Blizzard Ball

by Dennis Kelly

Against the backdrop of a cold Minnesota winter, lottery players hold their collective breath at the thought of winning big on Christmas Day. The jackpot has run up to a red-hot $750 million, the world's richest prize. A bungled convenience store heist triggers a happenstance theft of winning lottery tickets and trips up an insider's scheme to rig the results.


Agent Kirchner, an old-school cop reluctantly teams up with a young tech-savvy analyst on an investigation that propels them into the world of numerical probability, conspiratorial politics, international ticket scalpers, counterfeiters, disgruntled players, and illegal immigrants looking to grab the brass ring. Caught
in the crosscurrents of those in deadly pursuit of the winning ticket, the investigators
are buffeted by unsolved murders, a bomb blast-and the curious giveaway of winning lottery acts of charity or criminal subterfuge?


The whereabouts and redemption of the $750 million jackpot lottery ticket remains a mystery throughout, stirring anger and resentment among the lottery-playing public. The winning ticket, finally, surfaces but before the prize can be claimed a Faustian bargain puts Kirchner's job on the line.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

I’m always smiling when I write… aware that mortals make plans and the gods laugh!

I am actively engaged in writing both as a novelist and a mindful writing teacher. My novels are not part of a series but do share a theme. The focus is on character arcs that revolve around ‘twist of fate’. I aim to expose lives, who by chance, have spun out of control, and see where they land. My stories give ‘fortuitous events’ center stage. I also love to infuse humor into my characters – sometimes light and sometimes dark. I believe humor helps us understand and cope with the world. When we see and laugh at characters we care about, who mirror our own flaws and weakness, it reflects on what it is to be human.

As a mindful writing teacher, my focus is to foster creativity, healing, and resilience. Embedded in the mindful writing teaching is my advanced practice of insight meditation and tai chi, for a balanced blend of mind and body awareness. My mindfulness workshops have been conducted for corporate and institutional staffs, classroom students, cancer patients and their caretakers, incarcerated people, at risk youth, seniors, the homeless and the public at large.

Reviews

[Kim A. Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good

Really liked this story. It was well thought out, well written and entertaining. Also the story touched on an intriguing angle-the Lottery. Everyone associated with this lottery ended up with dubious results. Very good read…

[Gail Ritter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit that this book caught my eye because I live in Minnesota. What I liked about it was that the characters weren't the stereotypical Scandinavians that are associated with our state; even though there were a LOT of characters, each one seemed real and individual, and represented well the diversity I experience living here. The first pages of this book are heavy with explaining the lottery, and statistics related to it, and to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to continue reading. However, once I got past that, and the story picked up speed, I found myself caught up in the convoluted and crazy events of criminals getting wasted by chance and happenstance. I'll never look at the lottery the same.

[Esmeralda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will keep the reader interested with lots of strange characters and plot twists. The Blizzard Ball Lottery in Minnesota is up to $750 million dollars. Is love of money really the root of all evil? One will believe it after reading this book. Also Karma has a way of turning around and biting you in the ass. Someone may have tried to manipulate the drawing, but "the scheme took itself down, as they usually do."

I was routing for the heroine, Alita Torres, a bank teller who started all the trouble by telling her cousins about the strange customer who took his money home in Federal Express boxes.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Blizzard Ball has a strong plot with a fairly large cast of characters. There are a few crazy plot points that might seem convenient, but the writing is good enough to take the reader along for the ride. I haven't previously read anything by Dennis Kelly, but I'm definitely interested in reading his other works.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fast-paced book. You almost need a spread sheet to keep track of all the characters and how they are involved. The lottery ticket seems to bring more bad luck than it does good, or maybe it's just kharma catching up with them as one after another of the characters meets his end.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the references to the Minnesota setting. There were lots of characters of which to keep track, and it moved along quickly. Fun read!

[Therese]

$0.0

[Anthony Ring · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing spectacular, and a few too many coincidences strains credibility

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read over 20% but just never felt interested enough to keep reading

[Eryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's very rare for me to not finish a book, but it happened here. I was maybe 10% through and I just couldn't be bothered with it anymore.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story--it's a little brief, I'd have liked to learn more of the characters' histories.

Recommended.

[Elizabeth Karmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific Read.

well written. good story. captivating and hard to predict. great plane or vacation reading. the story stays with you long after reading it.