brown water to the other side of the Sabine.

GOODREADS BLURB:  A Wildcatter’s Trek: Love, Money and Oil tells the harrowing tale of Jordan Phillips, a young pipe salesman who risks everything to drill for oil in East Texas and discovers the largest oil field in the world by accident. The breathtaking core of A Wildcatter’s Trek: Love, Money and Oil is fully exposed as Jordan Phillips is unwittingly thrust into the brutal, never-ending race of the oil wildcatter. Fraud, greed and danger abound. Will Jordan survive?

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

 

Friday 56 #129 – Prime Evil – A Collection by Masters of Modern Horror #HorrorCollection

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

If you are a fan of horror, Prime Evil by the Masters of Modern Horror is for you.

Prime Evil: New Stories by the Masters of Modern Horror

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

From Blood Kiss by Dennis Etchison

“I told you. I’ve been waiting a long time.”

( page 56, in hardcover,1st edition, published in 1988)

Book Beginnings

From Night Flier by Stephen King

Dees didn’t really get interested – in spite of his private pilot’s license – until the third and fourth murders. Then he smelled blood.

GOODREADS BLURB:  This stunning collection of novellas and short stories by masters of the macabre brings to fans and newcomers an unrelenting spell of horror and suspense. These are tales that strike beyond sheer terror, as their disturbing visions capture the dark reality we all fear. Features works by Stephen King, Clive Barker, Peter Straub, and more. “Gets the adrenaline flowing”.–Washington Post.

 

The night flier / Stephen King —
Having a woman at lunch / Paul Hazel —
The blood kiss / Dennis Etchison —
Coming to grief / Clive Barker —
Food / Thomas Tessier —
The great god Pan / M. John Harrison —
Orange is for anguish, blue for insanity / David Morrell —
The juniper tree / Peter Straub —
Spinning tales with the dead / Charles L. Grant —
Alice’s last adventure / Thomas Ligotti —
Next time you’ll know me / Ramsey Campbell —
The pool / Whitley Streiber —
By reason of darkness / Jack Cady

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Save

Save

Friday 56 #127 – Southern Gold by James Alan Vitti #JamesAlanVitti

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

If you are looking for a mystery that leads to a asking questions about what a life is worth, check out Southern Gold by James Alan Vitti.

Southern GoldAmazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

So this, this is what it comes to? he heard himself thinking, wondering, calling out. Or will I get another chance? Just one more chance…

(From prologue, because only a partial paragraph on page 56, in paperback,1st edition, published in 1995)

Book Beginnings

Gavin Duke thought he was dead.

.

(From the Prologue)

GOODREADS BLURB: When a promotional scheme for First Southern Bank goes badly awry kidnapped marketing executive Gavin Duke, imprisoned in a cabin deep in the woods, has plenty of time to think about the course of his life and his relationships–when it may be too late for him to do anything about them.

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Save

Friday 56 #126 – No Lesser Plea by Robert K Tannenbaum #RobertKTannenbaum

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

If you like studies of the judicial system, No Lesser Plea by Robert K Tannenbaum is right up your alley.

I don’t see the cover for my paperback on Goodreads or Amazon, but this red cover jumped off the page at me, so I am sharing it instead.No Lesser Plea

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“No, I’m really sick,man. You gotta help me, like you said. I gotta get out of this shit hole…”

(Page 56 in paperback, published in 1988)

Book Beginnings

Two men were leaning against the yellow Firebird talking quietly, ignoring the street life around them. The two men were professional criminals and they were plotting a crime.

.

GOODREADS BLURB: In Book One of the bestselling Butch Karp legal thriller series, Karp must stop a murderer who is manipulating the law to escape punishment 

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Roger “Butch” Karp has been around New York long enough to realize that the judicial system can be dirty and cynical. But he still believes in justice. So when a vicious sociopath tries to dodge a brutal murder charge by convincing the court he is incompetent to stand trial, Karp teams up with firecracker Assistant DA Marlene Ciampi to unleash the full force of their relentless energy, hardboiled wit, and passion for the truth to put the killer away for good. They will accept no lesser plea.
 
