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Bluff
Michael Kardos brilliantly constructs his new novel Bluff as a magician would, delivering a perfectly calibrated performance of intrigue and, ultimately, astonishment.
At twenty-seven, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she started touring at seventeen, took first place at the World of Magic competition at eighteen, and never reached such heights again. Shunned by the magic world after a disastrous liaison with an older magician, she now lives alone with her pigeons and a pile of overdue bills in a New Jersey apartment. In a desperate ploy to make extra cash, she follows up on an old offer to write a feature magazine article―on the art of cheating at cards. But when she meets the perfect subject for her article, what begins as a journalistic gamble brings into question everything Natalie thinks she knows about her talent, and herself. Natalie is dazzled by the poker cheat’s sleight of hand and soon finds herself facing a proposition that could radically alter her fortune―to help pull off a $1.5 million magic trick that, if done successfully, no one will ever even suspect happened. With Kardos raising the stakes chapter after chapter, Bluff is a breathtaking work of suspense from a writer at the top of his game.
At twenty-seven, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she started touring at seventeen, took first place at the World of Magic competition at eighteen, and never reached such heights again. Shunned by the magic world after a disastrous liaison with an older magician, she now lives alone with her pigeons and a pile of overdue bills in a New Jersey apartment. In a desperate ploy to make extra cash, she follows up on an old offer to write a feature magazine article―on the art of cheating at cards. But when she meets the perfect subject for her article, what begins as a journalistic gamble brings into question everything Natalie thinks she knows about her talent, and herself. Natalie is dazzled by the poker cheat’s sleight of hand and soon finds herself facing a proposition that could radically alter her fortune―to help pull off a $1.5 million magic trick that, if done successfully, no one will ever even suspect happened. With Kardos raising the stakes chapter after chapter, Bluff is a breathtaking work of suspense from a writer at the top of his game.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published April 3, 2018
78 people are currently reading
2411 people want to read
About the author
Michael Kardos
16 books185 followersMichael Kardos is a two-time Pushcart Prize winner and the author of the novels FUN CITY HEIST, BLUFF, BEFORE HE FINDS HER, and THE THREE-DAY AFFAIR, the story collection ONE LAST GOOD TIME, and THE ART AND CRAFT OF FICTION: A WRITER'S GUIDE.
Michael grew up on the Jersey Shore, received a degree in music from Princeton University, and played the drums professionally for a number of years before focusing on fiction writing. For 15 years he co-directed the creative writing program at Mississippi State University, where he was awarded the John Grisham Master Teacher award, the university's highest teaching honor. He currently lives with his family in Delaware. www.michaelkardos.com
Michael grew up on the Jersey Shore, received a degree in music from Princeton University, and played the drums professionally for a number of years before focusing on fiction writing. For 15 years he co-directed the creative writing program at Mississippi State University, where he was awarded the John Grisham Master Teacher award, the university's highest teaching honor. He currently lives with his family in Delaware. www.michaelkardos.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews
November 22, 2017
Ok, this book had me at magician. I'll read just about any story with magic or magicians, however that is something of a (to use professional jargon) misdirection. One of many. This really is a story of a con, a gamble and a larceny. And it's done via cards, sort of appropriate, goes with the author's name. I really enjoyed this one, nice writing (bleak Jersey practically comes alive) great pacing, clever plotting, plenty of surprises, terrific characters, particularly the protagonist, a child prodigy, now a young prematurely washed up legerdemain (love that word) who gets offered what seems to be a deal of a lifetime only to find out too late the game might be rigged. This book just read so well and was so entertaining and so utterly engaging...it ate up an evening in a most awesome way. And that cover design is also very awesome. Fresh like a new deck of cards and as exciting as a magic show, this is a really great read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
November 10, 2017
Magic tricks, sleight-of-hand, card sharks, high stakes poker, short cons, cheaters, and the big con are all featured here. Bluff is a lesson in storytelling. It's a story that doesn't seem like much at first, but you can't put it down. There's no walking away till this tale is told. And what the storyteller does here is he cons you into thinking it's a quick simple story about a struggling magician who is having trouble with the simplest gig, but the story grows and the tension builds bit by bit as the con unfolds. A quick easy read told in a very comfortable narrative voice and, in the end, a satisfying read.
Thanks to Grove Atlantic and Mysterious Press for an advance copy.
Thanks to Grove Atlantic and Mysterious Press for an advance copy.
August 13, 2018
Very stylish thriller about a young magician and a card-sharp who team up to scam a wealthy mark in a high stakes Texas Hold'em game. Beautifully written by a talented author who understands how to pace and present a story. It's much more than a typical "sting" thriller and more an exercise in literary "misdirection"! Might be the best thriller I've read in an otherwise disappointing summer for books I'd be likely to read. Very entertaining indeed!
September 9, 2021
4¼⭐ | NARRATION 😁 = Very Good | Narrated by 📣 JULIA WHELAN
🔦FEATURING
❐ Mystery/Thriller
❐ Magicians, Card Sharks, and Con Artists
❐ A tense high-stakes Poker game
I wasn’t sure going into this book what kind of story I was going to get. It’s not too popular (only a little over 1,000 ratings) but maybe it should be since it really surprised me at how engaging it is. I would call it one of those effortless types of listens. A perfect palate cleanser if you will. The narration was also performed very well by Julia Whelan.
🅒🅐🅦🅟🅘🅛🅔 8.57/❿
🅒haracters ￫ 8.5
🅐tmosphere ￫ 8.5
🅦riting ￫ 8
🅟lot ￫ 8.5
🅘ntrigue ￫ 9
🅛ogic ￫ 8.5
🅔njoyment ￫ 9
🔦FEATURING
❐ Mystery/Thriller
❐ Magicians, Card Sharks, and Con Artists
❐ A tense high-stakes Poker game
I wasn’t sure going into this book what kind of story I was going to get. It’s not too popular (only a little over 1,000 ratings) but maybe it should be since it really surprised me at how engaging it is. I would call it one of those effortless types of listens. A perfect palate cleanser if you will. The narration was also performed very well by Julia Whelan.
🅒🅐🅦🅟🅘🅛🅔 8.57/❿
🅒haracters ￫ 8.5
🅐tmosphere ￫ 8.5
🅦riting ￫ 8
🅟lot ￫ 8.5
🅘ntrigue ￫ 9
🅛ogic ￫ 8.5
🅔njoyment ￫ 9
June 10, 2019
I went into Bluff by Michael Kardos blind off a recommendation. I didn’t even know what genre it was in. Basically two women, one a magician and one a card sharp, team up and attempt to cheat their way to winning a million dollars off a group of jack butts. The book leads up to a high stakes poker game that left my heart racing. It’s a beautifully built suspense novel and it’s a lot of fun. Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook so you know it’s good. I highly recommend it! -x
March 25, 2018
I truly wanted to like this book a lot more than I ended up doing so. Natalie is a young magician who is falling on hard times. During a magic show, an incident occurs that leads her scrambling for money and for an option for more fame. She enters the world of competitive poker, in hopes of figuring out how card counters run their own version of magic. She encounters a mysterious woman named Ellen who eventually leads her into a dangerous and high stake world. The book started out very good, with Natalie being a very interesting character. There are many books that are about magicians but the vast majority of them are set in the past and it was nice to see one set in the present era. My biggest issue with this book was that it seemed muddled in its intentions. Was it a book about Natalie? A book about magic? A book about poker? A suspense novel? A literary thriller? The book's lack of focus and the fact that Natalie's characterization slowly devolving through the course of the book garnered the two star rating.
January 19, 2024
Thank you to Michael Kardos for participating in the Book Gang Author Series to discuss this thriller on Patreon with the MomAdvice Book Club Click here to tune in!
I have read a lot of con artist novels over the years, but this 2018 backlist selection is my new favorite. Published in 2018, Book Gang Podcast guest Julia Whelan was the audiobook narrator for this novel and praised it as a fantastic under-the-radar selection that she wishes more people would read.
The concept is such a clever one. Magician Natalie Webb, once a rising star in the world of card tricks, is now a washed-up has-been at twenty-seven. After a gig goes horribly wrong, she finds herself in financial debt due to an impending lawsuit.
She takes on a freelance writing assignment to give an insider look at the art of cheating at cards to make ends meet. But when she becomes enveloped in the world of a mesmerizing cardshark, her journalistic endeavor becomes a personal test. She makes a dangerous proposition with the player to execute a $1.5 million magic trick that could change her fate forever.
