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Detective Dave Mason Mystery #1
No Dice: A Detective Dave Mason Mystery Book I
Billions of dollars in potential casino profits can turn the nicest people ugly. Even in an upscale beach city like Santa Monica A gaming goliath is steamrolling local opposition and build a glitzy high-rise casino on the shoreline. A real whodunit confronts Santa Monica Police Department homicide detective Dave Mason when a crucial city councilwoman is murdered on the eve of the vote bringing the casino one step closer. The dance between politics, money, and big ideas that change the landscape draw Mason in, taking his attention away from his daughter's bullying, and his impending divorce. He struggles against his attraction toward the witness, the community organizer leader of the oppposition campaign. She must prove her innocence in a murder she didn't commit. She must also live with the knowledge that the real killer--probably someone she knows--is hunting her. Mason struggles to keep his mind on this baffling case with way too many suspects with no alibis, while his own life unravels, and the activist he's trying to protect keeps interfering, embarrassing him by turning up legitimate leads of her own. The focus of the investigation lands on the money real estate developers, PR flacks, the hotels, the politicians and their dark shenanigans. An explosive secret boils up from Santa Monica's seamy past that the casino interests cannot suppress.
- GenresMystery
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 3, 2010
6 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Mar Preston
20 books45 followersI came to writing fiction late in life and am surprised to find myself the author of eight gritty police procedurals, five of them set in southern California and featuring Detective Dave Mason of the Santa Monica Police Department. He’s a good guy cop with a social justice warrior girlfriend.
I was a long-time Santa Monica activist and once divided my time between glitzy Santa Monica and a village similar to the one in Payback, the debut of my second series. But I assure you only nice people live there.
These books follow the Chief of the village patrol department and animal activist, and her sometimes boyfriend, a Sheriff’s Department homicide detective based in Bakersfield. Nothing Ever Happens Here is the third in this series.
I've distilled what I've learned writing whodunits into a series of 7 eBooks on “Writing Your First Mystery.” They are a pleasure to write, and I hope useful to new writers.
I'm a habitual do-gooder with a long track record of sticking my nose into good causes. I was a co-founder of the local SPCA in the mountains, a dog park, and picked up roadkill for my wildlife rehab buddies to feed the big raptors. I'd like to tell you that I have a writing and blogging schedule that I adhere to rigidly, but this is not true.
I like to write crime fiction because I get to think up fabulous lies and live with the kind of people between my ears that I will never meet in real life. I can also pretend I'm 5'10 and 28 years old. This also is not true.
In 2019 I upended a 40-year hiatus in California, 20 of it in Pine Mountain Club, where “Nothing Ever Happens Here” is set. and returned to my roots in Ottawa, Canada. I have almost convinced myself I can stand the Canadian winter.
I was a long-time Santa Monica activist and once divided my time between glitzy Santa Monica and a village similar to the one in Payback, the debut of my second series. But I assure you only nice people live there.
These books follow the Chief of the village patrol department and animal activist, and her sometimes boyfriend, a Sheriff’s Department homicide detective based in Bakersfield. Nothing Ever Happens Here is the third in this series.
I've distilled what I've learned writing whodunits into a series of 7 eBooks on “Writing Your First Mystery.” They are a pleasure to write, and I hope useful to new writers.
I'm a habitual do-gooder with a long track record of sticking my nose into good causes. I was a co-founder of the local SPCA in the mountains, a dog park, and picked up roadkill for my wildlife rehab buddies to feed the big raptors. I'd like to tell you that I have a writing and blogging schedule that I adhere to rigidly, but this is not true.
I like to write crime fiction because I get to think up fabulous lies and live with the kind of people between my ears that I will never meet in real life. I can also pretend I'm 5'10 and 28 years old. This also is not true.
In 2019 I upended a 40-year hiatus in California, 20 of it in Pine Mountain Club, where “Nothing Ever Happens Here” is set. and returned to my roots in Ottawa, Canada. I have almost convinced myself I can stand the Canadian winter.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 9, 2012
A little tough to follow at times but the original use of language and powerful dialogue is fresh, brusque and surprising at times.
May 15, 2022
An excellent mystery that could have been 5 stars BUT...it receives 1 star from this reader. I can't give 2 stars and say it was OK. For 3 strong reasons it was not. 3 Strikes = Not Recommended!
1-The description on multiple platforms indicates the setting of Santa Monica, California as indicated by
2-There are also multiple copy edit errors! Very simple copy edit errors that would not be captured by spell check but could have so easily been discovered and corrected.
3-This is the 1st time that I've read a novel that did not use a scene transition (i.e., a blank line between paragraphs, asterisks, a piece of clip art) to indicate a smooth pivot to a different location, group of characters, etc. within a chapter. Within one chapter of the book the reader is engrossed in a conversation between Ginger McNair and her father taking place in the kitchen of her apartment. The conversation doesn't seem to continue or end except that in the next sentence it is the next day and Ginger is sending an email blast in the community hall. Within another chapter, Detective Dave Mason is conducting an interview at an individual's place of business. Again, the conversation doesn't seem to continue or end except that in the next sentence the reader is suddenly with Ginger in the midst of
As any mystery reader I wanted to read to the close of the investigation. It was a poor reading experience and not a writing style I choose to pursue.
