Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves
Author
Larry Seeley
Publisher
Eloquent Books
2 Review Copies Left
Jack Sloan played his cards right, took the money and ran. Only now it seems he may not have run far enough. Set in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, this riveting novel is a story of murder and revenge, with a cast of characters that drive the plot forward, until the climactic end. In search of a peaceful life on a 26-acre ranch in the mountains, Jack instead finds himself embroiled in a con that may leave him and those he cares for most with a loss far greater than money. The action and intrigue grows as Jack wrestles with a ruthless assortment of bunko artists like Mattie Helms, who is beautiful, intelligent, and unscrupulous; and her goon, Irvin MacSwain: a psychotic, drug-using alcoholic killer who enjoys his work far too much. As Jack tries to reconcile his own killer instincts with his new life, betrayal and murder wait for him and his friends at every turn-but will the actions of one man help save the good guys in the end? Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves delivers a powerful punch that engages the reader until the last page. Author Larry Seeley and his wife live twenty miles north of Santa Fe in a valley at 6000 feet between the Jimez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. He is currently writing a sequel to Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves. Publisher's website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/GypsiesTrampsAnd Thieves.html
Reviews
Jack Sloan is on the run from some very nasty characters. Two years earlier, as the head of All Nations Gaming, he was in a bind trying to find funding to complete two projects-43 million to be exact- and his available options were limited. So, when some interested investors stepped forward, Jack jumped on the opportunity. Unfortunately, the investors are not what or who they appear to be and have targeted Jack as the next victim of an elaborate con. When Jack discovers what is really going on, he takes off with their money and heads off the mountains of New Mexico, intending to drop off the radar. His plans go awry when the “investors” discover where he is and come for their money. Thus begins a game of cat and mouse, a game that Jack can’t afford to lose.
Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves by Larry Seeley is a fast-paced novel with an entertaining cast of characters. While not the best debut novel I’ve ever read, it certainly isn’t the worst either. I enjoyed the plot but it did tend to ramble just a little in a few spots. That said, this novel does have the potential to become the first in a series if Seeley chooses to do so. Taking into consideration the riveting cliff-hanger ending, I can easily give this novel 4/5 stars.
Reviewed on 12/04/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Jud Hanson
Reviewed for Read the Book
Published by: Eloquent Books
Larry Seeley begins his book with a somewhat exciting prologue, then drops back to two years previously, setting characters, setting plot, and the breakup of a major scam. As head of a company that built Tribal casinos, our protagonist Jack Sloan, unwittingly becomes sucked into the scam. While trying to escape, he kills two men in self-defense. With his own money, he makes sure that as many investors in the scam as possible get their money back, but he is unable to finish what he started for the Tribe. He feels responsible for the loss of the Tribe's funding and can't free himself of his self-imposed guilt.
From that point the book seems to slow down temporarily, as Jack falls into his own personal hell and back, then gradually builds his new life in Santa Fe. Here the book and Jack begin to take a turn for the better. Although he anticipates payback from the unavoidable murders of two of the main players in the scam, he begins to enjoy life again, yet he stays alert. In his life in Santa Fe new characters are introduced to the story, adding friends to his life.
Suspense is always in the background of the book, sometimes wriggling through to the forefront but mostly just there, day and night, hauntingly. Some rough sex and language in the book, but certainly no more than one would expect from the characters involved. Characterizations play a major role in the growth of the book and many defining moments are a result of this. All characters are full-blown, although some harbour surprising secrets of their own. The more I read, the more I got into the book, after my earlier thoughts of "let's get into this!" As the book picked up speed, so did my reading.
Once in Santa Fe, Jack purchases a ranch and a bar. The bar soon became a meeting place for his new friends, including the Shaman John Thunder. The person who really captured his attention was the new waitress, Darlene, young, smart, beautiful and unattached. Darlene also lost her aunt through the machinations of the prime character in the scam. Eventually, Jack has a large number of friends including his cook and handyman prepared and determined to stand by him if necessary. Life seems to be turning around for him, then his past starts visiting him and his nightmares become real. Not really his past but the people who dragged him into near oblivion with their scam. One by one they begin to show up and he knows they will soon make their move and come after him.
By this time, the story is going full bore and coming full circle. Everything is building up steam for a major blowout, but where will it be? The ranch, the bar, or the house where all the scam team are currently lodged? The book comes to a surprising yet satisfying ending on several counts. There is lots of action, lots of identities/characters, plotting, good guys and bad guys, each trying to out-think the other or try to decide what the other is thinking. I found that once I really got into the book, I rarely set it down. If you enjoy this book, you are in luck, the author is already at work on a sequel.
Reviewed on 08/27/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Betty Gelean
