Crapshoot: A contemporary Native American amateur sleuth murder mystery series

by Paty Jager

A Fentanyl death.
A missing woman.
Dela Alvaro, head of the Spotted Pony Casino security, and Heath Seaver, a Umatilla Tribal Detective, join forces with the FBI to find Dela’s missing basket-weaving instructor and put a stop to a lethal drug flowing onto the reservation.

The investigation turns deadly when an undercover FBI agent goes missing and the drug cartel’s girlfriend is out for Dela’s blood.

Genres: Mystery

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2025

About the author

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 55+ novels, novellas, and short stories of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure.
All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series. I enjoy reading this series with the setting of the casino and the reservation. Dela is such a strong smart independent protagonist. I love how she is letting her walls down and letting others get closer to her. The secondary characters from the casino are great support for Dela, they are smart in their own ways. The mystery is well written and well plotted with plenty of twist and turns.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always quickly swept up by this author’s writing, but this book seemed to have hooked me even faster than usual. With a twisty mystery that kept making me second guess all my pet theories, plenty of action and drama, and it was all rounded out with some big personal changes for Dela. I'm loving the way the author keeps pulling pieces of Dela’s past forward to show us what makes her the dedicated warrior for justice we’ve all come to know and love. And as we learn more about her history, I can’t wait to see where it’s going to take her in the future.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute must-read series if you like cosy mystery with a really great storyline, wonderful characters, and a bit of heritage thrown in. Paty Jager writes the most wonderful books based around the native American Indian culture. Her series Shandra Higheagle and Gabriel Hawke are as good as this series, and I highly recommend them both.

This series is about Dela, who heads up security at the Spotted Pony Casino, ex military she never shys away from danger even though her boyfriend, Heath Seaver, a tribal police detective, would much rather she did.

In this book, Dela is aware that something us going on at the Casino which she needs to get a grip on, coupled with deaths from fentanyl on the reservation and a friend going missing, she's got her work cut out for her.

Her nemesis in the FBI, Special Agent Quinn is also involved, and they rub each other up the wrong way, but does he have her back?

I couldn't put this book down and could easily have devoured it from start to finish in one go. I can't wait to read the next book in this wonderful series.

Whilst each book is a standalone story, the books are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and wider storyline.

[Becky Claxon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another exciting mystery in this series. I am loving that Dela and Heather are still living together and in love. Heath was working with Quinn the local FBI agent that both Dela and Heath have worked with. When one of Dela’s friends goes missing. She is determined to find her as is the other women on the reservation. Dela is upset with Heath when she finds out he is working with Quinn on an FBI case that might be connected with her friend’s disappearance. Dela was still a stubborn individual that goes looking to help people, especially when someone doesn’t take the information she found seriously. I loved how she has a few people at the casino who she can trust and help her get information. There were more times in this book that I was afraid for Dela and didn’t know if she was going to come out of the situation. This is an exciting mystery that I strongly encourage you to read.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dela is Security chief at the local casino, wears a lower-leg prosthesis, is living with a Tribal Police detective, has ongoing friction with the area FBI agent, and gets into more danger now than when she was in the Stan. This time it's back to problems with the drug trade and the abduction of a prominent woman from the nearby reservation. Another great read!
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#LibraryThing #BookBub #Goodreads #BN #audiobook #BAM #Kobo #Waterstones #ThriftBooks #Chirpbooks #armyveteran #amputee #Casinosecurity #FBI #tribalpolice #LEOfriction #abductions
#relationships #multicultural #drugtrafficking #suspense #nativeamerican #unputdownable #MMIW

[TRACEY A · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant book by Paty Jager

Love this series! Read every book. Each book is so well written.

I always watch and wait for the next book to come out.

The way the Native American heritage and rituals are woven into each storyline and characters as another element to the adventure.

Each book is a standalone story, but the books are best read in order of publication to preserve continuity of the characters and wider storyline.

Recommend

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delia and Heath are at it again. This time they have to win against the cartel. The cartel is using the casino to sell their drugs. Also the lady teaching Delia how to basket weave has gone missing. This book was actioned packed and filled with adventure. Delia has a great team and is quick to figure things out. The ending had me scared but things worked out. Happy that Delia and Heath will be getting married. I received an arc and the views and opinions are my own.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent mystery by Paty Jager set at the Spotted Pony Casino. Dela and Heath's relationship is progressing well but as usual, a mystery at the casino brings her, Heath and Quinn from the FBI back together in trying to solve it. What's great about the books, is the development of the relationships between the characters which develop and progress over time to benefit all.

I look forward to the next instalment of the series

[Judy Chun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner at the Spotted Pony Casino

Love these books by Paty Jager. She does great characters and knows how to tell a story. You are invested from the beginning and really do not want it to end. I end up reading late into the night every time. Thank you Paty and please write another one soon.

[Ellen White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always look forward to this author books, and the working within the casino.
It was full of adventure and who was not doing their job.
I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it and the Pony series.

[Peggy Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dela does it again!

I love this series and the characters. Dela, Heath, and Quinn make a good team even when they don't want to be working together. I enjoy how the story of their personal lives progresses along with the mystery in each book. Can't wait for the next one!

[Ginny Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Lots of action and suspense who was good and who was not people were into drugs and were killed by the criminals of the cartel

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-written, entertaining book. It was fast-paced, action-packed and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this detective thriller with its tense plot intertwined with the personal lives of its main protagonists.

[Andrea J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crapshoot is the seventh in the Spotted Pony Casino series by Paty Jager. It deals with a very sensitive and ongoing problem: the abduction of indigenous women from reservations into sex trafficking rings. This is something that has been happening across the US for a number of years. Dela Alvaro, the head of casino security, along with tribal police and FBI agents work to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a close friend. The story is filled with suspense, excitement and intrigue. Definitely a page turner. It was hard to put down because I wanted to see what happened next. Because of Paty Jager’s love of Oregon and the Native American tribes that live there, she does a lot of research into their customs and beliefs. All of her stories give you an accurate look into the reservation life and daily issues and difficulties. Her descriptions of the land and surroundings in Oregon are so accurate that you can easily visualize them.
The whole series is very good. I know you will enjoy it.