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| Mr. Lucky: A Novel of High Stakes (Tony Valentine Novels) | 
| Author: James Swain
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.94
You Save: $4.05 (51%)
New (28) Collectible (1) from $3.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 16116
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345475453
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780345475459
ASIN: 0345475453
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: 100% Brand New! - Ships Today! Identical to Amazon's book in every way. Flawless! Not a cheap Remainder or Book Club Copy! *We recommend Expedited Shipping option for much faster mail delivery
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Product Description
Tony Valentine made his living and his name as a cop in Atlantic City–and is now known worldwide for his ability to spot the kinds of scams, grifts, and rip-offs that cost casinos billions every year. A man with a biting wit who drives a ’92 Honda, Tony is low-profile, old-school, and has seen it all–until he meets the luckiest man on earth.
Ricky Smith was once a small-town loser. Then he went to Las Vegas, jumped out the window of a burning hotel, lived to tell the tale, and tore up the Strip on an incredible winning streak. Ricky didn’t just win at one slot machine or table game. He won at blackjack, roulette, and craps, and then beat the pants off the world’s greatest poker player. Tony knows that goofy, loudmouthed Ricky Smith–or anyone else, for that matter–couldn’t possibly be that fortunate. But when “Mr. Lucky” returns home to the little town of Slippery Rock, North Carolina, he keeps on winning everything from a horse race to a $50,000 lottery.
Hired by a desperate casino, Tony starts to pry into Ricky’s past, his friends, and the strange little town that is benefiting from Ricky’s fame and fortune. Unfortunately for Tony, his cover is blown when he is forced to reveal a trick he has up his own sleeve: a pocket Glock he can shoot with laser-like precision. Suddenly, two men are dead, the cops are on Tony’s tail, and the investigation explodes in violence–putting the lives of Tony’s son and his young family in danger.
For years, Tony’s son Gerry has dueled with his own criminal impulses. Now, the Ricky Smith case has lured Gerry through the gates of temptation and into a murderous confrontation with the Dixie Mafia. With Tony stuck on the slippery slope of Slippery Rock and Gerry fighting for his life, the Valentines are finding out just how bad good luck can get.
Against a neon-tinted backdrop of adrenaline rushes, hard crashes, big money, and high-wire tension, the inimitable James Swain has set his best Tony Valentine novel yet: a funny, furious ride with an astounding array of crooks, marks, and one killer scam.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 My first Swain book - really enjoyed it June 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Only just recently heard of James Swain and his Tony Valentine books. Glad I did.
This story is a really good read. I liked it a lot.
Steady, engaging pace. Complicated enough story, but not so much as to tie itself in knots. A few leaps of faith here and there, but overall very believable and enjoyable.
The characters are likeable - even the villians.
 Another winner from Swain May 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mr. Lucky is a fun read. If you are a gambler and a purist, you will spot some holes in the logic of this book, but you have to be pretty uptight to allow that to spoil your enjoyment. Having read all of the Tony Valentine books, I am happy to see that his son is finally starting to display some common sense. Not a lot, but some. This is a quick read, so put on your sneakers.
When I See Swain's Name, I'm Game! November 29, 2007
By now, I know that any James Swain book about Tony Valentine is going to be just terrific. I write about poker and Las Vegas. Swain is one of he best at capturing "the Meadows" at its weirdest. The plot's a long shot but that's no problem. In my new novel, Texas Poker Wisdom, I use some of the cheating slang that I stole from Tony Valentine. If this is your first of Swain's books in this series, you will want to read the others. This would make a great gift for anyone interested in gambling, Las Vegas, or just a great mystery read. I loved it. You will too.
Johnny HughesTexas Poker Wisdom
Swain Always Entertains September 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For pure reading entertainment, it's hard to beat anything in the Tony Valentine series by James Swain. The plot lines are simple and the supporting characters are often a little over the top. But, boy, does Swain ever make it work. In addition to a writing style that is thoroughly enjoyable, Swain's descriptions of various scams add a unique quality that takes an already wonderful story to the next level.
In Mr. Lucky, Tony and Mabel stand out as always. Tony has such a real quality to him, it's easy to forget that he's fictional. While all of the works in the series are highly entertaining, what makes Mr. Lucky even more complete is the development of Tony's son, Gerry, as a character. Gerry's contributions to the story have been building over the last couple of books, and with Mr. Lucky, he finally arrives as a quality main character.
Ricky Smith provides a worthy protagonist for Tony, all the while maintaining a surprising likeability. You want to see him go down, but not necessarily because of who he is or what he's done, but because we want and expect Tony to get to the bottom of things.
Well done, as always, Mr. Swain. I look forward to the next story in the series.
One of HIs Best! June 29, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Swain's Tony Valentine's books are great summer reads, and although I have not read all of them, they are mostly enjoyable.
I like the gambling atmosphere of Casinos (though I hardly gamble myself), as well as learning about all the types of con games that exhist and these contribute to my enjoyment of Swain's works.
The author will throw in a lot of his knowlege of cheating, and why gambling is a loosing proposition, so reading one of these books acutally lets me feel like I've had some casino fun, without losing any money!
Mr. Lucky is one of the best of his books I have read for a couple of reasons. The first is the relationship between Tony Valentine and his son. In this story the son begins to come around and make better choices in his life, so the reader gets to root for him, but also get taken through the drama of his struggles.
Another reason for my claiming this is one of Swain's best is that I did not have to suspend belief to a ridiculous degree. One has to do this in any modern day mystery - granted - but I did not have to read about "little people" (aka midgets) hiding in speakers playing music for musicians who were faking it on stage, or about eukalale playing monkeys that can read your mind and play the song you are thinking of. No, this story was quite believable in comparison and that is a huge plus!
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