Randisi, Robert J.

The Picasso Flop (Texas Hold'em Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

enjoyed it
Not a mystery or poker book
A Predictable Mystry
Not for the Poker Literate
interesting poker mystery

The Picasso Flop (Texas Hold'em Mysteries)
Vince Van Patten , and Robert J. Randisi
Manufacturer: Mysterious Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0892960701

Book Description

From Vince Van Patten, host of the World Poker Tour, and mystery writer Robert J. Randisi comes a novel of chilling murder and riveting poker suspense. Just out of prison after ten years, professional poker player Jimmy Spain visits his wealthy former cell mate and listens to an offer he can't refuse. The rich man wants the ex-con to mentor his only child in the game of poker. In return, he'll set Jimmy up and pay all of his buy-ins on the poker tour. This deal looks like easy money, especially after Jimmy meets the kid--a cocky and abrasive young girl named Kat who has some good, yet raw, poker skills. Soon Jimmy and Kat enter a World Poker Tour tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Things are coming up aces...until a player is found brutally slain with a Picasso flop--three picture cards--on his body. When suspicion points to Kat as the killer, it's up to Jimmy to find the real culprit--while fighting to remain in the tournament. As one ghastly murder after another knocks out other players, this hard-bitten veteran of the felt knows that in this cutthroat world of card sharks, someone could eliminate him--or Kat--for good. On the clock, with the blinds escalating, and down to his last hand, Jimmy fears he may be drawing dead. Featuring the appearances of such poker luminaries as Mike Sexton, Doyle Brunson, and James Woods, and cowritten by a true impresario of the game, THE PICASSO FLOP mixes money, mystery, and the adrenaline-pumping excitement of Texas hold'em poker action, Vegas-style. Shuffle up and read. Author Bio: Vince Van Patten is the current host and commentator for the nationally televised World Poker Tour, but his work as a poker ambassador is only one facet of a remarkably diverse career as an actor, screenwriter, producer, director, and world-ranked tennis pro. He lives in Malibu, California.

Customer Reviews:

enjoyed it.......2007-05-31

I enjoyed the story and the Las Vegas setting. I'm not a poker aficianado so the game play could be dead wrong and I wouldn't know it, though I've watched poker tournaments on TV. I did think the name-dropping of "real" players was used too heavily, to the detriment of developing the fictional characters and should have stayed more in the background for flavor.

Not a mystery or poker book.......2007-05-07

I am both a mystery reader (try Harlan Coben) and love poker. I picked this book up as it looked like it would meld these two worlds. Sorry but this book is awful. Its very flat, the characters have no character and you don't indentify or get involved in any one of them.

If you are a poker fan, you will notice a lot of inconsistencies (i.e. main character meets up with young lady in April, just after the completion of the WSOP....NOT, WSOP played in summer time). Also, the scene in the beginning of a high stakes game just doesn't feel real.

I felt like I was at a cocktail party with a person that had very low self-esteem and all they could do was drop names of famous people. Also, the attempt at accents is terrible (southern for Mike Sexton, french for one of the characters).

Bottom line is don't waste your time or money on this book.

A Predictable Mystry.......2007-05-07

Read this one out of curiosity. Not a bad read, especially if you're interested in poker and the poker culture as well as in mystery.

Not for the Poker Literate.......2007-04-04

The first few pages of this book portray a high-stakes poker game going on in a casino prior to a big tournament. If you actually play cash no-limit poker, the best way to approach this book is to skip that section. I posted a much more detailed review but it has disappeared. This one will probably go away also. However, if you read this between the time I post it and the time someone erases it, heed my warning.

If you must read the first few pages, the only actual poker hands in the book, read it on an airplane because the airsickness bag will come in handy.

Will in New Haven

interesting poker mystery .......2007-02-23

Having spent the past decade in jail on a manslaughter conviction, poker guru Jimmy Spain is stunned by the changes. Texas hold 'em is all over TV and the Internet, and women and amateurs participate in tournaments in which a zillion play.