I selected this book not only to discuss Kardos's research on card tricks but also because it delivered some of the best plot twists I've read this year. Each time I thought I had gotten to the bottom of the story, Kardos threw in one more wrench. The characters aren't the only ones with a well-thought sleight of hand; the author delivers, too.
Equal parts thriller and mystery, I recommend that you listen to this on audiobook! While the paper copy offers some fun handwritten notes, Whelan's performance is captivating and enhances this selection greatly. I will be surprised if it doesn't become one of your favorites of the year.
I'm so grateful to Julia Whelan for this recommendation, which has been an enormous hit with our readers. Michael Kardos is so genuine and enthusiastic about his storytelling that I can't recommend his appearance enough if you choose his thriller for your book club.
January 6, 2021
This fast-moving story had lots going for it: main character in desperate financial straits, looking for a satisfying professional opportunity that would allow her to flex her magician skills, high stakes poker games, a heist, and friendship.
When main character Natalie Webb meets a poker player who is extremely talented at cheating, she envisions the possibilities of incorporating the other woman’s technique into her magic act. Much happens between their first meeting and the shocking resolution to their partnership, but I enjoyed this story of desperation, misdirection, crosses and double crosses, violence and some sad and touching moments.
When main character Natalie Webb meets a poker player who is extremely talented at cheating, she envisions the possibilities of incorporating the other woman’s technique into her magic act. Much happens between their first meeting and the shocking resolution to their partnership, but I enjoyed this story of desperation, misdirection, crosses and double crosses, violence and some sad and touching moments.
November 17, 2020
Yaklaşık son 60 sayfasını nefesimi tutarak okudum.Hikayesi,kurgusu,karakterleri ve özellikle finali ile enfes.April yayıncılıktan çıkan hangi çeviri kitabı okusam beğeniyorum son dönemde. Çevirmen in önemini bir kez daha çok net anladığım kitaplardan biri oldu Blöf.Konusundan hiç bahsetmek istemiyorum.Bence mutlaka okuyun.📚👏
February 18, 2019
Good story. This book was fast paced and interesting. I listened on Audible and the narrator did a great job.
March 25, 2018
Bluff by Michael Kardos is a fast-paced adventure of magic, poker, and card cheats. Just when you think you know what's going on, the novel turns you upside down again. Now you see it. Now you don't.
Wow! What an awesome book! I was hooked by the description, and the book delivered on all of its promises of magic and intrigue. The book is simply written--all words have been chosen with care, and there are no fluffy filler words. The pace is swift. It starts out fast and ends at a gallop. This book is a real page-turner!
I loved the plot. Natalie Webb is a close-up magic prodigy and falls in with a card cheat. She is faced with a proposition that could greatly change her fortune--all she needs to do is cheat her to way to $1.5 million dollars using a deck of cards and sleight of hand. The stakes are high and tension mounts in every single chapter. Honestly, this book stressed me out. The author captures Natalie's anxiety and stress so completely that I started feeling just as anxious and stressed out by the whole agreement. All of this build up made me turn the pages at lightning speed--I needed to know what happened!
The book did not end as I expected it to, which I liked. I really enjoyed the ending and couldn't have chosen a better way for the story to close.
The characters in this book were engaging. They did not have a lot of depth, but I think it works for this book. You know what you need to know for each character and no more. Natalie's character is brilliant--I loved her sass and her ability to think quickly on her feet.
Overall, this book was a lot of fun! This is a book you could easily read in a single sitting--the excitement of it will keep you glued to your seat.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book will be featured on my blog on April 3, 2018: http://thriftybibliophile.com/2018/04...
Wow! What an awesome book! I was hooked by the description, and the book delivered on all of its promises of magic and intrigue. The book is simply written--all words have been chosen with care, and there are no fluffy filler words. The pace is swift. It starts out fast and ends at a gallop. This book is a real page-turner!
I loved the plot. Natalie Webb is a close-up magic prodigy and falls in with a card cheat. She is faced with a proposition that could greatly change her fortune--all she needs to do is cheat her to way to $1.5 million dollars using a deck of cards and sleight of hand. The stakes are high and tension mounts in every single chapter. Honestly, this book stressed me out. The author captures Natalie's anxiety and stress so completely that I started feeling just as anxious and stressed out by the whole agreement. All of this build up made me turn the pages at lightning speed--I needed to know what happened!
