Book Review: Death on the Flop by Jackie Chance (Poker Mysteries #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Belinda, fast moving plot

Cons: Stock characters, plot far fetched

The Bottom Line:

The plot moves quickly

But also hard to believe

Characters weak, too

Talk About High Stakes Poker

I really should have seen Death On the Flop coming. With the popularity of Texas Hold 'Em Poker, it was only a matter of time before a mystery series appeared with poker as the theme.

Belinda Cooley is having a rough week. She broke up with her fiance after catching him with another woman, she quit her job working for said fiance, and she turned forty.

Her twin brother Ben has just the ticket, a trip to Vegas. He's just entered a pro-am poker tournament and wants Belinda there as a good luck charm. Belinda decides that she should tag along to make sure Ben doesn't lose his shirt.

They've just arrived in Vegas when Belinda learns that Ben has an obsession with one of the pros in the tournament, "Steely" Stan. Without revealing too much to Belinda, Ben makes it obvious he won't be happy unless he beats Stan.

The first night there, Ben vanishes. When contacting the police does nothing, Belinda turns to Frank, a man she met at the bar earlier that night. Did Ben's obsession with Stan get him into trouble?

Belinda and Frank do what they can to find Ben, but Belinda decides that the best chance they have to learn the truth is for Belinda to enter the tournament and beat Stan. This won't be easy since Belinda has never played before. And the more she plays, the more she realizes that if she loses, she may just lose her life.

In any series like this, there is the possibility for the "theme" to overtake the mystery. That never happens here. There is one chapter that slows things down long enough to teach Belinda (and the readers) how to play. The scenes at the tournament are quick and add to the story. However, there are a few details that seem wrong to me, even after rereading the scenes. To say more then that would be spoiling the story, so I won't.

The plot moves rapidly with lots of things happening. Unfortunately, it seems a little far fetched at times. Some of that is explained in the climax, but the climax also features some stupid decisions by the characters.

The characters area mixed bag as well. We get to know Belinda the best through her first person narration. I certainly identified with her since this conservative woman was so out of her element in Vegas. On the whole, everyone is two dimensional at best, but it never hampered my enjoyment of the book.

One thing I certainly enjoyed was the writing. Belinda's narration is peppered with witty observations on what is happening, which kept me entertained.

Frankly, I enjoyed Death On the Flop in spite of itself. The flaws are enough to make me hesitant recommending it.