The Prop

by Pete Hautman

National Book Award winner Pete Hautman delivers a fast-paced mystery set in the torrid, unforgiving Southwestern desert, where the stakes are sky high and all bets are off.

Peeky Kane is a prop player at an Arizona casino owned by the Santa Cruz tribe. Her job is to play poker. She makes a handsome living off the suckers who populate the card room. Life is sweet.

But something's not right at Casino Santa Cruz. When Peeky inadvertently finds herself in a fixed game and comes away a couple thousand dollars richer, she finds herself drawn unwittingly toward the dark side of professional poker. Peeky has always thought of herself as a straight shooter, but now things aren't so clear. And they're about to get a lot murkier.

When a band of clown-masked robbers makes off with millions of the casino's dollars and leaves behind four corpses, Peeky recognizes one of the robbers as a casino employee, and fears that one of her closest loved ones might also be involved. That same day, Peeky's son-in-law turns up to tell her that Jaymie, her beloved daughter, has been stealing money from Peeky for years to feed a crack habit.

Numb from these revelations, Peeky is compelled to action by an unlikely source when the most powerful member of the Santa Cruz tribe calls upon her to help him save his troubled casino. Peeky must draw on her years of reading poker faces and playing the odds to save the casino, her daughter, and herself.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Peter Murray Hautman is an American author best known for his novels for young adults. One of them, Godless, won the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The National Book Foundation summary is, "A teenage boy decides to invent a new religion with a new god."

Reviews

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Peeky Kane works for a casino owned by the Santa Cruz tribe. Something's not right. Games are fixed and then four die in a robbery.

[Daniel Ben-Horin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly, I find myself taking an interest in novels that do not find the audience they merit. In this category falls The Prop, by Pete Hautman, published in 2006. Hautman has won a National Book Award for a YA novel, but the Prop is, very simply, a totally satisfying, quite remarkable, adult thriller. Set in and around Tucson, with just the right level of evocative desert city detail, it follows Peeky Kane, who is employed by a reservation casino to keep the poker action going. She is paid an hourly wage and gets to keep what she wins (or lose what she loses). My beef with most thrillers is that the human relations are rarely as well-developed as the action. And even if there is a ‘real’ character at the center, the peripherals are usually sticks, stuck in by the author to keep the plot moving. I know the temptation! Why does a bad cop have to have a real back story? Can’t he just be a bad cop? Well, no, not if you’re a serious writer. Hautman is a serious writer and the entire cast of The Prop is real, which makes the action all the more convincing. Do yourself a favor and find it, especially but not only if you’ve lived in the Southwest or played poker or had a drug-addled child. (p.s. Hautman’s written 34 novels by my count, young adult, middle grades, and old adult. Holy shit. Took me 34 years to write one. The second is moving along more quickly though.)

[Ken Kuhlken · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prop, Pete Hautman

The world is mighty puzzling, so I won't even ask myself why I started reading Pete Hautman's novel The Prop two days before a poker game, my first in many years, at my son's home. I mean, when I picked up the book someone had given me long ago, I didn't know The Prop was set in a casino and the main character's job was to play Hold-em, which was what my son plays. But the little I learned about Hold-em that night served me well, as I the story features many, many poker hands.

It's set in Tucson where I lived quite a while and which is a favorite place of mine. Mr. Hautman gives a rich and authentic portrayal of the city and the desert. Also, the crime and much of the action happens at an Indian casino, which I appreciated as I am intrigued by native American culture. And the mystery served up at least as many twists and turns as I cared to live through.

So, I recommend the book to any mystery fan, and strongly recommend to those who favor poker, Tucson, or Native Americans. I wish Mr. Hautman had written sequels, but I haven't found any.

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! How does this book have only a 3.4 rating? Hautman is the best minor MN writer I have read and this mystery sings on all levels. Centered around an Native casino in AZ, PeeKee, as she's called, is a house-paid poker player that helps keep games active. She is a delight as a narrator, part tough lady, part cynic, part middle-aged mom struggling with life.
PeeKee is surrounded by vivid, whack-job characters: gamblers, crooks, drug addicts, con men. Employees scam the poker room jackpot and PeeKee is drawn in. The crimes get bigger, the stakes get higher, and PeeKee has to unravel the mystery to save herself, her drug-using daughter, and her friends.
A wonderful, wonderful, fast-paced fun read.

