Book Review: Deadman’s Poker by James Swain
Just finished reading Deadman’s Poker by James Swain. I’ve written reviews of Mr. Swain’s other books previously for a poker-related website, and will re-post them here in the coming days and weeks.
Swain’s main character is Tony Valentine, a retired police officer with a casino consulting business that specializes in catching cheaters. The series is built around Valentine, who lives in Palm Harbor, near Swain’s own home in Odessa, FL and the books move between Florida, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City
I have to say that I enjoyed the book quite a lot. I enjoy poker and gambling narratives, and have an appreciation for authors that are able to build a series of books around a central character, and then mature that character and his supporting cast as they move through time. There is nothing worse than a main character who never progresses emotionally, morally, or physically, a sure sign of laziness in a writer. Fortunately, Swain keeps developing his characters further in each successive novel, making it infinitely more interesting to read.
The plot in Deadman’s Poker involves the fixing of the World Poker Showdown, a fictionalized version of the WSOP, utilizing an unrevealed (in this book) cheating scam. A character reminiscent of Amarillo Slim makes the cheating accusation after busting out on Day 1 of the tournament, and Tony Valentine is called in to investigate. Along the way we’re treated to a number of prop bet scams, the workings of which are revealed in due time during the story – great stuff for the degenerate gamblers among us, fascinating for those of us that enjoy figuring out how magicians and conmen do their tricks.
Valentine’s son is along for the ride, and Swain has continued to mature Gerry and the relationship between father and son. Of course, while Gerry shows more flashes of being able to think on his feet in dangerous situations, including a gritty, distasteful sequence of events leading up to the climax, it still takes Valentine riding to the rescue with the infantry in tow to save the day in the climax of this first-of-two-parts story.
Two parts? Yep. The story continues in the next novel, Deadman’s Bluff, released only one-month after Deadman’s Poker. Up next on my reading list, of course.
Anyway, this is an action story that moves right along. Having read the previous books in the Tony Valentine series, I knew what to expect and was not disappointed. Great stuff!
Visit my other blogs: My Weight-Loss Blog & My Poker Blog
More "Book Reviews" Posts
- Book Review: Deadman’s Poker by James Swain
- Book Review: Deadman’s Bluff by James Swain
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