Tara arrives as a fun-loving, hard playing good time girl, but quickly turns into a no-nonsense, hard-nosed auditor, concerned with the most recent loss of the payment for a big name rock band. An ex-employee who claims he is owed a seemingly small amount of money (seven hundred dollars) comes into the hotel armed and looking for a fight and ends up dead. Jack's presence at the shoot out is all the inducement he needs to become even more involved in the casino and its shady dealings. More murders and more missing money quickly remind Jack he should trust no one and no one can be above his suspicion and nothing is what it appears.

While the setting of Jackpot Bay is very authentic and lends a lot to the atmosphere, it does not make up for flat stereotypical characters and a predictable, lackluster plot. Johnnie the Dime and his posse are familiar, down to the bumbling glorified gopher, Clyde Dubardo. Jack Delmas does not appear to have any special talents that might lead an insurance company to hire him for this audit, other than previous experience with Tara.

It is pretty obvious who has knowledge of the money disappearing and who is completely oblivious to it, leaving readers very little in the way of suspense and guessing. There is a lot of potential in a setting such as this, but unimagined characters and an obvious plot make this a disappointing read.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry