Las Vegas Books

In the 2nd installment of the Evan Horne mysteries, Bill Moody sets his hero in the neon snakepit of Las Vegas, where an old friend sends Evan on a mission to solve a 37-year-old murder. But doing so peels back layers of Las Vegas history, opening old wounds that someone is willing to kill to keep covered... As in Solo Hand, Bill Moody assembles a vivid cast of characters and plays out a twisted story-line like a jazz virtuoso with murderous chops that include the fate of tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and the real history of the Moulin Rouge, as well as a handful of subplots that Moody deftly ties together in a coolly musical climax. For all its brooding authenticity, regarding both jazz and Las Vegas, Death of a Tenor Man is a fast-paced and well-wrought mystery.

In the 2nd installment of the Evan Horne mysteries, Bill Moody sets his hero in the neon snakepit of Las Vegas, where an old friend sends Evan on a mission to solve a 37-year-old murder. But doing so peels back layers of Las Vegas history, opening old wounds that someone is willing to kill to keep covered... As in Solo Hand, Bill Moody assembles a vivid cast of characters and plays out a twisted story-line like a jazz virtuoso with murderous chops that include the fate of tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and the real history of the Moulin Rouge, as well as a handful of subplots that Moody deftly ties together in a coolly musical climax. For all its brooding authenticity, regarding both jazz and Las Vegas, Death of a Tenor Man is a fast-paced and well-wrought mystery.

Berner crafts an enjoyable first novel, weaving the enchantment of the New Mexico setting with a delightful journalistic murder mystery. Journalism students and writers have much to learn from Berner's accurate descriptions of the news business. Tourists to Las Vegas, NM will enjoy his descriptions of the historic buildings and must-know restaurants in the title town. Berner's compact page-turner is a must for news hounds and mystery lovers alike.

Title is too long, and hence sounds a bit hokey.

However, once past the title, the book is a good, interesting read for his first time out. Having visited this part of New Mexico, I can attest that the author is true to its setting, both physically and culturally.

Book could be a little longer, though.

Even though the book is geared towards tourists, it has great insight for residents of Las Vegas. It is definitely a great reference for those traveling.

Steve Friess's Gay Vegas is a welcome addition to the catalog of Vegas guidebooks, because it speaks directly to a prominent Las Vegas audience.

What will you find here? Plenty, whether you are gay, lesbian, bi, straight, or gender-ambiguous. After an introductory section that includes a brief review of Las Vegas' gay history, Friess rattles off chapters that address the usual tourist quandaries: where to stay, what to see, where to eat. But Friess also includes a chapter on gay nightlife that you probably won't find in your Fodor's guide, and admirable sections on local culture and the gay community. Friess intersperses the book with interviews with prominent Gay Las Vegans.

You'll certainly learn a great deal from the book. I didn't know, for example, that more gay travelers come to Las Vegas each year than San Francisco. That's something to think about, particularly for those of you in the hospitality business in Vegas.

Although, it seems, many of those who run the Strip's casino resorts already know this. According to Friess, most casinos advertise prominently in gay periodicals and actively court gay visitors.

All that being said, Friess has far more than a one-dimensional take on Las Vegas. He's a talented, witty writer, and he's not shy about sharing a few pointed barbs. Take, for example, this description of one local subpar eatery: "Disgusting family-style food, inebriated fat boys with coupons everywhere, and a totally obnoxious experience all around." Or the description of the Excalibur as "the largest and most unfortunate remnant of the early 1990s effort to court families." So it's fun reading.

I'd highly suggest Gay Vegas for anyone, straight or gay, who wants a unique, informed perspective on Vegas.

This is a great first thriller! In "Las Vegas Comp: Murder at the Emerald Towers", we meet detective Fargo Blue, retired Las Vegas cop turned private eye. Fargo's assignment in this story is to recover a large amount of cash owed to his beautiful poker-playing client, nicknamed "Pleasure." The story quickly turns into a murder mystery, though, when a woman is found murdered by the pool in the Emerald Towers casino. Fargo finds himself as the prime suspect in the murder. The story twists and turns through glittery Las Vegas, and features a jewel heist, another murder and several secret identities.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Las Vegas setting. In addition to Fargo Blue, the McKenzie Borthers introduce several other interesting characters, including Fargo's partner, Sherri, who is a former coast guard sailor, and Uncle Leo, horse addict and attorney who shares an office with Fargo and Sherri.