The book did not end as I expected it to, which I liked. I really enjoyed the ending and couldn't have chosen a better way for the story to close.
The characters in this book were engaging. They did not have a lot of depth, but I think it works for this book. You know what you need to know for each character and no more. Natalie's character is brilliant--I loved her sass and her ability to think quickly on her feet.
Overall, this book was a lot of fun! This is a book you could easily read in a single sitting--the excitement of it will keep you glued to your seat.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book will be featured on my blog on April 3, 2018: http://thriftybibliophile.com/2018/04...
May 27, 2019
A good caper with a unexpected and most satisfying ending. More of a con caper than a magician story. Reminded me just a bit of the movie “Molly’s Game”. A Daily Deal worth a credit.
October 3, 2025
The opening of this crime novel is clever - Natalie, the story's narrator, is a stage magician who gets stuck with the worst possible audience participant, a pompous jerk who delights in attempting to ruin her act - and damn, this woman is just so tired, tired of her 'magic' gigs, tired of awful drunken men, tired of being broke, all of it. I was ready to enjoy watching her life evolve, knowing from the book's tag lines that she would turn from card magic to card shark/conwoman.
Another woman shows up and leads her down this darkened hallway. Well and good, two women in cahoots, especially welcome as every single male character introduced puts the slime in the insult 'Slimebucket'. Unfortunately, the other woman is also unappealing (and as the plot unfolds, this only gets worse).
There are passages of compelling writing, but the misery in Bluff never lets up. Not in Natalie's childhood flashbacks, not in her lonely, uneasy, increasingly dangerous current life. I'm not exactly Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm myself, but boy the grim rain doth pour down here.
Midway, rather suddenly, the book gets stuck. Endless minutiae about poker play - and poker cheating - all in plan for an opportunity of a one night high stakes game. The game takes a long time to get to, but when it does, Bluff takes another sharp turn and becomes truly frightening. Knives out.
I didn't enjoy this audiobook, though Julia Whelan is terrific reading both of the female roles (all the male characters have one of 2 voices, nasal, whiny working class what's-it-to-ya voice, or a slightly cartoonish wealthy villain.) I wanted to get to the end, but also couldn't stop listening. Not for me, but I can see why the novel has appealed to others.
Another woman shows up and leads her down this darkened hallway. Well and good, two women in cahoots, especially welcome as every single male character introduced puts the slime in the insult 'Slimebucket'. Unfortunately, the other woman is also unappealing (and as the plot unfolds, this only gets worse).
There are passages of compelling writing, but the misery in Bluff never lets up. Not in Natalie's childhood flashbacks, not in her lonely, uneasy, increasingly dangerous current life. I'm not exactly Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm myself, but boy the grim rain doth pour down here.
Midway, rather suddenly, the book gets stuck. Endless minutiae about poker play - and poker cheating - all in plan for an opportunity of a one night high stakes game. The game takes a long time to get to, but when it does, Bluff takes another sharp turn and becomes truly frightening. Knives out.
I didn't enjoy this audiobook, though Julia Whelan is terrific reading both of the female roles (all the male characters have one of 2 voices, nasal, whiny working class what's-it-to-ya voice, or a slightly cartoonish wealthy villain.) I wanted to get to the end, but also couldn't stop listening. Not for me, but I can see why the novel has appealed to others.
December 20, 2021
This is a very fast paced, exciting read involving a magician down on her luck, sleights of hand tricks involving cards and what appears to be the deal of a lifetime.
The way it's plotted makes it an exciting read. You think you know what the goal is and where the misdirection is happening but there's more to it!
A very different kind of plot for me; I raced through it.
The way it's plotted makes it an exciting read. You think you know what the goal is and where the misdirection is happening but there's more to it!
A very different kind of plot for me; I raced through it.
January 10, 2024
4.5 — Bluff, by Michael Kardos, was slotted to be my first read of 2024. Surprisingly, though, I read this quietly captivating novel on the last day of 2023 — and in one sitting! It seems like such a simple tale at first, but as the con moves forward, things begin to balloon in a big way until the deceptively shocking end. Bluff is also the January selection for the @MomAdvice Book Club.
