There are going to be spoilers in this review. If you don't want to see them, don't read past this first paragraph. I didn't like this book nearly as much as I wanted to. I will try to explain why.Normally, I love a good con story. The intricacies of the plot, the good guys unraveling it, setting a trap and catching the bad guys. But in Grift Sense, I just couldn't get into it.For one thing, none of the characters are particularly likeable. Even the hero, Tony Valentine, doesn't have much to recommend him. For one thing, he doesn't seem to act in any consistent way. He is an expert on card cheats, and comes to Vegas to catch the thief. But he spends most of his time there being blown by the wind. He's often in the wrong place at the wrong time. Valentine knows that the con is going to go down after a big boxing match. But he never sets up in the casino to catch the guy. Instead, he tells the casino security, which has been illustrated to be barely competent earlier, what to watch for when the con happens. When it does happen, he's out on the edge of town, lured there by someone who Tony knows is in on the con. Why doesn't he stay at the casino to orchestrate the capture of the criminal? He also gets beat up a lot. He can see that some people are involved but oblivious to others being involved. I never got the feeling that he was very good at his job. I wouldn't hire him to protect anything.People close to Tony get hurt. He wants to leave Vegas to help them but doesn't. But also doesn't do very much to protect them anyway. He knows lots of cops and ex-cops in Florida (where a good friend lives) and New York (where his son lives) but never calls them to go protect these people.Meanwhile, in Vegas, he is running around with people who clearly are incompetent. Instead of going off on his own to solve the case, he is dragged around by a lazy pit boss and a too-old head of security. He continues to move at the whim of a casino owner who is his own worst enemy. And through it all, Valentine complains about the Vegas heat and crowds. Just get over it buddy, and do your job. Meanwhile, the writing is lazy, such as this exchange.After Frank Fontaine (the con man) is revealed to be Sonny Fontana (who people presumed to be dead):Sammy: "I knew when I heard Fontaine laugh that he was someone I'd run with."Two paragraphs later, Wily, to Sammy: "Didn't you once run with Fontana?"Didn't Sammy just say that? Wily is a dummy, but I'd think he would remember something that was said thirty seconds earlier.This could have been a lot better. The book had the chance to explain better how people cheat the casinos and what the casinos do to thwart them. Instead, it barely touches on those things.I started this book wanting to like it. I think the biggest con was getting me to buy the book in the first place.
Grift Sense is the debut novel by James Swain that introduces Tony Valentine. Valentine is a retired cop who now works as a consultant to gaming establishments, attempting to prevent them from being cheated.Tony has mostly worked in New Jersey and has compiled a huge database of hustlers and crooks who attempt to defraud casinos. He doesn’t much like Las Vegas but he feels compelled to answer a call from the owner of the Acropolis, a gaudy, aging, down on the heels Vegas operation.A gambler named Frank Fontaine has breezed into town and nicked the Acropolis for $50,000 at the blackjack tables. Fontaine is way too good to be purely lucky and he’s making plays that no intelligent gambler would make. Worst of all, the plays are almost always paying off and, given the precarious state of the casino’s finances, if this keeps up the place could go under.Valentine arrives in town and is almost immediately convinced that a beautiful blonde dealer is assisting Fontaine, but Tony can’t figure out how the scheme is being worked. During the course of his investigation, Valentine encounters more than a fair share of very colorful characters and soon finds that he’s threatening the interests of some very nasty people who don’t take this sort of thing lightly.Grift Sense is a very good read and an introduction to an unusual and appealing protagonist. Swain obviously has some experience in these matters, and one of the really interesting things about these books is the explanation of the schemes that some hustlers use to defraud casinos. There’s a fair amount of humor involved; the story is interesting and all in all, readers will almost certainly enjoy spending an evening or two in the company of Tony Valentine.
What do You think about Grift Sense (2005)?
This takes place in Las Vegas. The author is a well-known expert in cards and gambling. He also knows all the tricks of the trade when It comes to cheating the system. Valentine is a retired cop. He now runs his own private business from his condo in Florida. I enjoyed this book and the unique aspect of the cards/gambling cheating etc. Amidst the neon and the big special ugly of Las Vegas, mild-mannered Frank Fontaine is beating the brains out of the Acropolis Casino. The house cops think the dealer, a blonde named Nola, is part of the con, but no one can prove a thing. For Tony Valentine, it’s the first new scam he’s seen in decades—and maybe the best.
—Kellie
GRIFT SENSE (Paid Investigator-Las Vegas-Cont) – GSwain, James – 1st in seriesBallantine Books, 2003- PaperbackTony Valentine is an expert at spotting gambling scams. When the Acropolis Casino has lost big to a gambler named Frank Fontaine, Tony is hired to find out how it's being done. But things really get interesting when it turns out Fontaine is actually another gambler who was supposed to have been killed years before.*** The period felt more like the 50's than present day, and the only really dimensional character was Tony. But this is a fun, quick, rather light read with a couple very good twists.
—LJ
RATING: 3.75Rumor has it that there are people who go to Las Vegas and win lots of money (rumor only because it's never happened to me and I can't prove it). But in a casino, a person who wins an inordinate amount of the time is likely to be cheating. And the guy at the blackjack table where Nola Briggs is dealing has hit it big three nights in a row. He plays a totally stupid game, drawing on 17, things like that, and walks away with $50,000. When the security folks at the Acropolis Casino view the tapes, they can't see that the man has been cheating or the dealer helping him. Since the casino is one of the least successful in Vegas, they can't afford those kinds of losses. So they call in an expert who's helped in the casinos in Atlantic City, a 62-year old ex-cop with grift sense by the name of Tony Valentine. Valentine has a nose for hustlers, and he immediately knows that the game is rigged, even if it's not clear how.Even though Tony is an expert, he's having trouble figuring out how Frank Fontaine is pulling off his scam. Something about him nags at Tony, and he reaches way back into the past to discover that he's dealing with one of the most skilled grifters in the business. Working with the security folks, Valentine needs to predict when he will hit again and scam the scammer. There's a fun cast of characters in the book, starting with Tony, torn between protecting his estranged son and continuing with the job; Tony's neighbor, Mabel, who writes outrageous classified ads for kicks; and the casino owner, Nick, who is a sucker for a beautiful woman. There's not a lot of depth to most of the characters, but that's to be expected, as most of the focus is on the con.GRIFT SENSE is the first book in the series. The author has some insider knowledge, since he is a professional magician who is very adept at card tricks and manipulation. It's really interesting to see how Las Vegas casinos protect themselves from cheaters. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series, hopefully before my next vacation to Aruba where I like to engage in a hand or two of blackjack.
—Maddy
