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Sin City #1
Sin City
Las Vegas, 1966.
There are parts of Sin City the neon lights don't reach, and only the desperate and dangerous venture into the city's seedy backstreets, where gangsters rule, the floating poker games never stop, and people disappear without a trace.
Ruby Gordon is desperate. She has nowhere else to go when her brother opens his home to her. He runs an off-the-books juke joint, and she is fascinated by the most dangerous – and handsome – of his clientele.
Tim Kelly is dangerous. His father never achieved notoriety with the Chicago Outfit, but Tim has aspirations to strike out on his own. He has plans, and they don't include a naive newcomer.
Jake Wheeler is both. The Airman-turned-rodeo-rider is as gorgeous as he is foul-tempered, and he's Tim's not-so-friendly rival. When he notices Tim's interest in Ruby, he's determined to derail Tim's plans.
The three of them are on a collision course, but there's only one rule in Vegas: The house always wins.
There are parts of Sin City the neon lights don't reach, and only the desperate and dangerous venture into the city's seedy backstreets, where gangsters rule, the floating poker games never stop, and people disappear without a trace.
Ruby Gordon is desperate. She has nowhere else to go when her brother opens his home to her. He runs an off-the-books juke joint, and she is fascinated by the most dangerous – and handsome – of his clientele.
Tim Kelly is dangerous. His father never achieved notoriety with the Chicago Outfit, but Tim has aspirations to strike out on his own. He has plans, and they don't include a naive newcomer.
Jake Wheeler is both. The Airman-turned-rodeo-rider is as gorgeous as he is foul-tempered, and he's Tim's not-so-friendly rival. When he notices Tim's interest in Ruby, he's determined to derail Tim's plans.
The three of them are on a collision course, but there's only one rule in Vegas: The house always wins.
- GenresLove StoryRomanceCrime
ebook
First published November 1, 2016
About the author
Jennifer Samson
19 books92 followersJennifer Samson (she/her) is the author of the coming-of-age Sin City saga, co-author of the dark comedy/thriller The Final Cut, and the non-fiction bestseller Self Publishing for Canadians. Her work has been featured in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, and Edmonton Sun.
She enjoys Japanese pens, Hilroy loose leaf, corner store candy, and stopping to say hi to every cat she meets on her walks.
She is a member of Gamma Xi Phi, a predominantly African American, anti-racist, non-hazing, all-gender professional fraternity for artists and creators, and served as National Secretary from 2023-2025. She is also a member of Alpha Phi Women’s Fraternity.
She currently lives on the unceded traditional and ancestral territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Coast Salish peoples.
Her current work-in-progress is a multi-book series set in 1980s and ‘90s Vancouver.
Find her on BlueSky, because she hates Nazis.
She enjoys Japanese pens, Hilroy loose leaf, corner store candy, and stopping to say hi to every cat she meets on her walks.
She is a member of Gamma Xi Phi, a predominantly African American, anti-racist, non-hazing, all-gender professional fraternity for artists and creators, and served as National Secretary from 2023-2025. She is also a member of Alpha Phi Women’s Fraternity.
She currently lives on the unceded traditional and ancestral territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Coast Salish peoples.
Her current work-in-progress is a multi-book series set in 1980s and ‘90s Vancouver.
Find her on BlueSky, because she hates Nazis.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 11, 2016
I got an early copy of this Nov. 1 release.
"Sin City" is a romance with a sharp psychological edge and crime elements. There is quite a bit of sex and violence, but there's nothing graphic. If you are a regular reader of romance novels, you won't find anything shocking when it comes to sex, and if you regularly read contemporary crime or procedurals, you won't be shocked by the violence.
This book is about not-so-nice people doing not-so-nice things for what they believe to be very good reasons. I'd call the tone "glittergrim" — Vegas glamor as the backdrop to desperate criminals trying to survive — and it has an almost soap opera-esque feel (meant in the best of ways).
Tim Kelly is a street gang leader who hates the Chicago Mob, which is unfortunate, as they run half the city. A bad home life left Tim emotionally distant and determined to save his mother and high school-aged sister from his alcoholic father. He doesn't dwell on his past, but it clearly motivates him.
Ruby Gordon's father is an absentee dad who pawns her off on a half-brother she doesn't know. She has a good heart in a "team mom" way and is frequently consoling and patching up the rogue's gallery of criminals who show up at the bar her brother owns.
