Deadman's Bluff (26 page)
Authors: James Swain
Praise for James Swain’s
Tony Valentine novels
“Mixing humor, suspense, poignancy, and insider-lore, Swain is one terrific writer.”
—
The Wall Street Journal
“Swain’s mysteries…are a sure bet.”
—
Chicago Tribune
“James Swain is the real thing, a writer of pure, athletic prose, capable of bringing alive characters as original and three-dimensional as our best novelists.”
—J
AMES
W. H
ALL
“This smooth, funny series has got to be one of the finds of the decade.”
—Kirkus
“An expert on casino swindles, the author packs his books with mind-boggling cons and scams…along with entertaining dialogue and vivid characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
MR. LUCKY
“Bask in Swain’s Las Vegas without having to set foot in the place and risk being skinned alive.”
—Washington Post Book World
“The momentum is great, the writing nimble, the action intricate. If you like Swain’s formula, as I do, you’ll get a lot of what you expect and love it.”—
Los Angeles Times
“Hits the jackpot. Impossible to put down.”
—M
ICHAEL
C
ONNELLY
LOADED DICE
“Leaves us wanting more of this pulsing buoyant book.”
—Los Angeles Times
“A poker novel with the punch of a royal flush…ought to be required reading.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“Pure entertainment, building to a slam-bang ending.”
—San Jose Mercury News
“Great fun with just the right amount of edge—sort of like a night out at the blackjack table.”
—
Booklist
SUCKER BET
“Ingenious entertainment.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Great fun…Swain, an expert on card trickery and casino cheating, is an entertaining writer whose breezy style and flair for wise-guy dialogue make the story zoom by.”
—
Boston Globe
“A vivid insider’s look at casinos [that] hits the jackpot…
Sucker Bet
is a sure thing.”
—
Chicago Tribune
“Swain has come up with a doozy…. The gambling details are a treat [and] the banter is worthy of a place at Elmore Leonard’s table.”
—
Booklist
FUNNY MONEY
“Fascinating…dazzling…entertaining…I can’t think of a novel I’ve enjoyed more this year.”
—Los Angeles Times
“There’s a certain intelligence to a book that teaches you something—even something as esoteric as how to spot a casino cheat—and Swain juggles that mix of learning and adventure perfectly.”
—
Houston Chronicle
“Smart, snappy…tremendously infectious.”
—St. Petersburg Times
“Great fun—with oddball characters, a twisted plot, and scheming dreamers out for the big score.”
—Lansing State Journal
GRIFT SENSE
“A well-plotted debut mystery that pays off handsomely…
Grift Sense
delivers a vivid and credible look at the gaming industry through eccentric yet believable characters.”
—Chicago Tribune
“
Grift Sense
is one of the best debuts I’ve read in years. It has a great plot, wonderful characters, and a slick, subtle wit.”
—
The Toronto Globe and Mail
“The hard-nosed dialogue and the fast-paced, serpentine plot deliver a page-turner of a mystery. Just when readers start to relax, thinking it’s clear sailing to the end, Swain throws yet another curve.”
—
Canadian Press
Deadman’s Bluff
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original
Copyright © 2006 by James Swain
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-345-49374-3
v3.0