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High Rollers
When the engine of a 737 tears itself apart at Los Angeles Airport, Tom Patrick is in the wrong place at the wrong time - playing poker at a nearby casino.He's been losing at cards and probing pipeline leaks ever since his big mouth led to his fall from grace as the National Transportation Safety Board's top air-crash investigator. Now he can't wait to come in from the cold.Sidelined by the official investigation, Tom starts to dig anyway. And when another 737 crashes for what looks like similar reasons, it's clear that something could be terribly wrong with the world's most popular passenger jet.Risking everything, Tom Patrick sets out on a global paperchase, racing against time and ruthless killers - before planes and people start falling out of the sky like bloody confetti.BRACE YOURSELF FOR HIGH OCTANE, HIGH RISK. HIGH ROLLERS
Hardcover
First published August 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 23, 2014
“So he just smiled at the woman in the hoop earrings and watched the safety demonstration intently while everyone around him read their newspapers.”
Tom Patrick is an aircrash investigator. Sort of a cop but not a cop. He is also a semi-professional poker player and an all-round, reliable loud-mouth. He has such a gob on him, in fact, that throughout much of the book, he’s under semi-suspension from his job for pissing off too many people.
The story opens as the engine of a 737 tears itself apart in a hangar at Los Angeles Airport, killing several maintenance operatives, one of whom carries the blame, because of an unlit cigarette found among the debris. Airport worker, Halo Jackson, knowing his dead mate to have been wrongly accused, approaches Tom for help.
At the same time that Tom gets sucked into an illegal poker consortium, his unofficial investigations into the airplane disaster lead him to suspect a racket in which dodgy airplane parts are sold on the black market with devastating consequences. Romantic interest in the book is provided by the stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold, Lucia, and the bond-girl style heroine/villainess, Ness. Comic relief by a racing ostrich called Lemon and his young South African jockey, Harold Robbins Mhleli.
High octane ‘blokesy’ thrillers are not really my thing, but this is one of the most intelligently crafted and skillful I’ve read. It’s exceptionally thoroughly researched (unless author Jack Bowman worked for some time in the aircrash industry) but I felt the right balance was struck throughout. As the story unfolded, we had enough technical detail to authenticate the story but plenty of human interest to save it becoming too dry.
Tom Patrick is a great lead character. Who doesn’t want to tell some soulless, disinterested voice on the other end of a phone line to sharpen up and do their job better? Whilst exceptionally good at his job, and prepared to man up and punch the villain when the occasion requires it, he never crosses the line into super-hero and the story remains all the more believable because of it.
The jacket blurb warns readers not to read the book on a plane. With good reason. It really is rather scary how easily the smallest error can have devastating consequences. I WILL fly again, but I’ll be careful to request a seat within seven rows of the exit and I’ll pay close attention to the safety briefing.
This is a first novel by Jack Bowman. The cover details describe him as “a writer and a gambler, who does not blog, or tweet or answer the phone or the door to unsolicited callers.” He is thirty eight, apparently. “Or was once. Or will be soon. He lives alone.”
I rather want to meet him.
I bought High Rollers from my local, independent book shop.
Tom Patrick is an aircrash investigator. Sort of a cop but not a cop. He is also a semi-professional poker player and an all-round, reliable loud-mouth. He has such a gob on him, in fact, that throughout much of the book, he’s under semi-suspension from his job for pissing off too many people.
The story opens as the engine of a 737 tears itself apart in a hangar at Los Angeles Airport, killing several maintenance operatives, one of whom carries the blame, because of an unlit cigarette found among the debris. Airport worker, Halo Jackson, knowing his dead mate to have been wrongly accused, approaches Tom for help.
At the same time that Tom gets sucked into an illegal poker consortium, his unofficial investigations into the airplane disaster lead him to suspect a racket in which dodgy airplane parts are sold on the black market with devastating consequences. Romantic interest in the book is provided by the stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold, Lucia, and the bond-girl style heroine/villainess, Ness. Comic relief by a racing ostrich called Lemon and his young South African jockey, Harold Robbins Mhleli.
High octane ‘blokesy’ thrillers are not really my thing, but this is one of the most intelligently crafted and skillful I’ve read. It’s exceptionally thoroughly researched (unless author Jack Bowman worked for some time in the aircrash industry) but I felt the right balance was struck throughout. As the story unfolded, we had enough technical detail to authenticate the story but plenty of human interest to save it becoming too dry.
Tom Patrick is a great lead character. Who doesn’t want to tell some soulless, disinterested voice on the other end of a phone line to sharpen up and do their job better? Whilst exceptionally good at his job, and prepared to man up and punch the villain when the occasion requires it, he never crosses the line into super-hero and the story remains all the more believable because of it.