July 18, 2019
This fast-moving story about two women pulling off a poker sting was almost perfectly constructed. A believable and sympathetic character with just enough backstory to motivate her, secondary characters given just enough but not too much fleshing out, and a plot that provides entertaining twists and turns all the way to the end.
Natalie Webb is a young magician, though she's not feeling so young nowadays. As a teenager, she was an up-and-comer who thought she'd be the next David Blaine. Then she had an unfortunate collision with the magic community's Old Boys' Club (one such collision taking place in a married man's bed), and now her career consists of doing card tricks at clubs, birthday parties, and lawyers' conventions. Not the future she imagined for herself, and she manages to make it worse when a heckler at her latest gig causes her to snap. (Protip: If you are going to assault someone with a card in the eye, don't choose a high-powered lawyer as your victim.)
Now that she's well and truly screwed, Natalie is desperate to scrounge up cash. Initially she is going to do a magazine article on a card cheat, which is already brushing up uncomfortably against the seamy side of the cardistry community, but one thing leads to another, Natalie witnesses another woman fleece a table full of home game poker players with card skills that vastly exceed hers, and soon they are collaborating on a million-dollar sting to take down a rich guy's home game. It can't fail, except that both Natalie and her "partner" have secrets.
I really liked Bluff. It swerved unexpectedly, both during and after the game that is the semiclimax of the book, and it made Natalie a character I was rooting for even when she started trodding the dark side. There is enough believable detail about card tricks and poker games, even though that's not what the book is really about. This isn't really a series, but I'd love to read another book starring Natalie, and I'll check out this author's other books.
Natalie Webb is a young magician, though she's not feeling so young nowadays. As a teenager, she was an up-and-comer who thought she'd be the next David Blaine. Then she had an unfortunate collision with the magic community's Old Boys' Club (one such collision taking place in a married man's bed), and now her career consists of doing card tricks at clubs, birthday parties, and lawyers' conventions. Not the future she imagined for herself, and she manages to make it worse when a heckler at her latest gig causes her to snap. (Protip: If you are going to assault someone with a card in the eye, don't choose a high-powered lawyer as your victim.)
Now that she's well and truly screwed, Natalie is desperate to scrounge up cash. Initially she is going to do a magazine article on a card cheat, which is already brushing up uncomfortably against the seamy side of the cardistry community, but one thing leads to another, Natalie witnesses another woman fleece a table full of home game poker players with card skills that vastly exceed hers, and soon they are collaborating on a million-dollar sting to take down a rich guy's home game. It can't fail, except that both Natalie and her "partner" have secrets.
I really liked Bluff. It swerved unexpectedly, both during and after the game that is the semiclimax of the book, and it made Natalie a character I was rooting for even when she started trodding the dark side. There is enough believable detail about card tricks and poker games, even though that's not what the book is really about. This isn't really a series, but I'd love to read another book starring Natalie, and I'll check out this author's other books.
May 12, 2018
OMG! What an incredible con (as in con (wo)man. Firstly, I've been as naive as Natalie and believed a big bunch of lies a guy has said (when I was younger, seriously) just to get with me. Poor Natalie; he naivety destroyed her career. As young adults, as much as we hate what our parents tell us, sometimes we need the benefit of their experience. Apparently, Natalie did, too.
Flash forward to now. she's a good magician, but she never learned her lesson-DON'T RUST ANYONE. Let THAT be a lesson to everyone who reads this review. OK? got it? Good. Cuz if you don't, some very bad things will happen to you...I mean Natalie.
Of course, we readers have NO CLUE that she's...well...too trusting. Let's just say that. I'll also say that sometimes little jerky scammers can help you in a bind. Very entertaining plot. I highly recommend it for anyone who plays poker and anyone who was a young adult. So, I recommend this book to everyone who wants to be entertained! It was great!
Are you looking for what you believe is a shallow little tale? Yeah. That's what I thought it was. It isn't.
Flash forward to now. she's a good magician, but she never learned her lesson-DON'T RUST ANYONE. Let THAT be a lesson to everyone who reads this review. OK? got it? Good. Cuz if you don't, some very bad things will happen to you...I mean Natalie.
Of course, we readers have NO CLUE that she's...well...too trusting. Let's just say that. I'll also say that sometimes little jerky scammers can help you in a bind. Very entertaining plot. I highly recommend it for anyone who plays poker and anyone who was a young adult. So, I recommend this book to everyone who wants to be entertained! It was great!
Are you looking for what you believe is a shallow little tale? Yeah. That's what I thought it was. It isn't.
February 17, 2019
This is the last book my dad recommended to me. I'm glad he did because the audiobook reader on it was the same as a previous book we'd read together so we talked about that last week. I thought he might have ruined it when he introduced it because he has a tendency to spoil some books, so I called him on it. But after finishing it, he didn't ruin it at all. It is still something of a sad ending, but it was not what I expected at all.
This isn't great literature or anything like that, but it feels like an action movie. The writing moves forward well, I care about the protagonist, you are led down certain roads that are truly hard to tell where they're going (in a good way). I was fully able to believe it.
I would have a lot more to say about this book to my dad. It was surprising, compelling, weird... but maybe I'm biased. Either way, I appreciate you recommending this book to me dad. It was a good one.
This isn't great literature or anything like that, but it feels like an action movie. The writing moves forward well, I care about the protagonist, you are led down certain roads that are truly hard to tell where they're going (in a good way). I was fully able to believe it.
I would have a lot more to say about this book to my dad. It was surprising, compelling, weird... but maybe I'm biased. Either way, I appreciate you recommending this book to me dad. It was a good one.
May 10, 2018
Drop what you're doing and read this book immediately. Like a magician (or maybe a cardsharp?) Kardos lures us in and just when we're most enthralled, pulls off a trick that leaves us delighted, horrified, and stunned. Bluff shows us what happens when the worlds of magic and cheating at cards intertwine. The effect is riveting.
January 14, 2024
(Audible)
This year my online book club, Book Gang, is reading backlist books each month. Such a terrific idea, as it shines light on books that may not have gotten the hype or longevity necessary to keep it in the readers mind.
The first of the year, BLUFF, combines magic and poker playing. Our protagonist, Natalie, is a full time magician, who nearly scoffs at the idea of not handling cards in a totally forthright manner.
As the story evolves and the reader sees such similar skills in both fields, it easily became exciting to see where the ultimate BLUFF was leafing to.
I would recommend reading this for fun and an interesting look into the profession of magician and card playing!
This year my online book club, Book Gang, is reading backlist books each month. Such a terrific idea, as it shines light on books that may not have gotten the hype or longevity necessary to keep it in the readers mind.
The first of the year, BLUFF, combines magic and poker playing. Our protagonist, Natalie, is a full time magician, who nearly scoffs at the idea of not handling cards in a totally forthright manner.
As the story evolves and the reader sees such similar skills in both fields, it easily became exciting to see where the ultimate BLUFF was leafing to.
I would recommend reading this for fun and an interesting look into the profession of magician and card playing!
January 7, 2024
4.25 stars. Really fun. Didn't see the end coming!
December 22, 2023
I read this for the MomAdvice Book Club pick for January 2024, and Amy chose a great backlist book. The audio narration by Julia Whelan was phenomenal…all the character voices were great.
Read
April 29, 2020If you want a good con/heist novel, this is exactly what you're looking for. A sleight-of-hand performing magician prodigy and a skilled card cheat meet up to pull off an impossible heist to steal money from a high stakes poker game. Does that not sell it for you?
I found the main character Natalie likeable in that she always seemed just one minor disaster away from rock bottom. She's broke, her car is a piece of crap, she has no friends, and her pride and temper have caused her to ruin her not-very-lucrative career as a close-up magician. In the opening scene, she seriously injures a volunteer while performing for a group of personal injury lawyers, which is perhaps the worst place to injure a volunteer. It's a disaster of her own making, and yet you kind of nod and say, "yeah, I can see why she did that."
She decides that the best way to make money for the inevitable lawsuit is to write an article. (That "write something for pay" is anyone's go-to for when you need to rustle up cash is quite a bit farfetched, but Imma let it slide.) She meets a card sharp who claims to be one of the best card cheats in the world. He was so completely disagreeable that I almost quit listening after having spent a chapter with him, as I just felt like I'd been on a car trip with an abusive asshole who didn't shower. Fortunately, the disgusting card sharp doesn't stay around long, and Natalie hooks up with a new partner in crime.