The bar setting means there are a lot of characters coming and going and a lot going on — rodeos, long-haul trucking and robberies — but the author makes these characters and background tie into the main story. There are a ton of great, vivid minor characters to love — my favorites are Everett, Ruby's brother; Sam Wyatt, a casino owner and old-school mob guy; and Bill, Tim's jovial right-hand man.
When Ruby meets Tim, she decides she'll do anything to be in a relationship with him. They become an unlikely couple rather quickly, and last third of the book is about these two very damaged people clumsily trying to make a relationship work.
Ruby is the reason this is a four-star review and not five. I understand her deep-rooted fear of being abandoned, but sometimes she acts like such a doormat! It wasn't out of character, and she has plenty of moments where she stands up for herself, but it could be so frustrating. Sometimes, I wanted to reach in the book, shake her and tell her she deserved more. I guess that means I was invested.
The setting is excellent; you can tell a lot of research has been done on the time period and location, but it doesn't overwhelm the story, just adds little touches that firmly sets this in 1960s Vegas.
I would recommend this to those who enjoy contemporary romances, books set in Las Vegas and/or the 1960s, character-driven novels or novels about crime/mob life.
"Sin City" is a romance with a sharp psychological edge and crime elements. There is quite a bit of sex and violence, but there's nothing graphic. If you are a regular reader of romance novels, you won't find anything shocking when it comes to sex, and if you regularly read contemporary crime or procedurals, you won't be shocked by the violence.
This book is about not-so-nice people doing not-so-nice things for what they believe to be very good reasons. I'd call the tone "glittergrim" — Vegas glamor as the backdrop to desperate criminals trying to survive — and it has an almost soap opera-esque feel (meant in the best of ways).
Tim Kelly is a street gang leader who hates the Chicago Mob, which is unfortunate, as they run half the city. A bad home life left Tim emotionally distant and determined to save his mother and high school-aged sister from his alcoholic father. He doesn't dwell on his past, but it clearly motivates him.
Ruby Gordon's father is an absentee dad who pawns her off on a half-brother she doesn't know. She has a good heart in a "team mom" way and is frequently consoling and patching up the rogue's gallery of criminals who show up at the bar her brother owns.
The bar setting means there are a lot of characters coming and going and a lot going on — rodeos, long-haul trucking and robberies — but the author makes these characters and background tie into the main story. There are a ton of great, vivid minor characters to love — my favorites are Everett, Ruby's brother; Sam Wyatt, a casino owner and old-school mob guy; and Bill, Tim's jovial right-hand man.
When Ruby meets Tim, she decides she'll do anything to be in a relationship with him. They become an unlikely couple rather quickly, and last third of the book is about these two very damaged people clumsily trying to make a relationship work.
Ruby is the reason this is a four-star review and not five. I understand her deep-rooted fear of being abandoned, but sometimes she acts like such a doormat! It wasn't out of character, and she has plenty of moments where she stands up for herself, but it could be so frustrating. Sometimes, I wanted to reach in the book, shake her and tell her she deserved more. I guess that means I was invested.
The setting is excellent; you can tell a lot of research has been done on the time period and location, but it doesn't overwhelm the story, just adds little touches that firmly sets this in 1960s Vegas.
I would recommend this to those who enjoy contemporary romances, books set in Las Vegas and/or the 1960s, character-driven novels or novels about crime/mob life.
October 24, 2016
Sin City by Jennifer Samson is a book full of shady characters pulling some shady shenanigans on one another.
The story takes place in Las Vegas in an older part of the Strip. The protagonists are Ruby Gordon, an insecure farm girl from Texas, and Tim Kelly, a gang leader with a grudge against the Chicago mob. Ruby meets Tim through working at her half-brother Rett's underground bar and hotel, and quickly becomes smitten with him for his aloofness and begins helping him with his schemes to get closer to him.
Their relationship was a very unhealthy one, with little basis beyond physical attraction and hard home lives, and becomes dangerous for Ruby when Bobby Tafani, a gangster associated with the Mob begins to antagonize Tim in any way he can.
I was uncomfortable with the sexist mindset of various male characters, even loveable ones like Rett and Bill, Tim's happy-go-lucky best friend; however, it kept true to the setting and was somewhat combatted with enjoyable and strong female characters such as Darla, a showgirl with dreams of going to Hollywood, and Diane, Tim's kid sister. The plot and interpersonal dealings between the characters are rarely nice, but always interesting.