The jacket blurb warns readers not to read the book on a plane. With good reason. It really is rather scary how easily the smallest error can have devastating consequences. I WILL fly again, but I’ll be careful to request a seat within seven rows of the exit and I’ll pay close attention to the safety briefing.
This is a first novel by Jack Bowman. The cover details describe him as “a writer and a gambler, who does not blog, or tweet or answer the phone or the door to unsolicited callers.” He is thirty eight, apparently. “Or was once. Or will be soon. He lives alone.”
I rather want to meet him.
I bought High Rollers from my local, independent book shop.
August 10, 2013
'' Airline crashes. Gambling. Gangsters. Take the ultimate high octane thrill ride - Do NOT read this on a plane ''
The thing that drew me to this book was the cover. But after a few pages I was gripped to the story. And that is why I finished this book at 12.09am when I should be asleep ahead of having to be in work in a few hours. However the last part of this book was so action-packed that there was never any doubt of me not finishing it in one sitting. Anyone looking at this book in the airport before a flight should put it down and buy it when they reach their destination airport, and then read it. Or for any daredevils, buy it and read it on the flight! (It feels odd to reccommend a book but not reccommend it at the same time!)
Tom Patrick is playing poker when the engine of a 737 explodes at LAX, taking the lives of maintenance workers and potentially ruining the lives of the ones that weren't killed. We learn that Tom is the top air-crash investigator but has been demoted for shouting his mouth off too many times. Tom is my type of character, the sort of person who defies his bosses but does it for good reasons not because he wants to be a dickhead. He reminded me a little bit of Matt Hilton's Joe Hunter, and certainly got into the sorts of scrapes that Hunter often finds himself in!
Following the disaster at LAX another plane blows up mid-air and crashes somewhere in Africa. The author didn't shy away from very vivid descriptions which is why this book is definitely not flight reading. The book felt incredibly realistic and this was thanks to excellent descriptions from the author who has clearly done his research into the subject. Alongside all this Tom meets a woman called Ness while he is playing poker and together they go off to Africa in search of answers to the planes falling out of the sky. Tom's recklessness means that his bosses are reluctant to listen to him never mind help him but he is determined to find answers.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing and not wanting to put the book down. I had it read within 24 hours which is always the sign of a good book. It's hard to say any more about the story without giving away the plot but despite a lot of coincidence the book was fantastic. This was the type of book that I would love to see made into a film.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Net Galley.
Usually at this point I would link to the author's Twitter but his bio says that 'Jack Bowman is a writer and a gambler. He does not blog; he does not tweet; he does not answer the phone or the door to unsolicited callers. He is 38. Or was. Or will be soon. He lives alone.' Very mysterious! To me this didn't feel like the work of a first-time author but rather somebody who has been writing for a long time.
The thing that drew me to this book was the cover. But after a few pages I was gripped to the story. And that is why I finished this book at 12.09am when I should be asleep ahead of having to be in work in a few hours. However the last part of this book was so action-packed that there was never any doubt of me not finishing it in one sitting. Anyone looking at this book in the airport before a flight should put it down and buy it when they reach their destination airport, and then read it. Or for any daredevils, buy it and read it on the flight! (It feels odd to reccommend a book but not reccommend it at the same time!)
Tom Patrick is playing poker when the engine of a 737 explodes at LAX, taking the lives of maintenance workers and potentially ruining the lives of the ones that weren't killed. We learn that Tom is the top air-crash investigator but has been demoted for shouting his mouth off too many times. Tom is my type of character, the sort of person who defies his bosses but does it for good reasons not because he wants to be a dickhead. He reminded me a little bit of Matt Hilton's Joe Hunter, and certainly got into the sorts of scrapes that Hunter often finds himself in!
Following the disaster at LAX another plane blows up mid-air and crashes somewhere in Africa. The author didn't shy away from very vivid descriptions which is why this book is definitely not flight reading. The book felt incredibly realistic and this was thanks to excellent descriptions from the author who has clearly done his research into the subject. Alongside all this Tom meets a woman called Ness while he is playing poker and together they go off to Africa in search of answers to the planes falling out of the sky. Tom's recklessness means that his bosses are reluctant to listen to him never mind help him but he is determined to find answers.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing and not wanting to put the book down. I had it read within 24 hours which is always the sign of a good book. It's hard to say any more about the story without giving away the plot but despite a lot of coincidence the book was fantastic. This was the type of book that I would love to see made into a film.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Net Galley.
Usually at this point I would link to the author's Twitter but his bio says that 'Jack Bowman is a writer and a gambler. He does not blog; he does not tweet; he does not answer the phone or the door to unsolicited callers. He is 38. Or was. Or will be soon. He lives alone.' Very mysterious! To me this didn't feel like the work of a first-time author but rather somebody who has been writing for a long time.
October 20, 2013
See www.writersworkshop.co.uk/crimefiction HIGH ROLLERS – Jack Bowman.
