Springer's Gambit: A Cole Springer Thriller

Cole Springer Mystery #1

by W.L. Ripley

Aspen -- the American Riviera -- where the rich and the beautiful go to play.Quiet streets, breathtaking mountains and one of the lowest crime rates in America.But, that's about to change.Real estate speculator Max Shapiro has been cleaning the San Francisco mob's money for three decades.Then, the hammer drops -- he's dying of cancer and is on borrowed time.Resentful of the mob's hold and not wishing to die withan i.v. hose in his arm, Max tells the mob he isn't paying any more tribute, hoping they'll send someone to kill him.But while vacationing in Aspen, Max gets a call from his doctor.Good news.Max isn't dying after all.But, it's too late to call off the mob's killers.Max's only hope is the enigmatic Cole Springer -- an ex-secret service agent with a penchant for creative thinking -- broke and in danger of losing his Aspen night club.Shapiro needs a bodyguard, Springer needs money, so they cut a protection deal.Enter Gerry "Knucks" Nugent, a cerebral and deadly hitman in the midst of a midlife crisis who has been sent to kill Shapiro.A mob boss dies in 'Frisco, there is a struggle for power and an emergency cache of three million dollars ends up in the hands of Nicky Tortino, a merciless Bay area crime lord.The shift in underworld command sends shock waves rippling across the west United States; affecting even Shapiro and Nugent.Springer's active mind runs to larger themes then merely protecting Shapiro and he begins to formulate a scheme to save Shapiro and get his hands on the three million .But, Springer's scam depends upon recruiting Nugent, and Nugent is widely feared -- even by his ruthless bosses on the West Coast.Bay area underboss, Nicky Tortino, travels to Aspen to get Shapiro to launder the three million and also to have both Springer and Shapiro killed.The law closes in and Springer is running out of time andoptions.Beset on all sides, Springer designs an elaborate sting to extricate Shapiro and himself from the deadly web that has formed around them.But, can he trust Nugent? AUTHORBIO: W.L. RIPLEY, author of the critically acclaimed Wyatt Storme series, is back with a vengeance in this, his fourth novel.Ripley takes us to three of the most fascinating cities in the American West -- Aspen, Las Vegas, and San Francisco -- in this gritty yet often humorous tale of murder, double-cross, and triple-cross in the Rockies.

309 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2001

About the author

Warren L. Ripley is the author of the critically acclaimed Wyatt Storme mystery series. He lives in Missouri.

Reviews

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite W.L. Ripley book (and don't tell him, but its the only one I would give 5 stars to). You should read it. You should buy it. You should email your hollywood friends and tell them to make a movie out of it.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, fast. light read! Enjoyed the characters, the dialogue, the plot. Good stuff.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, Colorado setting and engaging writing.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

my dad's the author, so it's tough to be objective... but in my opinion, this is his best novel to date.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Elmore Leonard-esque novel focusing on incompetent cops and crooks, and a couple of guys that actually know what they're doing.

Recommended.