VEGAS HEIST

Harper & Salsa #1

by Van Allen Plexico

WINNER! BEST PULP NOVEL OF THE YEAR! Pulp Factory Awards 2019 in Chicago THEY'RE AIMING TO KNOCK OVER 1965 SIN CITY! It's the Holiday Season of 1965 and the fabulous Caesars Palace Resort and Casino is about to open in Las Vegas. And the vault is filled to bursting with cash. John Harper and Saul "Salsa" Salzman roll into town with inside A secret way into the casino, leading right to the vault itself. But jobs like this never go as planned. A beautiful widow, a jealous enforcer and a murderous rival casino owner all want a piece of the pie. Before New Year's Day arrives, Harper and Salsa will be lucky to escape Sin City with their lives! A brand new, award-winning heist tale from the author of Sentinels, the Legion Trilogy and Lucian. Book 2: MIAMI HEIST--arrives June 17, 2020! “When planning a heist, it’s good to learn from the masters, and it’s clear that Van Allen Plexico from Richard Stark to Lionel White to Ocean’s Eleven, the fingerprints of the greats are all over this smart, snappy casino job.” --Charles Ardai, Editor, Hard Case Crime "One amazing writer whose love of pulp writing is what constantly propels him forward. Van just loves to tell a good story." --Ron Fortier, Pulp Fiction Reviews “VEGAS HEIST is just a lot of fun. Lordy lord the twists in this tale are so much fun to see play out. Folks, Van kind of nails it.” —Sean Ali, Pro Se Press “Like watching a crime-caper right out of 1960s cinema. It's easy to see why VEGAS HEIST won the Pulp Factory Awards’ Novel of the Year.” —Paul R. McNamee, author of “Claws of the Puma” “VEGAS HEIST is a great read, at moments terrifyingly tense and at others almost comical, but always riveting. Highly recommended.” —Bobby Nash, author of the SNOW crime series

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 9, 2018

About the author

Van Allen Plexico has written a dozen novels and contributed to at least that many anthologies, but is best known for his popular and critically-acclaimed SENTINELS superhero novels, as well as the two-time Novel of the Year Finalist LORDS OF FIRE and its sequels in the "Shattering" space opera series. In the realm of nonfiction, he co-wrote the best-selling DECADES OF DOMINANCE and SEASON OF OUR DREAMS books about Auburn football and created the ASSEMBLED! books, exploring the history of Marvel’s AVENGERS comics. He writes and edits for numerous publishers including Airship 27, Pro Se Press, Permuted/Swarm Press, Maple Street Press, New Babel Books, Adamant, and White Rocket, along with occasional columns for RevolutionSF.com and the War Eagle Reader. He serves as an Associate Professor at Southwestern Illinois College.

Reviews

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 4 out of 5]

all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu

About: Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was to open the doors for clients on New Years eve. Meaning fellas didn’t have much time to neither plan, nor prepare for the heist they’re about to pull. But they know just about enough to pull this off, and walk away with a large chunk of money. Yet, another problem, from the very beginning the team consisted out of guys who were no longer very keen on sharing. Especially when ever more people came in for a share, be it merely a half-share, or a full one. And, honestly, all it would take… Pull the trigger, press the detonator, stab your friend in the back. When the smoke settles, and rubble stops falling we’ll see who’ll walk away, and what share will remain in their hands. If anyone, if anything. For the net of angry criminals is wider than most of them think, and strings are being pulled from places far further than the vault room.

Mine: This book reminded me of the best bits from Ocean’s 11 movies, the very best parts. It was amusing, funny at times, but dealt serious business none the less. My favorite was the Karma, reminded me of a saying “easy does it“, but I won’t tell you why, just in case you might care to read it. Be sure, the ending is damn right perfect. And the book itself is written well too. If you follow the plot closely, it’s great, you get it, you know. Because of the names. That being the big minus for me; I’m not okay with is having to re-read parts, because it’s easy to mix up very, very similar characters pulling different ends of the web.

It’s a good, refreshing, and amusing book. I can give it a solid 4 out of 5, with only that one minus about too similar characters being my problem. I’d read more. And I might just read more by the author, just to see.

[Julie Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but maybe that was because I was picturing Brad Pitt and George Clooney as I was listening. It certainly reminded me of ocean's eleven but with a lot less characters. It's fun though. The story is told by multiple characters as they hatch there own plan to out smart the others involved, which kept you guessing what was going to happen. Not sure how I feel about the characters as unlike Danny and co they had no problems with using guns, although there is no graphic violence. I did like the bond between Harper and Salsa and had my fingers crossed that it lasted until the end of the book. It's not a high tec heist and to be honest if the Pinkerton's detective agency weren't mentioned you wouldn't really guess it was set in 1965. The author hinted at a possible next book which I would be interested in.
When Salsa stumbles over some interesting information about a new Las Vegas casino opening up he calls old time friend Harper for help. Harper is the brains, Salsa has a connection with the widow of the builder, Donavon is the safe guy, Ricker is the mussel and Mickey is the front man. What could go wrong? And will they all escape from sin city with the money ?
I liked the narrator. He had a very deep voice but still managed to vary it enough to give the characters different sounding voices.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Bobby Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when writers try something new. I have read and enjoyed Van Allen Plexico's sci-fi and pulp stories over the years, but when I heard he was going to write a Vegas Heist novel, I was excited to read it. Knowing that Van and I share a love of certain writers, books, and movies, I knew he would deliver and boy did he ever. Vegas Heist is a great read, at moments terrifyingly tense and at others almost comical, but always riveting. Oh, and it comes with a great cover, which is always a nice bonus. Highly recommended for fans of con and heist stories. Fans of Westlake's Parker, Ocean's 11, and TV's Leverage should get a kick out of this one. It's a good read. Now, where's the next book in the series, Van?

[Gungfugilman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun throwback crime thriller. Harper and Salsa lead a heist crew into 1960's Las Vegas. Harper is very much like Richard Stark's Parker, no nonsense and ruthless, but is balanced well by Salsa, who's a hard-core thief in his own right, but adds some humor to the action. They intend to take down Ceasars Palace with a little inside information, and what follows is a well told adventure with the requisite foul ups, surprises and double crosses. I enjoyed it a lot, at 231 pages it's an easy breezy read.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book owes *a lot* to Richard Stark's Parker series, but in a good way. It kept me guessing, and maybe I'll read the sequel it hints at if it's ever made.

[Druss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook version. Very well read. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. There were twists and turns and plenty of action. Well written and pacy. I would recommend.

[Carrie Ill · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT BOOK! This book was well laid out. It kept me engaged the whole time, while the story continued to unfold. This is definitely movie-like. If I could give it 6 stars I would.

[RJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The year is 1965 and the place is Las Vegas. I was there in 1968 with my best buddy having a grand experience, as only a minor with cash in his pocket can. It was indeed a memorable experience! This book is a great experience as well. It is a very snappy, well-written tale of several guys planning a casino heist. Not everyone survived, but it was a wild, fun ride. The characters are awesome; I especially liked Harper and Salsa. I highly recommend this as an entertaining change of pace. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.