It's Called Grift Sense

It's been a while since I last reviewed a decent book, so I figured I would talk about one of my all time favorite crime novels.  Grift Sense, by James Swain, can probably be found for six or seven bucks on a bargain shelf someplace, but it is one of the most entertaining books out there.

Tony Valentine is an ex-cop from Atlantic City who became an expert on casino cheaters, or grifters, over his twenty plus year career.  After Valentine retired from the police force, he took up the role of casino consultant and, because of his skills, gets to charge a handsome fee for his services.

Valentine is called to the Acropolis Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, after they lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to famous crook Frank Fontaine.  When Tony arrives and starts to snoop around; however, he gets blindsided by several big surprises, all leading up to the biggest crime in Vegas casino history.  Will he be able to prevent it?

All round this is a great read.  James Swain is a world-renowned card handler who knows all there is to know about cheating casinos.  Armed with that knowledge, he gives readers what everybody wants; real ways to pull off crimes and the real ways casinos and law enforcement catch those criminals.  He does this without a lecturing tone and the best part is that the good guys don't get all the breaks.  The crimes in this book give Valentine and his lot a run for their money and you don't know how it will end up until the very end.

Grift Sense is the first book in a series of Tony Valentine novels (the last two are available on Amazon only).  Be forewarned though, that the books take a sharp decline in quality after Deadman's Bluff, but the ride up to that point is a good one!

Characters:  ***** (5 stars)

Plot:  **** 1/2   (3 1/2 stars)

Plausibility:  *** (3 stars)

Overall:  **** (4 stars)


There it is, everybody, a good read for you to enjoy this gorgeous springtime weather (sorry, if it's still cold by you)!  Over the weekend I'm going to put out an update on the Writer's Competition and some fresh news!!

Till then, find a cold drink, a comfy chair, and a good book, and take a break.

Cheers,