Prison friend Harold Landrigan worries about his daughter Kat, who dreams of making it big in the poker world though her tournament experience is near zero. Harold hires Jimmy to mentor his twenty-two year old daughter Kat; to do so Jimmy enters the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in which she is a participant. He arranges to meet her and cons her into hiring him to train her. When Jimmy manages to meet Kat he make his mentoring her idea. He also meets Sabine Chevalier, but his plan for her is more personal. When someone murders star Tim Bennett, leaving behind THE PICASSO FLOP (a jack, a queen and a king) Kat and Sabine name Jimmy as their alibi. As others are killed with the same calling cards left at the scene, Las Vegas Police Detective Cooper asks Jimmy, the son of a cop, to conduct a supplemental insider investigation.

THE PICASSO FLOP is an interesting poker mystery starring a likable player who is caught between two women, LVPD, and the deadly tournament where someone is not bluffing. The story line is at its best at the card table where the audience will be enthralled while the games are played. The whodunit and Jimmy's background take gallery seats to Texas hold `em as TV poker announcer Vince Van Patten and mystery writer Robert J. Randisi combine to provide a full house.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

The Real Nightstalker
Gotta Love Carl Kolchak!

Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook
Christopher Golden , John Ostrander , Robert J. Randisi , Pierce Askegren , Mike Baron , Rachel Caine , Mark Dawidziak , Tom DeFalco , P.N. Elrod , John Everson , Joe Gentile , Elizabeth Massie , Gary Phillips , James Reasoner , and Richard Dean Starr
Manufacturer: Moonstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Kolchak The Night Stalker Volume 1

ASIN: 1933076178

Book Description

After the Stoker Award nominated success of the Kolchak Chronicles (and its various printings), we have a brand new collection of original creepy-thriller Kolchak prose short stories! Again, we have culled the best and the brightest among horror/mystery novelists and comic writers! So listen in as Kolchak relays some of his most spine-tingling cases about voodoo, myths, ghost towns, time conundrums, Vikings, haunted amusement parks, pirates, big fish and some startling revelations about Kolchak's past!

Customer Reviews:

The Real Nightstalker.......2007-05-11

Another collection of fine stories. This is the character we all grew to know and love back in the seventies, not the one in the aborted new show(shudder). It's worth the price to lovers of the oddball character Darrin McGavin brought us way back when. Moonstone has a new novel on the way as well. Anyone who likes good adventure should check out The Spider anthology and The forthcoming Phantom anthology as well.

Gotta Love Carl Kolchak!.......2007-04-14

A wonderful collection of new adventures for our beloved Night Stalker, Carl Kolchak. Spooky, unnerving, supernatural, fun, funny, and thought-provoking, these tales stay true to the quirky character we came to love on television in the 1970's. Includes two gorgeous interior illos by Cortney Skinner for the Chris Golden/Rick Hautala and the Pierce Askegren stories. Absolutely worth the cover price.

Average customer rating:

SO GOOD

Blood Of Angels
Robert J. Randisi
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Alone with the Dead (Joe Keough Mysteries)
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ASIN: 0843954760

Customer Reviews:

SO GOOD.......2004-12-13

Joe Keough is back with his partner Harriet. This time, they are dealing with a/or more serial killer(s). Killing of little children are happening in St-Louis and Chicago with strange coincidences.

I LOVE the character of Joe Keough. This book is not chock full of action, but the author manages to describe the murder scenes with a vivid accuracy (without too much gore) and lets you feel as though you are seeing it yourself.

The character of Keough is far from perfect and is, in fact, loaded with confusion. HIs heart is in the right place though and all he knows is that he needs to find the killer(s).

As I said, there isn't a ton of action on every page, but Keough will walk you through these murders with a sharp eye and very interesting twists.

This is a smart thriller and is absolutely worth the price of the book.

Buy it.

Average customer rating:

Tried a little too hard
Pretty Good
Fast moving....but
good read

Blood on the Arch
Robert J. Randisi
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0843949465

Amazon.com

Robert Randisi is the founder and executive director of the Private Eye Writers of America, the creator of the Shamus Award, and the cofounder of Mystery Scene magazine. With such an impressive résumé, one wonders why his latest mystery novel is so leaden.

Blood on the Arch is another in Randisi's series of St. Louis mysteries (see also In the Shadow of the Arch) starring Joe Keough, a New York City detective transplanted to the Midwest. Joe's the St. Louis department's "number-one homicide man," on the scene whenever a tricky murder threatens to baffle lesser minds. This time, Mark Drucker, who has shadowy but definite political connections and ambitions, has been bludgeoned to death in one of the trams that shuttle tourists to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Drucker had been up to his ears in the misappropriation of city funds, and a lot of solid citizens had been gunning for his political, if not actual, demise. As he delves into Drucker's past, present, and future, Keough must negotiate cranky public officials, suspiciously unhelpful lawyers, and a personal dilemma or two.

Unfortunately, Randisi's characters are shallowly drawn, the plot dully incoherent, the denouement astonishingly nonsensical. The reader looking for well-written Midwestern mysteries with a tinge of political graft would be far better advised to turn to Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series (Tunnel Vision, Blood Shot). One hopes that Blood on the Arch is a momentary aberration, and that Randisi's next foray into authorship will better fulfill his dedication to the private-eye genre. --Kelly Flynn

Customer Reviews:

Tried a little too hard.......2002-01-18

to make this hard to figure out until it lost some of its credibility. A simpler plot line would have worked better. However, it's still fairly entertaining. If you're a knowledgable mystery reader, you'll probably figure it out anyway.

Pretty Good.......2000-07-17

Robert Randisi is a good writer.I've enjoyed all his books,and "Blood on the Arch"is no exception.I read the book in 2 days.Joe Keogh is an interesting character.Short chapters,lots of conversations-what more could you ask for?Ha!

Fast moving....but.......2000-05-26

Blood on the Arch had a very interesting, and at times, complicated mystery about it. What I particularly enjoyed about the book was Detective Joe Keough's desire to solve the murders. It was refreshing to read about a character who thought more about his job (solving the murders), than his own career (the harrasment suit). The one big downside to the book revolved around its ending. The author never goes into any detail regarding why the murders were taking place. He does talk about the land development opportunities, but it was few and far between.

This is the first book that I have read in the Detective Joe Keough series, I just hope that the next one is a little more developed than this one.

good read.......2000-04-16

Although Detective Joe Keough has worked in St. Louis for less than a year, he has attained the reputation as the city police force's number one homicide cop. After stopping a gruesome serial killer, Joe is a hero on a par with home run slugger Mark McGuire.

Joe's latest case takes him to the Gateway Arch where he finds the bludgeoned body of the person responsible for his new home and job in St. Louis. Joe deeply believes he owes it to Mark Drucker to solve the case by bringing the murderer to justice. Joe quickly realizes he knows very little about his mentor including how Mark earned his money. As Joe digs for clues and answers, another homicide directly linked to the Drucker case occurs. Keough slowly wades through the city's movers and shakers determined to uncover the truth even as his inquiries leave some individuals very nervous about what the persistent detective will learn.

Robert J. Randisi has written an electrifying police procedural novel that will makes fans of the sub-genre extremely happy with this special work. BLOOD ON THE ARCH moves at a very rapid pace, with many delightful red herrings interwoven into the plot to fool Joe and the audience. Though the subplot about his health brings readers closer to the Joe, the protagonist is clearly a maverick who follows his own moral beliefs when it conflicts with the rules. This, in turn, leaves readers wondering about the enigmatic Joe and wanting more tales to learn more about his past and present motivations.

Customer Reviews:

AN EXCELLENT WESTERN ANTHOLOGY -A MUST READ.......2004-07-12

A reporter on his way to New York for a job possibilty stops at The White Elephant Saloon in Ft. Worth for a meal. Inquiring as to why so many folks were gathered the reporter was surprised to hear the crowd had gathered for a funeral and wake. The funeral of Tanner Moody. So he decides to write a series of articles about Moody, gathering his information from the stories told by those in attendence. Marthayan Pelegrimas in her magnificent tale Poor Ole Moody tells of Tanner's early life, the young girl who always loved him, the death of Moody's stepmother and how he protected Ellie. Love And Bullets is an exciting story by Peter Brandvold of how Tanner became involved with a beautiful Mexican girl and her thirst for revenge against her father that led Moody down the owlhoot trail. Now Tanner Moody despite his reputation as an owlhoot was also a badge toter as James Reasoner relates to us in his stirring tale Tanner Moody And The Prophet Mountains. You'll find that Tanner Moody was also at one time a bounty hunter as you read Livia Washburn's thrilling story of how Moody rescued a group of abandoned boys out on the western plains while bringing in an old acquiantance who just happened to be an escaped prisoner. Kerry Newcomb, who once his story The Man Who Let The Devil Out, gets out to readers and publishers alike will be selling books faster than he can write them. This is an intriguing tale of a man from Tanner's past who with unexpected help from Moody, was able to rediscover his courage. Then there is the well crafed story Three-Handed Winner by Robert J. Randisi about a poker game Moody had with some well known westerners that had a deadly ending for some would be robbers. With additional stories by Elmer Kelton and John Jakes, THE FUNERAL OF TANNER MOODY IS A MUST READ and an OUTSTADING book that is very well edited by Robert J. Randisi. I would hope Mr. Randisi does other books like this in the future.

Book Description

Joe Keough, a former New York City police detective, moved to St. Louis to get away from the bloodshed of the Big Apple and start fresh. But five minutes into Keoughs new life, four-year-old Brady Sanders walked into his St. Louis police station, leaving behind a trail of bloody footprints. "Each of Randisis novels is better than its entertaining predecessor."-BOOKLIST

That was only the beginning of a twisted trail of darkness and fear, from Brady's missing parents and their blood soaked house, to the kidnapping of beautiful mothers and their small children. Were these hideous acts a series of unrelated coincidences, or was there a serial killer on the loose, stalking and killing the citizens of St. Louis? It wasnt long before Keough was forced to realize that death in the Midwest is no different from death in New York. Terror is terror, no matter where you live. "Randisi successfully combines dry humor and suspense to come up with one heckuva read. This man knows how people talk and think and it shows."

Customer Reviews:

Related or Illiterate.......2001-11-07

Skip this one. Anyone who finds any part of this book even remotely believable is either related to the author or cannot read. His bumbling St. Louis police force is ridiculous.

In the shadow of Joe's amazing hunches........2000-11-17

The main character, Joe Keough, does very little (if any) actual detective work in this rather tepid novel.

Amazingly, both the multiple murder investigation and the events surrounding little Brady Sanders manage to solve themselves with minimal input from Detective Keough. Joe is simply there to act on his outlandish hunches and pick up all the credit. This comes even at the cost of a fellow officer. But hey, it was the one detective on the force that all the men and women didn't really care for anyway, so what's the big deal, right?

In reality, all Joe Keough has in this story are his hunches. He even goes so far as to tell this to his superiors and the FBI.

The supporting cast of officers are ineffectual, as is the story's villain. It is for these reasons that I cannot in good conscience recommend this novel.

Enjoyable read.......2000-08-22

I grabbed this book from a limited selection at an airport newsstand, not being terribly familiar with the author, but needing something to help distract me from a four-hour flight. The author manages to integrate several story lines and does a nice job of mixing mystery, a little romance, as well as some humor. It was one of those "have to finish it" books as opposed to the many half-read titles on my book shelf. It was easy to picture the people and places in my mind - almost like reading the script of a screenplay.

Was it the best book I've ever read? Nope. But it was entertaining and will probably be enjoyed by others as well.

Major disappointment after Alone With the Dead.......1999-04-06

In this sequel to Alone With the Dead, Detective Keogh relocates to St. Louis. Now, I don't live in St. Louis but even as an east-coaster and a former New Yorker I found Randisi's characterization of St. Louis pretty insulting. If I lived there I would be truly offended. His portrayal of the police force paints them as being as competent as Barney in Mayberry RFD. For example, when Keough walks out of a crime scene he explains he is trying to reconstruct the crime. A fellow officer asks him how he does that. Puh-lease.... No one but Keough not only knows *any* police procedure (if you're a regular mystery reader you know more than these St. Louis cops do) but no one else possesses any common sense either. And of course Keough comes up with all of the patterns and motives of the criminal out of thin air and anticipates his moves with the accuracy of a psychic.

This was a truly ridiculous book.