[Len Bergman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it’s obvious that the woman main character was written by a man, but if you get past that, it’s a great read. I love Hautman’s writing because he’s one of the few authors that can have me reading a hundred pages at a time without knowing it.
I think the plot of this book was very interesting and I loved the characters, but there were some aspects of it that didn’t seem as cohesive to me as they should. Hautman’s later works (such as Otherwood, 2022 I believe) still have a tinge of this flaw but are much improved.
Overall, a worthwhile read. I have no interest in poker, nor do I have a crack addict daughter, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A robbery gone wrong, a missing daughter, and a lot of poker. That's what you have in this fast paced book from Pete Hautman. If you're looking for a deep commentary about the nature of gambling, you'll be disappointed, but if you want to read an interesting book with some mystery, casino gambling, and sarcastic wit, you'll enjoy this book.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Pete Hautman since his quirky DRAWING DEAD. Hautman himself is a big poker fan and the poker theme runs through much of his work--including STONE COLD, his cautionary young adult novel. The tone here is much more noir than his previous work, so if you enjoy that end of the genre, you'll be at home here. For myself, I know next to nothing about poker but that didn't stop me from enjoying this novel. Hautman nails the casino environment, the poker jargon, the breezy dialogue, tribal politics, and makes excellent use of the Arizona setting. But it's the vivid characters that make the book shine. Peeky Kane is an atypical female protagonist, sort of a low-key, blowzy-but-wiser Stephanie Plum, on the cusp of middle age and carrying far more baggage. She and the other characters will haunt you long after you put this one down. The first person/present tense voice and just-right word choices raise the literary bar for crime fiction. Genre writing just doesn't get any better than this.

At writing conferences, Hautman is quick to point out that Elmore Leonard was a major influence. For my money, I'd rather read the next Pete Hautman than the next Elmore Leonard. THE PROP earns him a spot at the top of the pantheon.

[Sam Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A prop is a professional poker player hired by a casino to fill out tables and keep games going. If you think that sounds like a dream job, you'll understand Peeky Kane, the heroine of this wry take on the casino business. Peeky's a prop at an Indian-owned casino near Phoenix; a cop's widow, she has a wayward daughter, a sometime lover with a shady past, and more scruples than most people in her social circle. When rigged games, corporate politics and a brutal stickup throw her workplace into chaos, she is tabbed by the head of the tribe to help ferret out the bad apples. Domestic tranquility takes a hit as Peeky's scruples collide with her loyalties, and we're off to the races.
There's lots of poker lore, which is fun if you're a player, but even if you're not, there's plenty to enjoy, with deft local color, sharp character sketches, gunplay, skulduggery and an illusion-free view of the casino business. Before you sell everything and move to Vegas to try to make it as a poker pro, read this cautionary tale.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one. I love the character of Peeky. She's strong, sassy, engaging, and flawed. She's human enough that you're immediately on her side. The writing is just as addictive as if the reader had been bitten by the gambling bug. There's plenty of action and double-dealing. That's the pluses. On the negative side, there's an awful lot of killing--more than I usually like in my mysteries. And the murders are so senseless. It's also a bit more noir than I'm used to. And all the things that happen to Peeky....well, I felt like it was enough already. Three and a half stars for great writing and terrific characters.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Peeky Kane
SETTING: Tucson, AZ
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Peeky Kane, former police officer, works as a casino "prop", a professional poker player hired to sit it on tables that need more players. There's some bad stuff going down at the casino which is run by an Indian tribe. It looks like her boyfriend, Buddy, is very involved. And then there's her daughter, Jaymie, who's a drug addict who doesn't want to rehabilitate. Pretty good plot, but way too much poker stuff - talking about the hands dealt wasn't very interesting.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peeky Kane is one strange heroine. She has her flaws as do many of her associates. She works for a casino in Arizona and things start happening. Although it seems very disjointed it comes together for an interesting climax. I've read some of Hautmann's other books and this one has a much more serious tone to it. Unlike Mrs. Million which had me laughing up a storm. It is an easy read and if you like Poker, than you should find it enjoyable.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this comic thriller is written in the present tense, an affectation that usually has me slam the cover down with a Raymond Carver sigh and a blast of "Bright Lights, Big City"-inspired invective, but damn if the story isn't good enough that ol' Pete just snuck up on me.

Occupies the same general turf as Elmore Leonard on one side and Carl Hiaasen on the other.

[Rodger Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick and entertaining read. The main character is a small-time professional poker player who becomes involved in a good deal of intrigue involving her workplace and her personal life. There's almost too much happening in the plot involving a fairly large cast of characters. Most of these characters are colorful, but they are only thinly sketched caricatures of people.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare find, an exciting poker novel. By far the best poker novel out there. The writing is very good and the plot is straightforward while at the same time being exciting. It also really does a great job of exploring a mother-daughter relationship.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting protaganist and a compelling plot. I seemed to not be able to put the book down yesterday. The importance of poker in the story did throw me off a bit, but I still understood most of it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy mystery novels and have an interest in poker so this book was right up my alley. It was well-written with an engaging main character and an interesting backdrop of life around a Native American casino.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots happening in this book. You will really enjoy it if you are into casinos and playing cards, but even someone like me (a non-card player) got pulled into the action. It was a quick, exciting book to read on a -25 degree day in Minnesota, so glad it was on my to read bookshelf!

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Light and fluffy, this is a murder mystery that did not pull me in at all.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story! Page turner. Biting dialoque, dynamic female lead, and a lot of Texas Hold 'em poker. How do you beat that?

[Vi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving this book! A gal poker player who holds her own against the guys at the casino's card room and she comes up aces most of the time. Enjoyed it because I also play poker.

[Paul McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick solid book, about a poker room prop (A player who gets a small paycheck from the casino, and uses their own money to fill up tables in the poker area), and a robbery at the casino. Well written, with humor, and a well paced story. I may have to try another book by this author.