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Cold Poker Gang #4
Bad Beat: A Cold Poker Gang Mystery
The Cold Poker Gang consists of a group of retired Las Vegas Police detectives getting together once a week to play cards and work to solve cold cases.
Retired Detectives Bayard Lott and Julia Rogers stand at an unmarked grave in the desert, about ready to close a thirty-year-old cold case of a missing woman.
But what appears from that grave keeps their case very much open, and shines a light on many other cold cases.
Another twisted mystery that only the Cold Poker Gang can solve.
“…Dean Wesley Smith draws a royal straight flush by making the hand he deals readers seem possible with this exhilarating political poker thriller…”—Midwest Book Review on Dead Money
Retired Detectives Bayard Lott and Julia Rogers stand at an unmarked grave in the desert, about ready to close a thirty-year-old cold case of a missing woman.
But what appears from that grave keeps their case very much open, and shines a light on many other cold cases.
Another twisted mystery that only the Cold Poker Gang can solve.
“…Dean Wesley Smith draws a royal straight flush by making the hand he deals readers seem possible with this exhilarating political poker thriller…”—Midwest Book Review on Dead Money
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2016
40 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Dean Wesley Smith
822 books177 followersPen Names
Edward Taft
Dee W. Schofield
Sandy Schofield
Kathryn Wesley
Dean Wesley Smith is the bestselling author of over ninety novels under many names and well over 100 published short stories. He has over eight million copies of his books in print and has books published in nine different countries. He has written many original novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and romance as well as books for television, movies, games, and comics. He is also known for writing quality work very quickly and has written a large number of novels as a ghost writer or under house names.
With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. The following is a list of novels under the Dean Wesley Smith name, plus a number of pen names that are open knowledge. Many ghost and pen name books are not on this list because he is under contractual obligations not to disclose that he wrote them. Many of Dean’s original novels are also under hidden pen names for marketing reasons.
Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.
Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.
Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.
Edward Taft
Dee W. Schofield
Sandy Schofield
Kathryn Wesley
Dean Wesley Smith is the bestselling author of over ninety novels under many names and well over 100 published short stories. He has over eight million copies of his books in print and has books published in nine different countries. He has written many original novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and romance as well as books for television, movies, games, and comics. He is also known for writing quality work very quickly and has written a large number of novels as a ghost writer or under house names.
With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. The following is a list of novels under the Dean Wesley Smith name, plus a number of pen names that are open knowledge. Many ghost and pen name books are not on this list because he is under contractual obligations not to disclose that he wrote them. Many of Dean’s original novels are also under hidden pen names for marketing reasons.
Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.
Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.
Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 15, 2023
Up next from Darth's Colossal Stack of Stuff is "Bad Beat," the fourth book in the Cold Poker Gang series, by Dean Wesley Smith. "Bad Beat" originally appeared as a serial story in Smith's Monthly. You needn't necessarily read the books in order, because they're all self-contained stories. However, the relationship progression between the two main characters makes more sense if you read the books in order.
In their latest cold case turned hot, the Cold Poker Gang has to peel back the layers of a dastardly murder mystery with a surprisingly far reach. With a rapidly diminishing group of people they can trust, will the Gang be able be able to prevail against a secretive and wily villain?
If you've read the other books in the series, "Bad Beat" will feel like a visit from an old friend. All of the trappings that make the series unique (and really good!) are present and accounted for. As always, the plot moves right along and Dean throws some crazy curveballs your way during the course of the story. "Bad Beat" went in some surprising directions that I genuinely didn't see coming. Though the plot is serpentine, Dean weaves a tale that won't lose you even as it grows in complexity. The content of the story gets pretty dark, so take note. However, I must congratulate the author for his diabolical imagination.