Simply outstanding.......1997-12-25

Brooklyn native and former police detective Joe Keough flees the rough edge of the Big Apple to what he expects to be a more tranquil lifestyle in St. Louis. Within minutes of reporting to his new Midwest assignment, a bloodied little child enters the station (and ultimately Joe's heart). Joe accompanies the child back to his home to find an even bloodier scene, but no signs of the lad's parents.

Joe is also assigned a second case. Mothers with infants are being kidnapped. The children are always found alive, but the mothers are typically murdered. Joe begins to investigate both cases, wondering if his new city is just a microsm of his former residence.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARCH is a well-written police procedural that deserves full attention from fans of the sub-genre. Joe is a great character, who learns the ultimate lesson for a cop, namely that murder knows no geography. Using the mall as a setting for a nightmare adds a chilling depth to a terrific tale. This reviewer recommends this book and the first Keough novel (ALONE WITH THE DEAD) for two entertaining but hard boiled detective stories.

Harriet Klausner

Hollywood And Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood
Average customer rating:
Hollywood And Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood

Manufacturer: Pegasus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1933648287

Book Description

"Randisi knows the secret. That's why he's one of the best."-Michael Connelly

"Randisi keeps getting better."-Lawrence Block

Anything can happen at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, as today's finest authors of mystery fiction-including Michael Connelly, Lee Goldberg, Max Allan Collins, and Stuart Kaminsky-present fifteen original Hollywood crime stories.

Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Hitmen, Hired Guns, and Private Eyes

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Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Hitmen, Hired Guns, and Private Eyes

Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786715812

Book Description

Featuring standout writers of mystery and suspense like Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, James W. Hall, Jeff Abbott, Michael Collins, Max Allan Collins, and Lee Child — all of them best-selling authors, most of them winners of Edgar or Shamus awards (or both) — this anthology comes with a chamberful of surefire stories. Loaded with tension, charged with uncertainty, these taut tales bring their unsuspecting or hunted and fearful marks into the deadly sight of a hired killer's gun. The hit men, or women, meanwhile match their criminal wits with police detectives, seasoned private eyes, the resolute everyguy, or amateur sleuths to often unexpected and frequently startling ends.

Every one of the stories here is a hit. Each of them craftily calibrated and written expressly for this collection, they include new work by the popular, award-winning Ed Gorman, the versatile writer-editor Robert J. Randisi, and the recipient of the first-ever Sherlock Award for best detective, John Harvey. With cunning invention hit-lit authors Christine Matthews, Barbara Serenella, Marcus Pelegrimas, and Kevin Wignall further ratchet up the suspense to keep Greatest Hits true to its name, and aim.

Murder...and All That Jazz
Average customer rating:

Murder and All That Jazz quite copacetic

Magnificent collection of writers in the key of jazz.

Murder...and All That Jazz

Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451213335

Book Description

Including new stories from New York Times bestselling and Edgar(r) Award-winning authors, this collection is moody, menacing, and as unpredictable as the jazz music it celebrates.

With stories by Michael Connelly, Peter Robinson, Robert Ferrigno, Laura Lippman, Max Allan Collins, Julie Smith, Craig Holden, John Lutz, John Harvey, Billy Moody, Ed Gorman, Martin Meyers, Les Roberts, and Christine Matthews.

Customer Reviews:

Murder and All That Jazz quite copacetic.......2005-05-15

The mystery anthology seemed to be dying a slow death in the '90s with the onset of the fast-food, summer beach, cats-and-recipe detective novel and the reluctance of bestselling authors to waste their sweat on the short story form.

But the anthology's now coming back with a vengeance. Penzler's sports mystery anths. and McBain's knockout new collection Transgressions come to mind. But this one came out of nowhere: A straight-to-paperback, little-trumpeted (pun intended) theme anthology that features a new Harry Bosch tale (Connelly's the one true modern heir to Chandler and a great break from the armies of Top 10 hacks out there). I'd have paid the book's price for this one alone: A police procedural with a clever mystery, a hearteningly Chandleresque Christmas moral, and a glimpse into Bosch's troubled past and affection for jazz. Connelly demonstrates here that you can write short and still deliver the goods. There's also a rare Milan Jacovich story (Les Roberts deserves more of that fame we seem to ladle on burgermeisters like Grisham, Cornwell, and Robin Cook), and additional P.I. treats by Julie Smith and Laura Lippman. That ain't enough for you, we got original Lutz, Randisi, Gorman, and Max Allan Collins. $6.99 for a feast like this? I'm glad I skipped my double-Thickburger lunch that day. You should enjoy!

Magnificent collection of writers in the key of jazz........2005-04-24

Most authors express the belief that the short story is the most difficult format to execute. Developing characters and advancing plot(s) in the space limitations can tax the most gifted of writers.

Leave it to Robert Randisi to assemble a collection of fascinating short mysteries with a jazz theme that belie the conventional wisdom.

His "Murder and All That Jazz" boasts a roster filled with Edgar, Shamus and Agatha winners.

The baker's dozen tales all sparkle...my particular favorites were penned by Laura Lippman, Les Roberts, Michael Connelly, Julie Smith and Mr. Randisi.

A pleasure from start to finish. Enjoy this one and get an introduction to some writers you may not have known.

Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (Rat Pack Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

You can almost hear ole Dean singing
Disappointing
This was one swingin' tale of mystery
Attack on the (Rat) Pack
lighthearted homage to a bygone era

Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (Rat Pack Mysteries)
Robert J. Randisi
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.
Hollywood And Crime: Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood

ASIN: 0312338627
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

Las Vegas, 1960.

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford are the Kings of Cool---the Rat Pack. Ocean’s 11 is their first movie together and they have taken Sin City by storm---filming during the day and cavorting onstage at the Sands Casino at night. It’s clear not everyone is charmed, however, when Dean begins receiving anonymous threatening letters.

Eddie Gianelli, also called Eddie G., is a pit boss at the Sands. After twelve years, he’s got the whole town wired. But he’s still surprised when Joey Bishop drops by his table and invites him to meet with Frank in the Rat Pack’s private steam room. Frank asks Eddie to find out who’s been sending the threats, as a favor to him and Dean.

Eddie wants to politely decline, but caught between his boss, Jack Entratter’s, not-so-subtle nudging and being utterly starstruck by Dino, he agrees to look into it. He gets help from his P.I. best friend and a Jewish torpedo from Brooklyn. A few dead bodies and bruised ribs later, he remembers why he was reluctant. In a city of gamblers, Eddie has become the highest roller of all. The game is murder, and the stakes just may be his own life.

Robert J. Randisi, the man Booklist claims “may be the last of the true pulp writers,” takes his readers on a vivid, neon-lit tour of back rooms, bars, and famed gambling dens of the desert mirage that was---and still is---Las Vegas. Broads, blackjack, and bourbon flow. Celebrities, from John F. Kennedy to Angie Dickinson, strut in and out of this amazing first in a series that Rat Pack fans and crime fiction lovers will not want to miss.

Customer Reviews:

You can almost hear ole Dean singing .......2007-05-01

Hey pallies! It's time to take a trip down memory lane to the glory days of the 1960's Sin City and go on a caper with the coolest cats who ever dunked their toes in the Sands Hotel and Casino swimming pool.

Yep, mystery writer Robert J. Randisi has started a new series featuring Las Vegas' beloved Rat Pack with Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime. The boys (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop) are in town to film their first movie together, Ocean's 11. But before filming starts, the guys are having a blast taking the Sands by storm with their on and offstage hijinks.

As the title indicates, Dean Martin is the cat with the problem. Frank Sinatra asks Sands boss Jack Entratter for some helping trying to figure out who is sending death threats to Dino. Jack calls in pit boss Eddie Gianelli, better known everyone in Vegas as Eddie G. Although the guys know Eddie G., Eddie is just another clyde ("clyde was Rat Pack-ese for anyone who wasn't part of their group.") but he's wired into everything that happens in Vegas. Eddie gets a leave of absence to play gumshoe--and that's when the fists begin to fly. Before all is said and done Eddie takes a savage beating and the bodies start to pile up.

Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime is a homage to the Rat Pack, an illustration of how star-struck our society is, including a social commentary on the racial period of the time, with a mystery thrown in for good measure. It's a wonderful take-me-to-the-pool read that sure to bring smiles to those old enough to remember the Pack's antics and a history of those hard partying days and nights.

