Murder in Vegas: New Crime Tales of Gambling and Desperation

by Michael Connelly (editor), James Swain (Contributor), S.J. Rozan (Contributor)

Las Vegas. Lost Wages. Sin City. An artificial oasis of pleasure, spectacle, and entertainment, the gambling capital of America has reinvented itself so many times that its doubtful that anyone knows for sure what's real and what isn't in the miles of neon and scorching heat. Las Vegas is considered the ultimate players destination-no matter what your game. Almost anything is available-for a price, mind you, and sometimes losers walk away from the tables with even less than just an empty wallet or purse-sometimes they don't walk away at all.

Now the International Association of Crime Writers and New York Times-bestselling author Michael Connelly have gathered twenty-two crime and mystery stories about the ultimate playground, Las Vegas, and what can happen behind the glitz and glamour. Come to the true city that never sleeps, where fortunes are made and lost every day, and where snake-eyes aren't found just on a pair of dice.

The sunshine tax / James Swain --
Passline / S.J. Rozan --
Dust up / Wendy Hornsby --
The kidnapping of Xiang Fei / Michael Collins --
Killer heels kill twice as dead / T.P. Keating --
Iggy's stuff / J. Madison Davis --
A temporary crown / Sue Pike --
The gambling master of Shanghai / Joan Richter --
House rules / Libby Fischer Hellmann --
Rolling the bones / Tom Savage --
Oddsmaker / Edward Wellen --
The dope show / K. j. a. Wishnia --
Death of a whale in the church of Elvis / Linda Kerslake --
Neighbors / John Wessel --
The end of the world (as we know it) / Lise McClendon --
Nickels and dimes / Ronnie Klaskin --
Even gamblers have to eat / Ruth Cavin --
The magic touch / A.B. Robbins --
Catnapping / Gay Toltl Kinman --
Miscast / Micki Marz --
Lightning rider / Rick Mofina --
Grieving Las Vegas / Jeremiah Healy

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Crime, Anthologies, Thriller, True Crime

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.

After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with over 30 more novels.

Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .

Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.

Reviews

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with most anthologies, there are stories you love, stories that are OK, and stories that were pretty damn stupid.

I really liked 3 stories. Thought two were pretty damn stupid. The rest were OK.

[robert a boardman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't believe what I just read.

Normally it takes me one or two days to read a book. Usually a novel from Michael Connelly takes less time. This particular book took me more than three weeks and at times I was tempted to not finish it. Thankfully it was comprised of numerous short stories that were easier to get through. I gave this book three stars because some of the stories were okay; none were great; and some were down right terrible. Thankfully these stories were supposedly edited by Connelly and he was not the author. If Michael Connelly would have authored these short stories I would have been sorely disappointed.

[JL Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was painful. It is a collection of stories and only a few were really enjoyable. The remainder alternated between terrible and ridiculous. I like Michael Connelly but I was embarrassed for him that his name was on this. My advice is to read one of his books and to skip this anthology

[comfort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compilation of stories centered around Las Vegas and Love, Gambling, Loss and murder.

I like the occasional compilation as I get to read authors I probably wouldn't try. Also short stories are usually tight and to the point as the whole story has to grab you in the first few paras. (or pages at least to make you continue reading.

[Alabama Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of murder mysteries all joined together by a common thread, Las Vegas. This 2005 book of short stories gives the reader a wide selection of authors and styles.

2024 update: After reading this book I went on to read several other books by the authors compiled in this book.

[Kevin Shoop · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grade: D

It was painful but I made it through this collection of poorly-written short stories. A few were average, most were poor, and many were laughably bad.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

some decent short stories, some not so good

[Leland James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to believe Michael Connelly had anything to do with this. Truly awful! Dumb stories, poorly written.

[Kathie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good grief! Awful. I bought the book because Michael Connelly is the editor and I have read and enjoyed a number of his books. I don’t know where they found these writers but with the exception of two, I will avoid them in the future.

The first short story, The Sunshine Tax, is very short and kind of sets the reader up for Las Vegas, the dreams of hitting the jackpot and avoiding getting fleeced. It has a humorous touch.

Another favorite was The Temporary Crown. The not-too-bright Delores invoked sympathy and concern. It has a nice twist to it.

I wondered if the other stories may have been written by a freshman English class but seemed unfair to the freshmen.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I expected the short stories to be of better quality than they were. While there are a handful of good stories, more than a fair share lack top notch interest and far less interesting than novels because some stories are too short. 5 of 10 stars

[S.F. Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t Bother

This silly book is not worth the time it takes to read it. It’s a bunch of little short stories that offer no proper end or beginning. I quit reading after first several stories but my stubbornness forced me to finish the thing. Waste of time so skip it.

[Nanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty of stories about murder

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not his best. Very predictable.

[Pamela McDowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short stories are a nice break from longer fiction and introduced me to some new writers.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up just because it was a new Michael Connelly book, but I was disappointed. It is a collection of stories set in Las Vegas by other authors; he does only the intro. All of the stories, some okay, some just duh, deal with the underbelly of Las Vegas, crimes committed, hidden, etc. I think I'd have liked a collection of Las Vegas stories better if they were nonfiction. Started to put this book down ten times, but stubbornly finished it--well, most of it. Would I recommend it? Nah, waste of time.

[Mrs. Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am surprised that Connelly allowed his name to be put on this collection of short stories. The majority are by writers I’ve never heard of, and for good reason. A few were so poorly written that I skipped them - and due to being somewhat OCDish, readingwise, that’s something I can rarely bring myself to do.
There was one story that I found worth reading, so if you’re a completist who’s gotta read everything with the Connelly name on it, you’ll be rewarded with Tom Savage’s "Rolling the Bones." Otherwise the book is a total loss.

[Christina ✨]

I really liked the first short story in this book! But the rest of the ones I read were "meh" for me, so I'm putting this in on my the DNF (did not finish) shelf after ~75 pages. I might look up the author of that first short story, though, and find a book by them! So not a total loss. Just a bit of a bummer. 🤷‍♀️

[Cleo Baker-Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange book ~ to put it mildly!

Approximately 25 writers each submit what amounts to a "Las Vegas-centered short story". Some of the submissions are well-written, others are nothing I would have chosen to read ~ ever!

Didn't like it. Wish Michael Connelly's name had not been most prominent on the cover & in the synopsis because I feel that was misleading.

'nuff said!

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories by various authors, many of whom are not as skilled as Michael Connelly. Several of the stories exceed the amount of profanity necessary for verisimilitude. The common thread is a setting in Las Vegas. There are some 4 star stories and some 2 star stories for an average of 3 stars.

[Michael S Coleman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wherein Michael Connelly assembles the edits from previous books into a disjointed and confusing text. Then you realize there's nothing "new" about it. Pure bait & switch, I guess he needs the money and is in a creative dry spell. Amazon should be embarrassed to participate in this fraud.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grabbed this book from the library because I thought I had missed a Michael Connelly. He only does the intro, but I recognized a few other authors so I gave it a try. Like many anthologies, a few stories were well crafted and memorable, but sadly in this one, many were not.

[maureen mcconnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally love Michael Connelly, but this book doesn't grab me and that's after 4 chapters. Very uninteresting

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because it had Michael Connelly's name on it, I picked it. Some of the short stories were so bad. Some okay. I came, I saw, won't be back.

[Greynomad · Rating 2 out of 5]

some good some very bad

[ABL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh…not his best

[Andy Plonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually like anthologies much, but in this collection, almost all were amusing as well as educational.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

22 writers write short stories about Vegas.

[Denae · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite... has lots of short stories, I found most to be boring or weak...

[Roger Soderberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I much preferred previous Michael Connelly books with well defined characters like Harry Bosch, not a compilation of novellas.

[Sharvi]

DNF