The book contains an excerpt of the next Fargo Blue mystery, which looks like another great page turner. If you're looking for a fresh gumshoe, I highly recommend checking out this story!

This would be an excellent book to read while relaxing at any one of the pools in Las Vegas. I didn't read this while in Vegas, However if you have been to Vegas you can identify with a lot of the locations mentioned. (even though some are fictional in the book)Iam looking forward to their next book.

I haven't seen the PBS documentary that spawned this companion book, but the book is worth reading and having if you're interested in the history of Las Vegas.

The book covers the founding of Vegas as a town, the construction of Hoover Dam, the flourishing of the Mob, the testing of the atom bomb (120 detonations around 65 miles of Vegas throughout the 1950s!), the Rat Pack, the Howard Hughes period and the Disney-fication of Sin City.

The obligatory PBS Politically Correct chapter on African Americans in Vegas was actually very fascinating. I knew that Sammy Davis Jr. wasn't allowed to stay in the hotels where he performed in the '50s--which was shameful enough--but to read that the Flamingo drained the pool after the gorgeous Dorothy Dandridge swam in it and Lena Horne's sheets were burned rather than put in the laundry ("We don't want to offend the Texans," was the hotel's lame excuse) is shocking and disgraceful.

Definitely a coffe table book with great photos and thick pages. I wish there had been more photos though. As a regular Vegas visitor, I know that town could provide many, many more.

"Las Vegas" provides interesting photos and verbiage covering Las Vegas from its initial start, through the building of Boulder/Hoover Dam, establishment as a "suburb" of L.A., attraction for "quickie" (6 week) divorces, the mob's influx, atomic testing, the "Rat Pack," attraction as a "marriage mill," Howard Hughes, Steven Wynn, imploding old landmarks, and finally the building of new hotels with unique tourist attractions (eg. volcano, pirate ship, art displays, fountains).

Ives also provides several interesting statistical tidbits - Las Vegas slot machines have paid out as much as $40 million to a single winner, and by '04 provided about 2/3 of Las Vegas casino revenue; in '76 nearly half the gross revenue of the 163-hotel Hilton chain came from its 2 L.V. properties; L.V. has 20 of the world's largest 23 hotels; and during the '90s non-gambling revenues began exceeding gambling revenues in Las Vegas.

This book started off with two phrases on the first 2 pages. Bam!! and Beep....Beeep.... Beeeep. I thought not a book of written sounds. I began to think what a bummer. But I continued and Im glad I did. This is the first book I have read by Chunichi and I cant wait to read the other two. She told this story from I believe, 6 or 7 characters, and managed to weave them in and keep the story on track. What an awesome job. I hope the one of the other two books continues the story of "C".

I loved this book, I couldn't put it down once I picked it up. The twists and turns were endless. I am always impressed with Chunichi's work and this was no different. With a very creative plot, Chunichi managers to draw readers in once again. I must admit that I was disappointed with the ending... so this book didn't get a perfect 5 from me, but if you're looking to get rid of some of that free time on your hands, this book is the way to do it!


--Pryncez

"Marsupial Man" is flagitious; my wife found that word, and it's appropriate. "Marsupial Man" doesn't fit into a genre, so I'm creating one -- flagitious prose.

This book isn't pretty, but there's nothing graphic. It just unrelentlessly shoves the everyday brutality of what some sick individuals do unto others. The language is not sensitive; I chose to use a lot of obscene language because that's the language of the characters. The obscenity is not gratuitous. But rest assured, it's prevalent.

