Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Robert Randisi's 2nd book in his Rat Pack series, Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die: A Rat Pack Mystery is more than a mystery; it is also a love story. No, not between Frank Sinatra and Ava, or Juliet, or Mia, or Barbara, or Nor between Dino, Sammy, Joey, or Peter and any woman or women they might have been involved with. No, Randisi's book is an open love letter from the author to the city of Las Vegas, or at least the Las Vegas that existed 50 years ago. When the headliners were also cultural icons, when the casinos were owned by well, let's say questionable business enterprises rather than multinational corporations, before the days of the metrosexual
The plot: Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack (note: they never referred to themselves by that name the press and the public did) have returned to Las Vegas for the opening of their film, Oceans 11. Frank also invited a woman to meet him there but she's missing. Hoping to quietly find out where she is and what happened, Sinatra requests the assistance of Sands' pit boss Eddie Gianelli, who had assisted Dean Martin with an investigation while they were filming the movie 6 months earlier. Eddie, paired with mobbed up bodyguard Jerry Epstein, is encouraged by casino management to take the time to solve their mystery they LIKE it when their stars and high rollers are happy! The problem, as the pair gets deeper and deeper into the mystery, amid a growing collection of dead bodies and angry police detectives, is that someone maybe everyone is lying.
Rating: 5 stars. No one is going to cover this in an Advanced Literature class. BUT It drew me in and kept me wanting to read more. It made me feel like I was actually in the setting, and it had memorable and likeable characters admittedly some drawn from real-life celebrities, but others were created for this book / series.
The plot: Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack (note: they never referred to themselves by that name the press and the public did) have returned to Las Vegas for the opening of their film, Oceans 11. Frank also invited a woman to meet him there but she's missing. Hoping to quietly find out where she is and what happened, Sinatra requests the assistance of Sands' pit boss Eddie Gianelli, who had assisted Dean Martin with an investigation while they were filming the movie 6 months earlier. Eddie, paired with mobbed up bodyguard Jerry Epstein, is encouraged by casino management to take the time to solve their mystery they LIKE it when their stars and high rollers are happy! The problem, as the pair gets deeper and deeper into the mystery, amid a growing collection of dead bodies and angry police detectives, is that someone maybe everyone is lying.
Rating: 5 stars. No one is going to cover this in an Advanced Literature class. BUT It drew me in and kept me wanting to read more. It made me feel like I was actually in the setting, and it had memorable and likeable characters admittedly some drawn from real-life celebrities, but others were created for this book / series.
The is the 1st book I that I have read by this author, and I really enjoyed it.