Tom Patrick is a good case study for an Asperger Syndrome spectrum occupant. His social skills are suboptimal; his temper is barely tethered to solid ground, like a balloon basket in a high wind. He also fixates on a problem with the intensity of a pitbull on flesh.
Of the two loves of his life, one is playing poker, at which, lately, he has been losing depressingly often. He is ripe for accepting the suggestion from a beautiful girl that he play with someone else's money, and they don't mind if he doesn't win all the time. Which is one way of laundering money.
Tom's second passion is his job as an aircraft crash investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, but he is now inspecting pipeline leaks, due to his inability to control his big mouth. He happens to be nearby, playing poker, when the engine of a 737 tears itself apart in a hangar at Los Angeles Airport, and so is first on the scene. Before he is ordered away by the NTSB team that arrives to investigate, he meets technician Halo Jackson who's friend and workmate has been killed in the incident, and picks up on something that suggests that the conclusion later arrived at is flawed.
When a 737 across the world suffers a similar fate, Tom takes leave to find out what the connection is. When parts gathered by the investigating team there go missing and the team themselves are attacked, Tom knows the clock is ticking and other 737s are at risk.
What a character! Bowman paints an intriguing canvas of a rough diamond in a background of furiously explosive action. It is such an exciting read, a one-sitting thrill banquet, that he can be forgiven for his unrealistic sketch of South Africa; but perhaps, only a South African would know.
Tom Patrick is a good case study for an Asperger Syndrome spectrum occupant. His social skills are suboptimal; his temper is barely tethered to solid ground, like a balloon basket in a high wind. He also fixates on a problem with the intensity of a pitbull on flesh.
Of the two loves of his life, one is playing poker, at which, lately, he has been losing depressingly often. He is ripe for accepting the suggestion from a beautiful girl that he play with someone else's money, and they don't mind if he doesn't win all the time. Which is one way of laundering money.
Tom's second passion is his job as an aircraft crash investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, but he is now inspecting pipeline leaks, due to his inability to control his big mouth. He happens to be nearby, playing poker, when the engine of a 737 tears itself apart in a hangar at Los Angeles Airport, and so is first on the scene. Before he is ordered away by the NTSB team that arrives to investigate, he meets technician Halo Jackson who's friend and workmate has been killed in the incident, and picks up on something that suggests that the conclusion later arrived at is flawed.
When a 737 across the world suffers a similar fate, Tom takes leave to find out what the connection is. When parts gathered by the investigating team there go missing and the team themselves are attacked, Tom knows the clock is ticking and other 737s are at risk.
What a character! Bowman paints an intriguing canvas of a rough diamond in a background of furiously explosive action. It is such an exciting read, a one-sitting thrill banquet, that he can be forgiven for his unrealistic sketch of South Africa; but perhaps, only a South African would know.
June 19, 2014
After overhearing the book I was reading was dull, a friend of mine who owns a bookshop gave me a copy of this book. This is not my usual genre of book, but I do like murder and mystery books.
Despite struggling with special needs, I read this 400 page book in a matter of hours - I literally couldn't put it down. I normally read books by women, and this was a refreshing book about gambling, explosions, murders, and sex - which Jack Bowman wrote perfectly.
I am grateful to my mate for finding me a new author and a new genre to explore
Despite struggling with special needs, I read this 400 page book in a matter of hours - I literally couldn't put it down. I normally read books by women, and this was a refreshing book about gambling, explosions, murders, and sex - which Jack Bowman wrote perfectly.
I am grateful to my mate for finding me a new author and a new genre to explore
July 2, 2020
this is a 3.5 from me
Jack Bowman is an alias for Belinda Bauer. As a fan of her books i thought i'd try it.
It felt to me that it was written by a man, so i feel that she pulled the alias off well,
It is about an airline crash investigator. Firstly i think that this would make a great film, as its very action hero movie material. Although action movie drama in books isn't really my thing. I found that i didn't find Tom the main character endearing due to his ego and conceited attitude, but did enjoy his caustic sense of humour. I loved Halo's dogged determination to get him on board. I found Halo a very likeable character.
Its fast paced and kept my attention, parts of it were technical with engineering info, and the poker references were lost on me.
Overall i enjoyed this book
Jack Bowman is an alias for Belinda Bauer. As a fan of her books i thought i'd try it.
It felt to me that it was written by a man, so i feel that she pulled the alias off well,
It is about an airline crash investigator. Firstly i think that this would make a great film, as its very action hero movie material. Although action movie drama in books isn't really my thing. I found that i didn't find Tom the main character endearing due to his ego and conceited attitude, but did enjoy his caustic sense of humour. I loved Halo's dogged determination to get him on board. I found Halo a very likeable character.
Its fast paced and kept my attention, parts of it were technical with engineering info, and the poker references were lost on me.
