5.0 out of 5 stars
Great novel, but beware of large print edition, Dec 1 2010
By Charlene Vickers - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die (Hardcover)
I loved this book. It's edgy without being ridiculous, the characters are three-dimensional and believable, and the plot works.
I'm posting this review, though, to warn readers about the Large Print edition, which is sloppily printed with entire paragraphs (and in one instance, an entire page) missing. The audio version might be preferable in this case.
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Women are meaner than men, Mr. G.", Aug 12 2008
By J. H. Minde "Everything I need is right here" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die: A Rat Pack Mystery (Hardcover)
Las Vegas, 1960. The Sands Hotel. The Rat Pack's in town to attend the premier of "Oceans Eleven." Frank's latest squeeze, Mary Clarke, disappears. Hoping to find her, he turns to his friend, Eddie Gianelli, who has all of Vegas wired.
As soon as Eddie G. starts looking for Mary, he finds a trail of fresh blood with dead clydes strewn all along it like mile markers. He also finds Mary's sister, Lily, and finds himself in the middle of a---how shall we say it?---a small but pungent disagreement between mob boss Sam Giancana and a low-level soldier on his payroll.
The wisecracks fly as fast as the bullets in this novel, which, like Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (Rat Pack Mysteries) is paced about as fast as a blackjack dealer's hands. Once again, Robert Randisi has written a noir light tale of murder, mystery and mayhem, this time centered around the darker side of life in that fondly-remembered Las Vegas of times gone by (CSI, eat yer heart out!) and The Chairman of The Board's legendary weakness for beautiful women. That was the world that was.
Great beach reading, LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE never slows, and it never loses your interest either. With chapters as short as one page, Randisi tells his story in full-color live-action snapshots, and the only failing of this book is that it ends before you want it to. And that's the sign of A REALLY GOOD BOOK, pallie.
4.0 out of 5 stars
LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE by Robert J. Randisi, July 12 2008
By Benjamin Boulden - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die: A Rat Pack Mystery (Hardcover)
Robert J. Randisi is one of the hardest working writers currently producing and his work is reliably entertaining, action-packed, and good fun. He has written a broad variety of popular fiction over his twenty-five year career--Westerns, mystery, action, and even horror. He reintroduced me to the Western early in the twenty-first century with his fine novel MIRACLE OF THE JACAL and downright wowed me with his police procedural ALONE WITH THE DEAD, the first of his impressive Joe Keough series, and now he's at his best with the latest Rat Pack novel, LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE.
LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE opens six months after the filming of the original Ocean's Eleven. Eddie Gianelli--Eddie G to his friends--is back at his post as a Sands pit boss when he learns his new friends, the Rat Pack, are expected back in town for the premier of the film. Eddie isn't expecting much so when Dean Martin summons him, Eddie is pleasantly surprised; and even more surprised when Martin asks him to help Frank with a problem. His new paramour, who was supposed to meet him in Vegas, has disappeared. Frank assigns New York heavy Jerry Epstein to watch Eddie's back again, and with good reason, because it doesn't take long for the body-count to rise and for Eddie to realize things are going to get a little personal.
LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE is a terrific private-eye novel--Eddie G is a likable, hip, sarcastic, and tough protagonist. The supporting cast is strong. The New York import, Jerry Epstein--don't call him torpedo--is perfect. He brings a straight-faced humor to the story that elevates it well beyond the usual. And his appetite for pancakes and playing the horses is seemingly endless; in a good way.
The background characters--the Rat Pack, Sam Giancana, Jack Entratter--help create the glitzy, cool atmosphere of 1960s Vegas; you know, before it was dummed-down to Disneyland in the desert. The mystery is top-notch and there is more than one kink in the final pages. The reader, as well as Eddie G and his small gang, are in the dark until Randisi expertly reveals the intrigue.
LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE is Randisi's best work since the Joe Keough novels, and if you like American-style mysteries, hip private eye stories, or just an entertaining and enjoyable read you can't do much better. And I hope Randisi has plans for one or two more of these.
Ben Boulden, Gravetapping