Lenny, who seems to be receiving some attention from Miranda, much to Carver's dismay, is a good friend, has a brilliant mind, but is subject to such extreme mood swings he requires medication. Being philosophical about life and death, he liberally mixes drugs and alcohol, much to the distress of his friends.

One evening after a prolonged period at a local bar, Carver and Miranda take Lenny home, feeling he couldn't make it on his own. They are still somewhat edgy about their friend's condition and agree to both check on him later. Carver checks on Lenny online through a computer game they both play and he seems normal (for Lenny). A few hours later Miranda calls Carver asking him to go with her to Lenny's apartment as she thinks there is something wrong. When they arrive Miranda produces a key to Lenny's apartment. The two find their friend slumped over his computer, dead. Carver learns from Miranda that Lenny had confessed to her he had AIDS. Was this a suicide or was it murder? Miranda is sure Lenny would not kill himself.

Bet Your Life is a book for today. It concerns inventive insurance fraud, involving the purchase of multiple small life insurance policies that don't require a physical exam by people that have enormous medical expenses. These folks then sell the policies to insurance companies for 40% of the face value to get money for their medical treatments. It is an interesting look at the "oneupmanship" game between scam artists and insurance companies. It seems that the legitimate insurance client foots the bill for this enterprise through the rise in his insurance rates.

Mr. Dooling also presents an informative look at computer gaming and some of the less well-known uses for computers. Explained with the marginally computer literate reader in mind, the author does not get bogged down in technical terms, though clearly, a good basic knowledge of computers would greatly add to one's appreciation and understanding of the material.

Bet Your Life contains a number of well drawn characters which entertain the reader. Reliable's head man, Old Man Norton, not to be confused with his father, Dead Man Norton, is an accomplished business man with his eye on the success of the family company. Charlie Becker, a cop in charge of investigating Lenny's death is the quintessential example of solid police work, and Father Fogarty, the venerable Catholic priest is good for comic relief as is Dagmar Helveg, Norton's erstwhile assistant.

A flaw in an otherwise clever plot is the author's heavy reliance on coincidence. When Carver needs a piece of information not normally available to him, he just happens to know somebody in a position to get it for him. He has a friend at an agency that is willing to bend the rules, or a computer geek who will readily hack into the necessary computer. How fortunate Carver is to have such knowledgeable and cooperative friends!

Mr. Dooling does write accurately and well. I loved his analogy of the human brain to the Milky Way. It was imaginative and memorable. Readers with an interest in the insurance game and computers should be in hog heaven with this book. Those without enthusiasm for such subjects should not be put off however, as the author does not assume the reader has extensive background in these areas.

--Andy Plonka