Overall i enjoyed this book
June 27, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up. Belinda Bauer trying something a bit different here (as Jack Bowman), and the premise was good. I dropped some points as it took longer to get going than I would have liked, the first one third (after a very suspenseful first two pages too) felt like just one character being introduced after another after another after another - I'm all for setting the scene but for a "high pace thriller", I was really willing the plot to get a move on!
Things did start to get moving , and from there on it did end on a high. More thoughts to follow.
Things did start to get moving , and from there on it did end on a high. More thoughts to follow.
February 27, 2018
üzülerek vaktimin boşa harcadığını soyleyim.. cok cok kaliteli,zengin elit bir.kitap kültürüm evet yok fakat hayatında hiç polisiye roman okumayan yabut okuduğu ilk roman bu olan biri belki kkitabi iyi bulabilir ama ben kitabi okurken klişeden baska birsey bulamadjm. sanki 3.sinif amerikan filmi izledim dostum tamammi? konusmalar aynen bu sekilde idi. hey lanet.olsun adamım ile baslayip her cümlesi lanet olan itici bir karakter zaten Tom.. hiiiic sevmedim.yahu
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December 2, 2019Great book from start to finish. I enjoyed it very much1
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February 25, 2022Oh, dear: clunky and unexciting, I'm afraid: a high stakes thriller potential not realised in the telling: 5/10
March 29, 2024
Great little book. Read it on a plane, much more enjoyable. Just make sure those nuts and bolts are ok before take off !!
May 21, 2024
fast paced
Good read. Some of it was a little far fetched but that doesn’t stop it being well constructed with good character development.
Good read. Some of it was a little far fetched but that doesn’t stop it being well constructed with good character development.
March 29, 2025
Love a main character with a life full of problems.
November 16, 2025
As usual for a book by this author with a better known name, it was well written. I’m a fan of the author but not the genre however, I have no doubt that this book will appeal to many.
February 20, 2014
Tom Patrick investigates plane crashes, when he's not playing poker. He reluctantly gets involved with a guy, Halo, whose pal, a maintenance man, has been blamed for a 737 crash. After a lot of misadventures, Tom begins to suspect someone is fraudulently selling dodgy repair parts to be installed.
This is an OK thriller. The plot, for me, spends too long circling the premise – several encounters with bad guys, Patrick in trouble with his boss repeatedly, and then a big coincidence about who is behind the scam.
The other problem I had with it was that Patrick is a charmless cretin, inarticulate and socially inept. I'm guessing we're supposed to find him, between the lines, a charming rogue. But I didn't. He's the sort who bookmarks his favourite porn sites, doesn't know how to talk to women and is happy to pay for sex. When a prostitute refuses his money after 'blowing' him, he reduces her to tears with his stupid comment, 'I'll bet you say that to all the boys.' Then he's angry with her for making him feel guilty. Happily, he gets beaten up frequently, and brutally kicked in the balls a couple of times.
The jacket blurb – Caution, Do Not Read This Book on a Plane – is also a bit of a desperate effort to give it some edge.
This is an OK thriller. The plot, for me, spends too long circling the premise – several encounters with bad guys, Patrick in trouble with his boss repeatedly, and then a big coincidence about who is behind the scam.
The other problem I had with it was that Patrick is a charmless cretin, inarticulate and socially inept. I'm guessing we're supposed to find him, between the lines, a charming rogue. But I didn't. He's the sort who bookmarks his favourite porn sites, doesn't know how to talk to women and is happy to pay for sex. When a prostitute refuses his money after 'blowing' him, he reduces her to tears with his stupid comment, 'I'll bet you say that to all the boys.' Then he's angry with her for making him feel guilty. Happily, he gets beaten up frequently, and brutally kicked in the balls a couple of times.
The jacket blurb – Caution, Do Not Read This Book on a Plane – is also a bit of a desperate effort to give it some edge.
February 10, 2016
Tom Patrick is an NTSB investigator who is asked to help prove that someone was not responsible for an air plane accident. He reluctantly takes on the task. In his spare time he likes to play cards. He lives in two separate worlds. The more he investigates, unofficially, the more his two worlds are drawn together.
This is an interesting story about air crash investigations and gambling, but only gets better the closer his two worlds become. It's worth reading but as the cover says, not while you are waiting to catch a plane.
This is an interesting story about air crash investigations and gambling, but only gets better the closer his two worlds become. It's worth reading but as the cover says, not while you are waiting to catch a plane.
March 11, 2014
This is a very decent pot-boiler of a novel. The mixture of card games and air-crash investigation works well enough. Never did quite sort out the reason for the link between the two main plot-lines, but it didn't matter much. Some of the motives and events were a bit hard to believe in, so if you want really tight logical writing you might get irritated. All in all though, it was OK, and I'm someone who puts down a bad read in a flash, and without regret.
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