I like mystery series with quirky heroes and a few surreal characters. The first couple of Tony Valentine novels didn’t quite fit that description, but there was still something not quite mainstream that drew me. In this novel, Swain has really started to come into his own as a writer. Though his hero, Tony Valentine, lives in Florida, this is the first novel that actually takes place there, and the locale is a plus. Though not as zany as Dorsey or Hiaasen, some of that off-kilter Floridaness that makes their books so good shines through here. Valentine is his usual surly self, but this time he’s doing it amid a cast of highly entertaining, colorful characters.He responds to a request from the Micanopy Indian casino to help catch blackjack cheaters when his romance with a professional wrestler goes south. A dealer has disappeared after dealing 84 winning hands to aging rock star Nigel Moon, and the Micanopys want to know how the scam was pulled off. What makes Valentine suspicious is that they don’t seem so curious about what happened to the missing dealer, which makes him think some of the bad guys might be in casino management. When they try to feed him to the gators, he gets mad. Moon’s winning streak is only part of a bigger scam involving a hooker, a college basketball game, a game show, and a carnival owner with a trained chimpanzee named Mr. Beauregard. Valentine just wants to figure out the blackjack scam, and isn’t even aware of most of the intrigue playing out around him until he stumbles into the thick of it. Using his wits, along with some help from his ne’er do well son Gerry, the Micanopy chief, and his indomitable neighbor Mabel, who’s minding the store while he’s out of town, Valentine slowly unravels the intricate scam a murdering lowlife has been weaving for months. He faces danger more than once, but manages to get through it and even figures out a few things in his personal life, as well, as he goes through the process of grieving for his dead wife Lois.This is a quality series of well-woven mysteries with a strong lead character. Tony Valentine may be a little on the crotchety side, but he’s a good guy with strong morals who inspires love and loyalty in those around him, and he’s no prudish goody two-shoes. He faces tough decisions and he makes mistakes, but he always ferrets out the villain. This time out, he did so against a richer backdrop of minor characters that pushed this book a notch above his others. There are still several more books for me to read in this series, and I look forward to them. James Swain is a crime novelist to watch.
RATING: 3.75How on earth does someone win 84 blackjack hands in a row? By having a crooked dealer, of course. And who does a casino call when they have cheating going on? Why, the expert, naturally, Tony Valentine, an Atlantic City ex-cop who now lives in Florida and specializes in uncovering casino scams. Harry Smooth Stone is the head of security at the Micanopy Indian Reservation in south Florida. The dealer who has provided all of the good luck to rich, retired rock and roll drummer Nigel Moon has disappeared, and Harry calls in Valentine to find the man and reveal the con. Tony is pretty sure that Jack Lightfoot, the dealer, is alligator food. The investigation leads him to a gangster by the name of Rico Blanco who at one time worked for John Gotti. Blanco has built a plan to convince Mr. Moon that he is blessed with good luck. At the opportune moment, Blanco will relieve him of the fruits of his labor. He's involved a hooker by the name of Candy Hart to help hoodwink Moon, but she foolishly falls in love with the mark.Valentine almost ends up as alligator bait himself, but he's assisted by a few unexpected partners. My favorite new "character" in the book was Mr. Beauregard, an amazing chimp who is extremely sensitive to the human beings around him and plays their favorite tunes on the ukulele. Tony's no-good son is in the picture again, and it looks like he might finally be turning himself around. Tony's also showing better taste in women than in the past.I liked SUCKER BET even more than the first 2 books in the series. Tony is maturing in important ways (an odd thing to say about a 65-year-old man!) which make him a more likable character in this book. He is assisted in his investigations by his trusty neighbor, Mabel, who mans the office while he is out. Valentine has numerous clients, and Mabel frequently calls him to figure out one of the scams that is being run on them. These little mini-scams are sprinkled throughout the book, and it's amazing to see exactly what the various crooks are doing to make the big win. There are sanded card edges, the double underpants substitute and more ways to cheat than there are spots in a truckload of dice. Sometimes these incidents are included in the story in a rather clumsy way, but it doesn't matter because it's interesting to see how they are being worked.SUCKER BET may not be great literature, but it's great fun to read! Engaging characters, twisty plot threads and hits of humor all add up to an enjoyable romp.