Unlike the book I'm working on now, there's humor. Granted, the humor in "Marsupial Man" is dark, but there's an attempt to attack political correctness. There's an attempt to expose some basic observations that I've made throughout my life and career, and political correctness just doesn't work -- a spade is a spade. Society needs to get over making things sound pretty in an attempt to avoid offending others.

That's my opinion, and I'm comfortable with it.

You, the reader, will be challenged. Plenty of people have completely disregarded this book as crap, and that's fine. Not everyone will like this book. I'm pragmatic; I understand. Look up "Marsupial Man" in the Kirkus Review web-site. It's scathing; I'm not hiding. But I'll go on record with this: the VA Tech Massacre was pointless. 32 dead and for what? There's no rhyme or reason. It just was -- a brutal and overwhelming, "a pointless blood bath."

Others have embraced this book. Months have passed since its release and I've had the pleasure to meet a couple people at an art gallery in my town that sells "Marsupial Man", the Kronos Art Gallery, who were strangers to me; they appreciated what I did. I left with a sense of validation. I won't lie, I needed it. This book has altered some of my relationships; i.e. some relationships have ended.

No one has challeged the actual words, grammar, etc. The content has offended. The subject matter has offended. So be it. There's nothing in this book that hasn't happened a thousand times over the course of humanity. Once again, to be honest, I'm sure this book isn't the specimen of perfect literature.

This book will never be an American classic; Oprah will never feature it in her book-of-the-month club. I wrote from the depths of my often confused and dismayed soul. Sometimes, alcohol was involved. Regardless, I remained true to what I was writing.

Thank you for yor time,

PSM

I'm writing this again because it seems my first review failed to post.

It's a weird book, but I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting; it's short. But, it's to the point.

That Sarah, what a hateful bitch. I'm a woman, and I hated her.

Regardless, this book had me thinking about a lot of things.

I can't recommend Marsupial Man enough. It's not for the sensitive. At times I was almost offended, but I think I understand what the author was trying to do. It does challenge your sensibilities.

Even if you're not a Gen Xer you will love this guide. The photos say it all and the reviews are definetly not your usual boring blahness. A fun book! All you need is this guide and those leather pants your dying to wear and you're set for an all-nighter in sin city!

Just a word of warning: you can breeze through this book in 15 minutes. It's *very* small, and half of the book is pictures. Also, given the rapidly changing face of Vegas nightlife, it's going to get out of date quite quickly (not to mention omissions). Still, it's an okay little guide that might point out 1 or 2 lounges or afterhours clubs you didn't know about. Still, I would not suggest this as your only guide to nightlife or dining in Vegas. I would definetly suggest pairing this with another book, or even better, going with someone 'in the know'.

The project instructions were clear and easy; tells you exactly what you need to make project. And what sizes to have the wood cut. But the projects were a little dated and plain even though this wasn't published that long ago. All in the same wood color, very basic styles. I'll make the bookscases, but would like to have seen them with trim on the front and maybe some moulding on the top and painted in a nice color or black. I think this just needs an update to current styles. Kitchen Island quite boxy, etc.

This, along with three other books I have, give you everything you need to really furnish your house. I love this stuff. Can't wait to make that buffet, china hutch, and a handful of other things. I've always wanted to do this kind of thing, after watching my Dad do it for many years, and now I can.

This book is out of date in terms of card counting,there are better book out there today. What htis book offers is how to avoid getting caught by not getting out of the typical sterotype of a card counter and look more like a regular gambler. Anyone that in card counting or thinking about should read this book.

The challenge of cardcounting is not learning to do it, but "conning" the pit personnel into letting you do it.

I was the stereotypical counter till I read this book (felt guilty, avoided contact with pit supervisors, neglected value of rapport with dealers). The result was very quick shuffles and even being told not to make any more blackjack bets.

Since I have adopted the mind set described in this book and the resultant behaviors, (engage pit personnel in conversations that interest them, appear to play just for fun and the money means nothing, dress like you can afford to lose) I have enjoyed deep penetration into single decks for multiple hours at a time (the difference that makes the difference).

I agree with the top authors on the game that this is the best book on casino comportment and developing your "act".