The strength of the story is that Natalie's backstory and desperation war with her desire to retain her self-image as a magician who doesn't break the law. Her relationships with her deceased father and her magician mentor are the source of her code of ethics, so she's got a real psychological hurdle to overcome when she decides to partner up with the poker cheat to pull off a scam. The tipping point is that one of the people she's scamming is the man she blames for ruining her father. Another motivation is that the person she's partnering with is a person she truly admires, and Natalie is starting to realize that the lack of friends she can trust is worse than not having money and a good career. You get the sense that she wants to be friends with her partner almost as much as she wants the money.
So I already liked the character, because of her flaws, and I was rooting for her, so when the scam/heist/con gets set up and it's as delightfully complicated as you'd expect, I was pleased by the tight plotting. This novel adheres to trope in that things go careening off the rails despite the careful preparation in the elaborate plan, thanks to bad luck and betrayal, leaving Natalie to use her wits to win her revenge and reward. I found the ending very satisfying. A very well done story. Heartily recommend.
I found the main character Natalie likeable in that she always seemed just one minor disaster away from rock bottom. She's broke, her car is a piece of crap, she has no friends, and her pride and temper have caused her to ruin her not-very-lucrative career as a close-up magician. In the opening scene, she seriously injures a volunteer while performing for a group of personal injury lawyers, which is perhaps the worst place to injure a volunteer. It's a disaster of her own making, and yet you kind of nod and say, "yeah, I can see why she did that."
She decides that the best way to make money for the inevitable lawsuit is to write an article. (That "write something for pay" is anyone's go-to for when you need to rustle up cash is quite a bit farfetched, but Imma let it slide.) She meets a card sharp who claims to be one of the best card cheats in the world. He was so completely disagreeable that I almost quit listening after having spent a chapter with him, as I just felt like I'd been on a car trip with an abusive asshole who didn't shower. Fortunately, the disgusting card sharp doesn't stay around long, and Natalie hooks up with a new partner in crime.
The strength of the story is that Natalie's backstory and desperation war with her desire to retain her self-image as a magician who doesn't break the law. Her relationships with her deceased father and her magician mentor are the source of her code of ethics, so she's got a real psychological hurdle to overcome when she decides to partner up with the poker cheat to pull off a scam. The tipping point is that one of the people she's scamming is the man she blames for ruining her father. Another motivation is that the person she's partnering with is a person she truly admires, and Natalie is starting to realize that the lack of friends she can trust is worse than not having money and a good career. You get the sense that she wants to be friends with her partner almost as much as she wants the money.
So I already liked the character, because of her flaws, and I was rooting for her, so when the scam/heist/con gets set up and it's as delightfully complicated as you'd expect, I was pleased by the tight plotting. This novel adheres to trope in that things go careening off the rails despite the careful preparation in the elaborate plan, thanks to bad luck and betrayal, leaving Natalie to use her wits to win her revenge and reward. I found the ending very satisfying. A very well done story. Heartily recommend.
August 29, 2025
Rating: I liked it 😊
Format: Ebook
2025's ATY in 52 books: 38. Two books with a connection from different genres: Book 1 (poker). 2017: A book whose title doesn't contain the letter "E"
Random pick project March 2025
2025's March Mystery Madness
l was pleasantly surprised by this novel, I don't even know how it got into my TBR. I was fully invested and entertained, I think this could be a great movie. I wish it had a more closed ending.
I liked this quote:
I recommend it
Format: Ebook
2025's ATY in 52 books: 38. Two books with a connection from different genres: Book 1 (poker). 2017: A book whose title doesn't contain the letter "E"
Random pick project March 2025
2025's March Mystery Madness
l was pleasantly surprised by this novel, I don't even know how it got into my TBR. I was fully invested and entertained, I think this could be a great movie. I wish it had a more closed ending.
I liked this quote:
"In the beginning, we were all beginners."
I recommend it
May 29, 2020
Listened to this on Audible. Magic acts, poker and interesting twists to a plot. Got this a two for one sale. Did learn how some magic acts, card tricks in particular, are constructed. Quick story to listen to.