As engaging as the plot are the characters. Though the primary protagonists are numerologically superior, Dean does throw some younger characters into the mix, keeping "Bad Beat" from turning into the Golden Girls. I enjoyed all the players and how they each contributed to the larger story. I do wish Dean would use a few more characters from the Cold Poker Gang itself, but it's a small complaint. I also find it kind of odd that no poker games actually take place during the story - or in any other of the books, for that matter. But hey, I'm no poker player; I wouldn't understand anyway!
Unfortunately, "Bad Beat" doesn't really show off Dean's great writing chops. While the story and characters are first-rate, the prose is rather pedestrian. You may find yourself editing the book while you're reading.
It's safe to say we can chalk up "Bad Beat" as another win for Dean Wesley Smith. With a great plot and characters you'll be charmed by, this novel gets a thumbs up.
In their latest cold case turned hot, the Cold Poker Gang has to peel back the layers of a dastardly murder mystery with a surprisingly far reach. With a rapidly diminishing group of people they can trust, will the Gang be able be able to prevail against a secretive and wily villain?
If you've read the other books in the series, "Bad Beat" will feel like a visit from an old friend. All of the trappings that make the series unique (and really good!) are present and accounted for. As always, the plot moves right along and Dean throws some crazy curveballs your way during the course of the story. "Bad Beat" went in some surprising directions that I genuinely didn't see coming. Though the plot is serpentine, Dean weaves a tale that won't lose you even as it grows in complexity. The content of the story gets pretty dark, so take note. However, I must congratulate the author for his diabolical imagination.
As engaging as the plot are the characters. Though the primary protagonists are numerologically superior, Dean does throw some younger characters into the mix, keeping "Bad Beat" from turning into the Golden Girls. I enjoyed all the players and how they each contributed to the larger story. I do wish Dean would use a few more characters from the Cold Poker Gang itself, but it's a small complaint. I also find it kind of odd that no poker games actually take place during the story - or in any other of the books, for that matter. But hey, I'm no poker player; I wouldn't understand anyway!
Unfortunately, "Bad Beat" doesn't really show off Dean's great writing chops. While the story and characters are first-rate, the prose is rather pedestrian. You may find yourself editing the book while you're reading.
It's safe to say we can chalk up "Bad Beat" as another win for Dean Wesley Smith. With a great plot and characters you'll be charmed by, this novel gets a thumbs up.
January 2, 2025
Smith provides another amazing mystery in the fourth volume of the Cold Poker Gang series. The gang are a bunch of retired police detectives who pick up cold cases—cases that active cops have failed to solve and left alone for a very long time. This time he has come up with an incredibly complex crime in which the facts just don’t quite make any sense. And then, the case just gets crazier and crazier.
This is a truly bizarre and weird mystery which felt strangely credible—like it could have happened, not your normal Agatha Christie “no one would actually use that exotic poison” kind of crime.
This is a truly bizarre and weird mystery which felt strangely credible—like it could have happened, not your normal Agatha Christie “no one would actually use that exotic poison” kind of crime.
October 24, 2022
Love the Cold Case Poker Gang
Lott, Julia and Andor are retired detectives who love to play poker and go over cold cases that have not been solved. They have help from Lott’s daughter Annie and several computer experts who are willing to help. I love that this group works very hard on the cold cases, but gives the information to the police when they get the information to close a case.
Lott, Julia and Andor are retired detectives who love to play poker and go over cold cases that have not been solved. They have help from Lott’s daughter Annie and several computer experts who are willing to help. I love that this group works very hard on the cold cases, but gives the information to the police when they get the information to close a case.
December 13, 2019
Massive cult killings
It started out so small, just four and kept building and building and then their normal investigative procedures were not working as they found that they had to careful who to trust. Very interesting and exciting
It started out so small, just four and kept building and building and then their normal investigative procedures were not working as they found that they had to careful who to trust. Very interesting and exciting
March 1, 2021
Immensely enjoyed reading this book, you don't know more than the retired policemen and women trying to solve the mystery, it really kept me on the edge. I just felt the end was a bit too perfect, that's why I didn't give it five stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews