The Picasso Flop
A Texas Hold'em Mystery
by Vince van Patten and Robert Randisi
Professional poker player Jimmy Spain had hoped to ask his former cellmate, the wealthy Harold Lanrigan, for
start-up money. Lanrigan did fund his early prison release, which lopped five years off Spain’s fifteen-year
sentence. Spain wants to return to the one thing he knows: poker. When Lanrigan provides money and a plane ticket
to visit him, Spain figures he owes his benefactor the side trip.
Spain needs cash. Not only because he’s been in jail for ten years, but also because he plans to enter the
World Poker Tournament. Lanrigan wants Spain to mentor his estranged daughter Kat, an amateur poker player.
Lanrigan will provide all start-up costs - condo, food, ten thousand dollars monthly, and money for tournament
buy-ins. Kat can never know the setup. Spain’s all in.
The brash, gum-smacking Kat turns out to have raw talent and lots of
ambition. Their goal: playing in the grand World Poker Tournament
at the Bellagio Hotel. With poker celebrities like Mike Sexton,
Doyle Brunson, and James Woods, the World Poker Tournament attracts
fans and money around the globe. Spain keeps his mind on his cards,
the one thing he’s depended on his whole life. Tournament players
are in shock when a young, hot poker player is murdered. More players
are murdered, and the evidence makes the tournament’s players suspects.
A Picasso Flop, picture cards, is found on each of the bodies. Police
suspect Kat, and Spain wonders about her innocence when she uses
him for a fake alibi. Can Spain keep them both alive and find the
real killer, while keeping himself in the game?
I'm a fan of Vince Van Patten and loved the book. I'm hoping for
a sequel. |
The Book |
Mysterious Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA |
February 2007 |
Hardcover |
0-89296-070-1 |
Mystery |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: some language, violence |
The Reviewer |
Jennifer Akers |
Reviewed 2007 |
NOTE: |
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