Murder in Vegas: New Crime Tales of Gambling and Desperation » (Unabridged)

A former Los Angeles Times crime reporter, Michael Connelly s familiarity with the seamy side of L.A. adds a steamy kind of street cred to his hardboiled, gritty detective novels -- especially his bestselling series of mysteries featuring dark detective Hieronymous Harry Bosch.

Las Vegas. Lost Wages. Sin City. An artificial oasis of pleasure, spectacle, and entertainment, the gambling capital of America has reinvented itself so many times that its doubtful that anyone knows for sure what's real and what isn't in the miles of neon and scorching heat. Las Vegas is considered the ultimate players destination-no matter what your game. Almost anything is available-for a price, mind you, and sometimes losers walk away from the tables with even less than just an empty wallet or purse-sometimes they don't walk away at all.

Now the International Association of Crime Writers and New York Times-bestselling author Michael Connelly have gathered twenty-two crime and mystery stories about the ultimate playground, Las Vegas, and what can happen behind the glitz and glamour. From a gambler who must-must-win at the roulette table to stay alive to a courier who's only mistake was accepting a package with Las Vegas as the final destination, come to the true city that never sleeps, where fortunes are made and lost every day, and where snake-eyes aren't found just on a pair of dice.

Featuring stories by:James Swain, S.J. Rozan, Wendy Hornsby, Michael Collins, T.P Keating, J. Madison Davis, Sue Pike, Joan Richter, Libby Hellmann, Tom Savage, Edward Wellen, K.j.a. Wishnia, Linda Kerslake, John Wessel, Lise McClendon, Ronnie Klaskin, Ruth Cavin, A.B. Robbins , Gay Toltl Kinman, Micki Marz, Rick Mofina, Jeremiah Healy

Kirkus Reviews

An undistinguished collection of 22 new stories by members of the International Association of Crime Writers. Editor Connelly could have improved the volume by including a tale of his own to supplement his two-page introduction, but he may have been at a loss for words. As matters stand, James Swain's wry "The Sunshine Tax," S.J. Rozan's dour "Passline" and Wendy Hornsby's ironic "Dust Up," the three leadoff batters, are the best of the bunch. Matters go steadily downhill thereafter. Every Vegas cliche is covered, from the gaudy showgirl (T.P. Keating) to the Elvis impersonator (Linda Kerslake) to a pair of Siberian tigers (Gay Toltl Kinman). Obligatory figures include a drug courier (Jeremiah Healy), an Indian casino accountant (Lise McClendon), a tour guide (John Wessel), an actor (Micki Marz), a magician (A.B. Robbins), an obsessed fan (Sue Pike), a stripper (K.J.A. Wishnia) and two assassins (Tom Savage). There's an armored car heist (Rick Mofina), a kidnapped kid (Ronnie Klaskin), a missing Asian (Michael Collins), buried drugs (Libby Fischer Hellmann), a gambling junket (Joan Richie), a little S&M (J. Madison Davis), a trip to a nearby ghost town (Edward Weller) and a stroll down memory lane with the K.K.K. (Ruth Cavin). The most recycled motifs include the Bellagio and the Mirage, slots and craps, and dreams gone bust. And Red Rock Canyon becomes a repository for far too many corpses and plot twists. Anyone for Atlantic City?