Rating: 
Summary: Another Smashing Success for James Swain
Review: While he was still with the Atlantic City PD, resourceful Tony Valentine parlayed his innate talent for spotting and exposing casino cheats into a fine science...one which has stood him in good stead in his Florida retirement years. When the death of his wife left him at loose ends, he successfully reentered the gaming world as a private consultant and scam-buster. His latest commission involves a fast trip to Las Vegas where he's been hired to demystify a highly sophisticated cheating device called Deadlock for some high level gaming executives. The pay's good, and the visit will give him a chance to unobtrusively touch base with his irresponsible son, Gerry (currently in-town to learn card counting from one of Tony's shadier acquaintances before joining his Dad's business)...what could possibly go wrong? In a word, everything! Gerry's nowhere to be found; Tony's demonstration comes to a screeching halt when he spots a 'jumper' on a penthouse balcony at his old friend Nick Nicocropolis's casino, and after he talks distraught Lucy Price down and takes a shine to her, Nick tells him that she's suspect number one in cheating the casino out of a sizeable amount of money which is only the start of Nick's immediate problems. A stripper apparently involved in some heavy-duty money laundering at the Acropolis has been murdered, and now the FBI are threatening to close him down unless he cooperates with their investigation. Nick is in dire need of Tony's 'grift sense', and Tony...convinced that his kid is in some sort of major trouble...desperately needs some fast, insider help in finding him. As these two mavericks join forces, the violence escalates, and Tony suddenly realizes that he's inadvertently gotten caught up in a multi-national game where unless he can control the wild cards in the deck, the dealer's hole card could bust Las Vegas.Since Travis McGee entered my life many years ago, nobody else has captured my heart and loyalties like Tony Valentine. Yes, actually living in Tony's 'world' as I do certainly adds to this splendid series' enormous appeal for me, but James Swain's compelling and creative storytelling coupled with his extraordinary flair for creating characters whom I can genuinely care about is a rare and wonderful thing in my eyes. With so many over-the-top thrillers flooding the bookstores these days, how exciting it is to find an author who really knows his chosen milieu and is talented enough to allow his characters to interact naturally and believably within the confines and perils of the conflicts which confront them there. "Loaded Dice" may just be the caper that puts Tony and James Swain firmly in Edgar/Anthony/Shamus awards territory as one of this year's most innovative and suspenseful reads, and I simply cannot recommend it too highly.
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