High Hand

Martha Chainey #1

by Gary Phillips

A former showgirl-turned-mob courier, Matha Chainey finds herself in conflict with Frankie Degault, the owner of the Riverhead Casino, after she is ambushed and robbed of seven million dollars by a team of thieves and is given three days to recover the money or pay with her life. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

GARY PHILLIPS has been a community activist, labor organizer and delivered dog cages. He’s published various novels, comics, short stories and edited several anthologies including South Central Noir and the Anthony award-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Violent Spring, first published in 1994 was named in 2020 one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer/co-producer on FX’s Snowfall (streaming on Hulu), about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central where he grew up. Recent novels include One-Shot Harry and Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem. He lives with his family in the wilds of Los Angeles.

Reviews

[YAHWEH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books are oldies but goodies and 'High Hand' is definitely one of them...written with a Cleopatra Jones meets Las Vegas style the action is pedal to the metal all the way to the end.

[John Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Phillips shows a side of Vegas largely ignored in mainstream film and literature: Black Vegas. Though the book is 20 years old now, it feels as timely as ever as the U.S. (2021) wakes up to the persistent reality of racial discrimination and red-lining not just in the South or industrial North but even out west. But more to the point: Phillips' protagonist Martha Chainey is bad-ass, and she possesses a kind of sexual, emotional, and intellectual confidence reminiscent of Kinsey Millhone if Grafton's detective served on the force with Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones or was neighbor to Easy Rawlins. The action is taut, the deep, pervasive history of the underexplored side of Vegas is educational, and the dialogue crackles with each shift of register and argot of the various subcultures that make up the thrilling underworld of High Hand. As this was my first encounter with Mr. Phillips, I can't wait to read more.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

In High Hand, Gary Phillips gives us an action-packed portrayal of a Las Vegas casino money courier, Martha Chainey is a beautiful vixen, skilled in martial arts, and is very capable of defending herself. For the most part, she could handle the most formidable foe and is always ready for action. Unfortunately, Martha skills were not enough when she was robbed of money that Frankie and Veronica Degaults entrusted her to deliver. The robbery left her with a debt that could eventually lead to her demise. As a result, the Degaults gave Martha a redemption pass of seventy-two hours to recover the stolen money or else, it is curtains for her.


In her pursuit to recover the stolen funds, Martha discovers that blood thirsty Molly Zevonian is involved in the plot and is pulling out all stops to destroy her. As the story unfolds, Martha learns that she must find the mastermind that sent Molly to kill her to recover the stolen money. To find the mastermind, she joins forces with Six-Pack who is investigating the murder of two Indians that were found dead in the desert. His investigation might be the key in finding out who set her up.


This book is packed with non-stop action and the reader will be shocked by who masterminded the robbery. Lovers of mysteries and action will love this book. In a sense, Martha Chainey's character is parallel to that of Cleopatra Jones, a glamorous woman with the moxie and ability to protect herself against all odds. I became so involved with this story that it felt as if I was Martha, stopping bad guys. In the future, I will be looking forward to reading more of Martha's next escapades.

Reviewed by Margaret Ball
APOOO BookClub

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The synopses decribed here is Phillips second book: about Chainey a Las Vegas courier. High Hand, is about Chainey being robbed of money she is supposed to protect. She has 72 hours to get it back or else.
Meh. The description of raw Vegas is educational and eye popping. The story process was rather plodding and boring.

[Amber]

LOST - 203

[Murvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another contemporary mystery novel that I found to be refreshing and somewhat exciting.

[Michael]

Seen on the bookshelf in The Swan station bookshelf. ("Orientation")