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert K. Tanenbaum including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Which cover do you prefer?

No Lesser Plea (Butch Karp, #1)No Lesser PleaNo Lesser Plea (Butch Karp, #1)

Friday 56 #125 – Night Things by Michael Talbot @Valancourt_B

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

All I had to do is see the cover and I knew I wanted to read Night Things by Michael Talbot.

This is the cover for my hard copy, but there are a couple awesome ones below.Night ThingsAmazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“They’ll probably be from the extraterrestrial equivalent of Holllywood, so by nature they’ll be aggressive.” He laughed.

(Page 56 in hardcover,1st edition, published in 1988)

Book Beginnings

“Are we almost there?” Lauren asked excitedly as the Porsche shifted gears to negotiate the increasing steepness of the mountain road. The highway they were on was one of the old two-laners, and together with dazzling mountain scenery and the verdant walls of tamaracks and pines that surrounded them, it seemed like a scene right out of a picture postcard.

.

GOODREADS BLURB: WELCOME TO LAKE HOUSE…

A sprawling Adirondack “great camp” with 160 rooms, each carpeted in evil and painted with human blood.

ENTER IF YOU DARE…

Explore the miles of dark, twisting hallways, reeking with the stench of death. Journey through a bizarre labyrinth into chambers of unearthly proportions, up creaking stairways leading nowhere. But never…never…venture into the black heart of the awesome edifice.

YOU MAY NEVER LEAVE!

For creatures roam the corridors of Lake House. Hideous beings older than civilization — restless, waiting…hungry! Blood-chilling denizens of Hell that emerge only under cover of darkness… “Things” that will haunt your dreams and devour your soul!

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Which cover do you prefer?

Night ThingsNight Things

Save

Save

Friday 56 #124 – Sucker Bet by James Swain @JSwainAuthor

Posted on by

.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~

All I had to do is see the cover and I knew I wanted to read Sucker Bet by James Swain.

This is the cover for my hard copy, but there is another awesome one below.

Sucker Bet (Tony Valentine #3)

Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“Shoot the pickle?” Moon declared louly. “What in bloody hell does that mean?”

(Page 56 in hardcover,1st edition, published in 2003)

Book Beginnings

The mark’s name was Nigel Moon.

.

GOODREADS BLURB: A hardened ex-cop with great instincts, a sharp eye, and a short fuse, Tony Valentine still catches crooks, but a very special breed of them. He nabs hustlers who rob casinos, and finds the fatal flaw that allowed the place to get ripped off in the first place. Sometimes that means biting the hand that feeds him, but Valentine isn’t paid to sugarcoat the cold, hard truth. Along flashy strips and in seedy dives, if there’s a game to be fixed, Valentine knows how to spot the tricks, the scams, the sleight of hand. And with his new case, there’s definitely more on the table than meets the eye.

Harry Smooth Stone, head of security at the Micanopy Indian Reservation Casino in South Florida, desperately needs Valentine’s expertise. A blackjack dealer has rigged a game, dealt a player eighty-four winning hands in a row, and disappeared. Valentine’s gut tells him a different story: that the runaway dealer is alligator food and his employers are keeping secrets.

But the missing dealer is part of an even bigger, far deadlier scheme. Valentine’s trail leads him to Rico Blanco, a ruthless gangster who once worked for John Gotti, his shady, elusive partner-in-crime, Victor Marks, and a bombshell named Candy Hart, a hooker with dreams of love, a combination tailored made to double-cross. It appears they have a con going down involving a cocky, filthy rich Brit and his millions of dollars. Valentine’s challenge: to figure out how all the pieces of the seamy puzzle fit together . . . before his luck runs out and his life goes bust.

In prose that sizzles with style and a wicked sense of humor, with plot twists that could cause whiplash, James Swain takes readers behind the neon-lit scenes of casinos and the gambling trade—and reveals a colorful cast of hustlers and con men, bookies and grifters. Make no mistake about it: on the crowded shelves of fiction, Sucker Bet is a sure thing.

  • To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
  • To see all my reviews, go HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Which cover do you prefer?

Sucker Bet (Tony Valentine #3)

Save