Whatever flaws we might identify or frustrations we might feel are trivial in comparison to a reader's pure joy in losing himself/herself in a narrative. When all the elements come together: an intriguing plot, thoughtful, profound themes, complex, troubling, characters, and language that will amaze for its clarity, directness and confidence; we gratefully set all analysis aside and give ourselves up to the sheer magic of a great book. And for me, Dead Man's Hand (A Calvin Watters Mystery Book 1), is such a book.
Author Luke Murphy weaves an intense tale of mystery and suspense, with intriguing twists and turns that will easily captivate the reader's attention from the beginning. The author paints an 'ultra-high-stakes story of deceit, treachery and vengeance in a very vivid and convincing way.
The book description says it all; ‘From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.
When the brutal slaying of a prominent casino owner is followed by the murder of a well-known bookie, Detective Dale Dayton is thrown into the middle of a highly political case and leads the largest homicide investigation in Vegas in the last twelve years.
Against his superiors and better judgment, Dayton is willing to give Calvin one last chance. To redeem himself, Calvin must prove his innocence by finding the real killer, while avoiding the LVMPD, as well as protect the woman he loves from a professional assassin hired to silence them.’
Now, if that’s not enough to whet your appetite, I don’t know what will. But if you want to find out what happens you’ll just have to turn the pages for yourself to find out! But I will say it's well worth the read. It's my first time reading this author and I must say I was very impressed.
This captivating and commendable work had me immersed from the beginning. The story flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are plenty of attention-grabbing moments in this page turner that will take the reader on a compelling and gripping journey.
It’s one of those books that comes along occasionally that makes you want to read it non-stop until you get to the end. I’m giving nothing further away here. And this, I hope, will only add to the mystery and enjoyment for the reader. I will say, however, that fans of the mystery, thriller and suspense genre will love having a nibble on this one!
If this book is anything to go by, I’ll certainly be looking forward to reading more from Luke Murphy in the future. I would recommend this book and would love to see it adapted for the Silver Screen. Five stars from me.