It's a good read if you like crime novels, rogue-type characters or romance novel.
The story takes place in Las Vegas in an older part of the Strip. The protagonists are Ruby Gordon, an insecure farm girl from Texas, and Tim Kelly, a gang leader with a grudge against the Chicago mob. Ruby meets Tim through working at her half-brother Rett's underground bar and hotel, and quickly becomes smitten with him for his aloofness and begins helping him with his schemes to get closer to him.
Their relationship was a very unhealthy one, with little basis beyond physical attraction and hard home lives, and becomes dangerous for Ruby when Bobby Tafani, a gangster associated with the Mob begins to antagonize Tim in any way he can.
I was uncomfortable with the sexist mindset of various male characters, even loveable ones like Rett and Bill, Tim's happy-go-lucky best friend; however, it kept true to the setting and was somewhat combatted with enjoyable and strong female characters such as Darla, a showgirl with dreams of going to Hollywood, and Diane, Tim's kid sister. The plot and interpersonal dealings between the characters are rarely nice, but always interesting.
It's a good read if you like crime novels, rogue-type characters or romance novel.
October 31, 2017
I couldn't put this book down. I was slightly obsessed with it. I couldn't wait to get a free minute so I could dive right back into all the shadyness that is in this book. It was so brilliantly written and I never got bored of this book
July 25, 2018
I appreciate the complexity of the characters but sadly I hated all of them.
December 29, 2016
I want to thank Ms. Jennifer for giving me a copy of her book. And I apologize for taking this long reading and reviewing it.
Okay. I have this book in my TBR for a long while now but I manage to read and finish it just last night. I think I’m gonna start my review now which will probably consist of me grunting from time to time.
First, I have no idea what the book’s genre is so I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. I thought about action or maybe erotica because it was entitled sin city but then it was romance and crime. On the first chapters of the book, honestly, it wasn’t a good beginning for me. It only got interested around the time Tim and Ruby started hanging out.
It was good, smooth sailing. I get to have a relaxing read with this book even though it has some fight scenes in it because it didn’t require complex thinking because there weren’t much mystery in the book. It just talks about the three main characters which are Tim Kelly, Ruby Gordon, and Jake Wheeler.
Even though this book seem to have a love triangle because it has a two boys, one girl main characters, I assure you it is not a love triangle at all. The real couple here is Tim and Ruby and then Jake is just someone who wants to ruin people’s lives because he likes it.
I like how Tim Kelly change after meeting Ruby. He changed a lot from really hard to somehow soft. Though it didn’t actually say in the book but you can feel while reading all throughout the book. I like his character though. I understand his feeling at the end of the book. I really do but I’m hoping he won’t totally close his heart after.
Ruby Gordon, man, what can I say about her. Her character in the beginning of the book is good. I kind of like her. She’s a brave girl. Despite hearing rumors and warnings about Tim Kelly, she didn’t judge him immediately and she get close to him before she evaluates whether Tim Kelly can be trusted. Turns out her decision it quite right at the moment. But I started hating her at the end of the book. I seriously do. I kind of understand that she’s scared and hurt and all but it was not enough reason to do what she did. She just… ugh! By the time I finish reading the book, I don’t know if I still like her of I just hated her beginning that moment.
And then Jake Wheeler. I seriously don’t know what his deal is. He’s a full-fledged denial and an ass****. Oops. That’s how I picture Jake is. Though at times I understand why he is the way he is, but there are also time that I just wanna whack him square in the head real hard. Just to get some sense into him. In the most parts of the book, Jake is brokenhearted. Then the other part, he’s proving a point that he could ruin someone else’s lives just for the fun of it. He’s the reason the smooth sailing relationship of Tim and Ruby suddenly got bumpy, actually it was worse.
I have no problem with the whole book except the ending. I seriously did not expect how the book ended. Like ugh! I kept grunting and huffing last night when I reached the end and I was like, “Wait. What? Wait. No. Huh? Ugh!” I honestly almost did not fell asleep because I can’t get my head grasp the ending of the book. I am so distracted by it that when I woke up early this morning and took a bath, I thought nothing but that ending. Yes. Book hangover right there. And just like last night, I still keep grunting and huffing though today, because everyone is awake and I have no people to disturb in their sleep, I’m also groaning and letting out small dinosaur voice asking “Whyyyyyyyyyyy?”
