Cold Deck
A Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $26.99
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- $26.99
Publisher Description
Jude is a Las Vegas casino dealer who barely survived the deadly MGM fire in 1980. More than two decades later, he’s still dealing, a tired, middle-aged man, divorced, struggling with debt, and trying to be a good father to his children. Then he loses his job and his car is totaled in an accident. When an attractive woman friend offers to help him get another job, Jude is happy to go along. Gradually, he realizes that his new job is part of an elaborate scheme to cheat a casino and that his own fate and that of his children depend on his finding the courage and ingenuity to extricate himself.
Cold Deck is the exciting story of an ordinary man who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances. Moving from Las Vegas’s mean streets to the insider’s world of casino workers, this is a story of survival set against the greed, fears, and glitz of Sin City.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in Las Vegas, this low-key crime novel from Barnes (The Lucky) is about a basically decent man who tries to grab the brass ring before it's too late. Veteran blackjack dealer Jude Helms has survived the disastrous MGM fire in 1980, a firing in 1984, a doomed marriage, a firing disguised as a layoff at the Monaco casino, and a car accident. After yet another job loss, Helms allows himself to get sucked into a lucrative but illegal gambling scheme. Through his teenage daughter, Beth, Helms meets Audra Moser, the attractive mother of one of Beth's school friends. Audra, who may have served prison time, introduces Helms to Ben Goldman, who tests his dealer skills and begins grooming him for a scam. As Helms gets in deeper, he struggles to find a way to extricate himself, but finds his path blocked by his own guilt and vulnerability. Barnes, who obviously knows the ins and outs of casino gambling routines, puts them to good use as Helms makes a last desperate attempt to break free.