Robert J. Randisi is the author of the Nick Delvecchio and Miles Jacoby series. He is the founder and executive director of the Private Eye Writers of America, the creator of the Shamus Award, and the cofounder of Mystery Scene magazine.

Armchair Interviews says: In case you didn't get the play on words for the title, one of Dean Martin's biggest hits was "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime"--and you'll love this book!

Disappointing.......2007-04-07

Unlike the Rat Pack, this book does not deliver. It starts promisingly, but meanders along without focusing on the case at hand. That could have been an opportunity to paint a vivid picture of old Las Vegas, but no such luck.

The scenes with Pack members are best, but too few and seldom insightful.

Long conversations are depicted in glorious tedium. The characters' meal selections are listed, and character development gets left behind.

Worst, the "mystery" isn't. There is a too common practice among mystery writers: introduce the culprit early and cast no suspicion on him or her, then have them vanish while parading red herrings around in the hopes of getting the readers to forget them. Finally - haha! - look who it was.

'Sall I'm sayin'.

In fact, the whole resolution is a big gyp. Made me feel cheated.

This was one swingin' tale of mystery.......2007-02-28

I don't understand how this got by me when it was first published.... but I'm glad I found it here. Its a terrific tale of the Rat Pack at the apex of their fame in Vegas -- and the mystery ain't bad either.

Attack on the (Rat) Pack.......2006-12-12

The word on the street in Las Vegas is that if you need something done on the q.t., you call Eddie Gianelli. That's precisely why Frank Sinatra, in town to film Ocean's 11, reaches out to the Sands Casino pit boss when his fellow Rat Packer Dean Martin receives some threatening notes in the mail. Worried, Sinatra asks Eddie G. to investigate. Happy to do a favor for the singer, Eddie agrees, little realizing how his life is about to change--shortly after he starts asking questions, he's visited by two thugs who inflict a savage beating on him. Battered, but not deterred, Eddie digs deeper into the matter, putting his life on the line.

Perfectly blending nostalgia and noir, Randisi's latest should appeal to fans of Max Allan Collins and Ed Gorman's historical novels. Eddie G. is the perfect narrator, savvy, cynical, and tough, yet in some ways an innocent, based on his reactions to the many celebrities he meets (among them Joey Bishop, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and George Raft) over the course of the novel. Randisi captures the locale and the era perfectly, dropping readers into a 1960 Las Vegas as dangerous as it is seductive. Although he's careful not to judge the people of the time, he also manages to insert some telling social commentary into his narrative, as when he portrays the prejudice experienced by Sammy Davis Jr. over his pending interracial marriage, and by a black Las Vegas police officer, whose subordinates do not treat him with the proper respect.

lighthearted homage to a bygone era .......2006-11-05

In 1960 Vegas at the Sands Hotel and Casino, Joey "Mascot" Bishop tells pit boss Eddie Gianelli that the Chairman of the Board Frank needs a favor from him. Eddie G, being from Brooklyn, fears Frank's reported connections back in Jersey so he declines. However, Eddie G's boss Jack Entratter suggests quite strongly he takes care of whatever Frank Sinatra wants.

Eddie G meets Frank in the special Rat Pack steam room at the Sands. Frank says that who ever he talked to on the street, in any casino, or during the filming of Ocean's 11, everyone agrees if you need something in Vegas see Eddie G. Franks is concerned that his pal Dino is receiving death threats. With waitress Beverly as his date, Eddie G goes back stage after a Rat Pack performance where he meets Dean Martin and learns about the death threat messages. Eddie G asks his friend from New York private investigator Danny Bardini to help him uncover who is threatening Dino. A beating, several adulations, and a homicide has Eddie G reeling as someone wants to harm him for interfering with the Dean Martin affair.

Targeting the baby boomers who will recognize the original Rat Pack, Robert J. Randisi pays homage to Frank, Dino, Sammy, and Joey; other card carrying members like Peter Lawford are treated as minor hanger-ons. The mystery takes a back seat to the celebrities as Mr. Randisi and Eddie G don't hide their fan reverence especially towards Frank and Dino. Fans will enjoy seeing a different perspective on Frank and Dino in this lighthearted homage to a bygone era (Sands was torn down in 1996).

Harriet Klausner

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