I felt so betrayed by the ending, honestly. I thought it could still be solved that is why I did not expect the ending. Especially that it has a bonus excerpt of the second book of the Sin City Series. Then I thought to myself, I really hope that Tim Kelly’s heart won’t turn to stone completely. He doesn’t have a stone heart but it was somehow close to it but I worry that after what happened to him it would totally turn into a cold stone. I don’t want that. Even though I hate Ruby, I still want them to have their happily ever after. They deserve that.
I hope I could get my hands on the second book in the future. I so want to know what happen to the two of them. I am hoping that Tim Kelly won’t find any other girl to love if it isn’t Ruby Gordon. I know that’s mean but really. I don’t want to see or read Tim Kelly’s story if his girl won’t Ruby Gordon. You hear, author? Please grant my wish.
Okay. I have this book in my TBR for a long while now but I manage to read and finish it just last night. I think I’m gonna start my review now which will probably consist of me grunting from time to time.
First, I have no idea what the book’s genre is so I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. I thought about action or maybe erotica because it was entitled sin city but then it was romance and crime. On the first chapters of the book, honestly, it wasn’t a good beginning for me. It only got interested around the time Tim and Ruby started hanging out.
It was good, smooth sailing. I get to have a relaxing read with this book even though it has some fight scenes in it because it didn’t require complex thinking because there weren’t much mystery in the book. It just talks about the three main characters which are Tim Kelly, Ruby Gordon, and Jake Wheeler.
Even though this book seem to have a love triangle because it has a two boys, one girl main characters, I assure you it is not a love triangle at all. The real couple here is Tim and Ruby and then Jake is just someone who wants to ruin people’s lives because he likes it.
I like how Tim Kelly change after meeting Ruby. He changed a lot from really hard to somehow soft. Though it didn’t actually say in the book but you can feel while reading all throughout the book. I like his character though. I understand his feeling at the end of the book. I really do but I’m hoping he won’t totally close his heart after.
Ruby Gordon, man, what can I say about her. Her character in the beginning of the book is good. I kind of like her. She’s a brave girl. Despite hearing rumors and warnings about Tim Kelly, she didn’t judge him immediately and she get close to him before she evaluates whether Tim Kelly can be trusted. Turns out her decision it quite right at the moment. But I started hating her at the end of the book. I seriously do. I kind of understand that she’s scared and hurt and all but it was not enough reason to do what she did. She just… ugh! By the time I finish reading the book, I don’t know if I still like her of I just hated her beginning that moment.
And then Jake Wheeler. I seriously don’t know what his deal is. He’s a full-fledged denial and an ass****. Oops. That’s how I picture Jake is. Though at times I understand why he is the way he is, but there are also time that I just wanna whack him square in the head real hard. Just to get some sense into him. In the most parts of the book, Jake is brokenhearted. Then the other part, he’s proving a point that he could ruin someone else’s lives just for the fun of it. He’s the reason the smooth sailing relationship of Tim and Ruby suddenly got bumpy, actually it was worse.
I have no problem with the whole book except the ending. I seriously did not expect how the book ended. Like ugh! I kept grunting and huffing last night when I reached the end and I was like, “Wait. What? Wait. No. Huh? Ugh!” I honestly almost did not fell asleep because I can’t get my head grasp the ending of the book. I am so distracted by it that when I woke up early this morning and took a bath, I thought nothing but that ending. Yes. Book hangover right there. And just like last night, I still keep grunting and huffing though today, because everyone is awake and I have no people to disturb in their sleep, I’m also groaning and letting out small dinosaur voice asking “Whyyyyyyyyyyy?”
I felt so betrayed by the ending, honestly. I thought it could still be solved that is why I did not expect the ending. Especially that it has a bonus excerpt of the second book of the Sin City Series. Then I thought to myself, I really hope that Tim Kelly’s heart won’t turn to stone completely. He doesn’t have a stone heart but it was somehow close to it but I worry that after what happened to him it would totally turn into a cold stone. I don’t want that. Even though I hate Ruby, I still want them to have their happily ever after. They deserve that.
I hope I could get my hands on the second book in the future. I so want to know what happen to the two of them. I am hoping that Tim Kelly won’t find any other girl to love if it isn’t Ruby Gordon. I know that’s mean but really. I don’t want to see or read Tim Kelly’s story if his girl won’t Ruby Gordon. You hear, author? Please grant my wish.
December 1, 2016
Loved it. Great job, Jen.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews