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"I can sense when things aren't right on a casino floor and I just take it from there," says Tony Valentine, the cop turned casino consultant who--all boasting aside--finds himself stumped more often than not in Funny Money. James Swain's smartly plotted, often humorous sequel to Grift Sense sends the 62-year-old Valentine back to his hometown, Atlantic City, where his former police partner, Doyle Flanagan, has been blown up in his car at a McDonald's. Is this murder linked to Flanagan's investigation of a $6 million blackjack hustle at the city's giant Bombay casino, allegedly perpetrated by a gang of badly coifed Croatians? Meanwhile, Valentine will have to face down thugs who are putting the squeeze on his flaky son, try to appease the Bombay's much-despised owner, and win the help--and heart--of a no-nonsense woman wrestler with a nasty attitude.
Like his debut novel, Funny Money is distinguished by Swain's knowledge of gambling scams from card counting to the judicious application of a "monkey's paw" on a slot machine. Less even is this book's character development. Valentine is expertly drawn, and the relationship between him and his late-blooming son is both convincing and heartwarming. But some secondary players are about as thinly realized as a poker chip, and Swain's too-convenient use of violence as a plot propellant threatens to undermine his story's credibility. All in all, though, Funny Money is a safe bet. --J. Kingston Pierce
From Publishers Weekly
The same warmth, honesty and inside expertise that made Grift Sense (2001) a memorable crime debut is back in spades in Swain's second book about ex-cop Tony Valentine, who advises gambling casinos on how to spot and stop cheaters. Swain might not be a Leonard or even a Hiaasen when it comes to a seamless writing style, but he makes up for it with insights into his characters' behavior that inevitably ring true. Tony's relationship with his hapless son, Gerry, is letter-perfect: a father's natural love warring at every turn with a hard man's distaste for weakness. No matter how often Gerry screws up, Tony finds some way to help him. This same ambivalence colors Tony's dealings with Archie Tanner, the brutal, bullying fixer who runs a vast Taj Mahal-like casino in Atlantic City and who now wants to buy his way into Florida's gambling industry. When Tony's ex-partner and lifelong friend Doyle Flanagan is killed while looking for a strange band of shabby Croatian math geniuses who are ripping off Tanner's blackjack operation, Valentine takes over the investigation. But it's not really revenge or the $1,000-a-day fee that motivates him: it's a weird but finally totally logical belief that the gambling business which preys on human weakness should at least be clean and honest. Stretching that analogy only a little, Swain makes Tony his Don Quixote tilting at blackjack tables and slot machines instead of windmills. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Former policeman Tony Valentine (Grift Sense) operates a gambling casino protection service out of his Florida home. When his former partner and best friend now a PI is murdered in Atlantic City, Tony vows vengeance on the "European," the elusive and resourceful scam artist his friend was investigating. Tony contacts the casino, which has been bilked of $6 million, and goes to work with surveillance tapes and his own personal network of contacts. Though hampered at times by his adversarial son, Mafia types, and others, Tony wins his game. A smooth narrative, credible situations, and a nervy plot make this second Tony Valentine mystery a highly recommended choice for most mystery collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Take a south Florida setting, quirky characters, a crusty retired cop, and what do you get? Elmore Leonard? Carl Hiaasen? Try James Swain, a new voice in the off-beat mystery subgenre. We first met Tony Valentine, freelance "grifter hunter," in Grift Sense (2001), Swain's debut novel. In this second outing, Tony returns from Florida to his native Atlantic City (Leonard did Atlantic City, too, in Glitz) to solve the murder of his best friend, fellow grifter hunter Doyle, who had been on the verge of cracking a $6-million blackjack scam at the legendary Bombay casino. Taking over Doyle's investigation, Tony tracks the blackjack grifters, coming into contact along the way with all sorts of colorful lowlifes, including a crippled ex-cop gun supplier, a ring of cocky Eastern European cheats, and a certain charming female wrestler. Amid the eccentrics, Tony stays grounded by daily phone calls to his office manager in Florida, his neighbor Mabel--Miss Moneypenny to Tony's James Bond. A fun, frolicking crime novel that makes great use of its casino setting. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
“FASCINATING . . . DAZZLING . . . ENTERTAINING . . . I CAN’T THINK OF A NOVEL I’VE ENJOYED MORE THIS YEAR.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Writing about a world where everyone is on the take, Swain has a soft spot for colorful characters. . . . [H]is direct style works just fine.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“SMART, SNAPPY . . . TREMENDOUSLY INFECTIOUS.”
—St. Petersburg Times
Review
?FASCINATING . . . DAZZLING . . . ENTERTAINING . . . I CAN?T THINK OF A NOVEL I?VE ENJOYED MORE THIS YEAR.?
?Los Angeles Times
?Writing about a world where everyone is on the take, Swain has a soft spot for colorful characters. . . . [H]is direct style works just fine.?
?The New York Times Book Review
?SMART, SNAPPY . . . TREMENDOUSLY INFECTIOUS.?
?St. Petersburg Times
Book Description
Tony Valentine has a gift for grift: He can walk into a casino and spot a cheater across a crowded floor. A man who still uses pay phones and won’t spend more than a buck for coffee, Tony has protected Atlantic City gambling palaces for twenty years and learned every trick of the trade—until a new one blows him away.
With his old partner murdered in a bomb blast, Tony returns to A.C. to retrace Doyle Flanagan’s last case. Investigating a six-million-dollar casino takedown, a square cop soon meets a whole lot of bent people, from a beautiful lady wrestler to some Manhattan mobsters; from a trio of beautiful casino “consultants” to a team of Eurotrash blackjack card counters. But while everyone around Tony Valentine (including Tony’s own son) is playing some kind of angle, Tony is determined to find a killer who is playing for keeps. . . .
From the Inside Flap
Tony Valentine has a gift for grift: He can walk into a casino and spot a cheater across a crowded floor. A man who still uses pay phones and won’t spend more than a buck for coffee, Tony has protected Atlantic City gambling palaces for twenty years and learned every trick of the trade—until a new one blows him away.
With his old partner murdered in a bomb blast, Tony returns to A.C. to retrace Doyle Flanagan’s last case. Investigating a six-million-dollar casino takedown, a square cop soon meets a whole lot of bent people, from a beautiful lady wrestler to some Manhattan mobsters; from a trio of beautiful casino “consultants” to a team of Eurotrash blackjack card counters. But while everyone around Tony Valentine (including Tony’s own son) is playing some kind of angle, Tony is determined to find a killer who is playing for keeps. . . .
From the Back Cover
“FASCINATING . . . DAZZLING . . . ENTERTAINING . . . I CAN’T THINK OF A NOVEL I’VE ENJOYED MORE THIS YEAR.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Writing about a world where everyone is on the take, Swain has a soft spot for colorful characters. . . . [H]is direct style works just fine.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“SMART, SNAPPY . . . TREMENDOUSLY INFECTIOUS.”
—St. Petersburg Times
About the Author
James Swain, a gambling expert, is the author of Grift Sense, Funny Money, and Sucker Bet. Swain is considered one of the best card handlers in the world. He lives in Odessa, Florida, where he is currently working on his next mystery featuring Tony Valentine. Visit his Web site at www.jimswain.com.
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