August 9, 2018
An absolute delight. Natalie maims a volunteer at her magic show in a priceless scene, but it's Natalie we feel bad for. Surrounded by jerks, she's the victim of repeated unfortunate circumstances for which she is totally innocent or only partly blameworthy.
Falling deeper into a hole, she shifts from honing her craft as a professional magician to learning about card sharps. This sets in motion a suspenseful series of events leading up to a million-dollar poker match. In the process, Natalie teams up with Ellen, a woman with great technical skill at the poker table who offers Natalie mentorship as well as a glimmer of friendship that seems to be missing from her life.
The descriptions of magic acts and card sharping are presented with such enthusiasm and intrigue that they are 100 percent compelling, even though I don't even care about those topics in the real world! The details reach out and grab you by your throat with their authenticity. Kardos's heartfelt and precise language elevate the novel above typical genre fiction.
Also, I loved the sense of humor in Bluff, especially in the beginning and in the middle before things became more serious. Kardos is able to present information in a very funny, succinct, and descriptive way. It's not the zany, confrontational humor of Carl Hiassen--it's much more economical and subtle.
Even though I'm not a magician, a gambler, or a woman, I felt connected to and very invested in Natalie and her plight. Some books take me months to finish because I lose interest, but this one I gobbled up in three days. I even stayed up late to finish, which I can't remember doing with any other novel ever!
But it turned out that I wasn't sold on the ending, otherwise this would have easily earned five stars for the wonderful language, humor, character development, compelling details, and near-Hitchcockian suspense.
Falling deeper into a hole, she shifts from honing her craft as a professional magician to learning about card sharps. This sets in motion a suspenseful series of events leading up to a million-dollar poker match. In the process, Natalie teams up with Ellen, a woman with great technical skill at the poker table who offers Natalie mentorship as well as a glimmer of friendship that seems to be missing from her life.
The descriptions of magic acts and card sharping are presented with such enthusiasm and intrigue that they are 100 percent compelling, even though I don't even care about those topics in the real world! The details reach out and grab you by your throat with their authenticity. Kardos's heartfelt and precise language elevate the novel above typical genre fiction.
Also, I loved the sense of humor in Bluff, especially in the beginning and in the middle before things became more serious. Kardos is able to present information in a very funny, succinct, and descriptive way. It's not the zany, confrontational humor of Carl Hiassen--it's much more economical and subtle.
Even though I'm not a magician, a gambler, or a woman, I felt connected to and very invested in Natalie and her plight. Some books take me months to finish because I lose interest, but this one I gobbled up in three days. I even stayed up late to finish, which I can't remember doing with any other novel ever!
But it turned out that I wasn't sold on the ending, otherwise this would have easily earned five stars for the wonderful language, humor, character development, compelling details, and near-Hitchcockian suspense.
April 14, 2018
What a well written and well researched book. This book was so fresh in the character detailing and the way it pushed forward , the boundaries between magic and reality fading in every chapter . Natalie is a good magician who is pushed to a bad corner due to her circumstances. She is true to her art and her heart , both. She is looking for a card sharp for a story and ends up finding the perfect one , only to get involved in being a cheat herself for one night. The night turns out to be nothing one would expect and yet Nat finds her calling , afterall.
This is not your happy forever story but a story that has so much of the mind put in the game. I enjoyed this one a a lot.
This is not your happy forever story but a story that has so much of the mind put in the game. I enjoyed this one a a lot.
March 12, 2018
Certainly not the sort of thing typically found in my reading diet, this is a phenomenally gripping yarn. It’s immensely enjoyable to witness the characters’ motivations and all the intricate workings of their multiple cons unravel. Kardos’s obvious delight in the telling is infectious and gripping.
The best pop novel I’ve read in centuries.
The best pop novel I’ve read in centuries.
January 29, 2020
Wow, I didn't know anything about this going into it, and it was so good!!
I don't really want to say anything about the plot so others can be surprised too. I'll just say that I loved Natalie, the main character. I loved the whole thing.
I don't really want to say anything about the plot so others can be surprised too. I'll just say that I loved Natalie, the main character. I loved the whole thing.
August 8, 2018
Five stars is a bit of hyperbole, but I did really enjoy this book a lot. The less said about the plot, the better. It makes the surprises better. It would also make a really good movie, I think.
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