1-The description on multiple platforms indicates the setting of Santa Monica, California as indicated by
"No Dice is set in Santa Monica, California where a gaming goliath is trying to steamroller local opposition to building a glitzy casino complex on the shoreline. A real whodunit confronts Santa Monica police detective Dave Mason when a crucial city councilwoman is murdered on the eve of the vote bringing the gaming consortium another step closer."The author's "Acknowledgements" indicate the police department...
"I am grateful to the Santa Monica Police Department and all the officers who took part in the Citizen Academy program. I would also like to thank Lauralee Asch of the Department’s Community Relations Unit for her time, information freely given, and her encouragement."However, 121 times in the Kindle edition the setting and respective police department are indicated as "Santa Marina, California." In checking the paperback edition via the feature on Amazon of "Look Inside" Santa Monica, California is used. Did neither the author herself or anyone at the publisher of Pertinacity Press since copyright of 2011 check the Kindle Edition to notice this blatant error? This was Mar Preston's debut novel. Now she is writing guides to teach others. Is everyone afraid to mention this to her?
2-There are also multiple copy edit errors! Very simple copy edit errors that would not be captured by spell check but could have so easily been discovered and corrected.
3-This is the 1st time that I've read a novel that did not use a scene transition (i.e., a blank line between paragraphs, asterisks, a piece of clip art) to indicate a smooth pivot to a different location, group of characters, etc. within a chapter. Within one chapter of the book the reader is engrossed in a conversation between Ginger McNair and her father taking place in the kitchen of her apartment. The conversation doesn't seem to continue or end except that in the next sentence it is the next day and Ginger is sending an email blast in the community hall. Within another chapter, Detective Dave Mason is conducting an interview at an individual's place of business. Again, the conversation doesn't seem to continue or end except that in the next sentence the reader is suddenly with Ginger in the midst of
"a long, contentious meeting of the Coalition strategy group."I didn't mind that the conversation ended or the day or location changed in the storyline. I did mind the abrupt scene transitions that made the advance of the novel choppy and ineffective rather than a seamless flow of good storytelling.
As any mystery reader I wanted to read to the close of the investigation. It was a poor reading experience and not a writing style I choose to pursue.
June 4, 2017
Enjoyable read, particularly since it was centered in the city I was born in. Detective Mason is a mess, but what cop isn't when you really dig deep down. Preston did a great job of melding the science of crime investigation with the history of the issue and its impact on the city.
October 7, 2012
No Dice is a good read that goes beyond entertainment and into literary territory.
In No Dice we see an anti-casino city councilwoman murdered the night before a big vote on whether or not to put a gambling casino in the middle of Santa Monica, California.
Why would you the reader believe or care about this scenario? Google says there are three gambling casinos within seven miles of Santa Monica, California. Gambling interests have, no doubt, attempted to set up shop in Santa Monica, a beach town with huge, sweaty piles of tourist money rolling into it. Santa Monica is where America's legendary Mother Road, Route 66, runs off the end of the famous Santa Monica Pier and into the Pacific Ocean. Santa Monica is slammed with people and it's slammed with money. Why not a casino, too?
Author Mar Preston's protagonist,a thirty-something anti-casino activist named Ginger McNair, is the first person on the scene of the councilwoman's murder.
To Dave Mason, the detective assigned to the crime, Ginger is an attractive woman who is automatically a suspect. The sexual tension between them is never banal and neither is the conflict, although the character of the conflict is a trope of crime fiction: Ginger won't stay out of the case. Thing is, investigating crime is in Ginger's DNA because she comes from a law enforcement family. Her dad, a law enforcement range master, is a good character. Author Mar Preston knows law enforcement procedure;she's done her research.
The author shifts points of view between McNair and Mason throughout No Dice--and she does it well, moving the story forward,heightening our engagement with the characters. Preston writes with clarity--pure skill,reflecting Preston's education and talent--but it is Preston's political and sociological erudition that puts No Dice over the high bar. It's a scary enough ride as a mystery because the murderer is stalking McNair--after all, the killer ran right by McNair as he exited the murder scene--but No Dice is also an intellectual thrill for its sophisticated descriptions of city politics and the unique sociology of Santa Monica.
In No Dice we see an anti-casino city councilwoman murdered the night before a big vote on whether or not to put a gambling casino in the middle of Santa Monica, California.
Why would you the reader believe or care about this scenario? Google says there are three gambling casinos within seven miles of Santa Monica, California. Gambling interests have, no doubt, attempted to set up shop in Santa Monica, a beach town with huge, sweaty piles of tourist money rolling into it. Santa Monica is where America's legendary Mother Road, Route 66, runs off the end of the famous Santa Monica Pier and into the Pacific Ocean. Santa Monica is slammed with people and it's slammed with money. Why not a casino, too?
Author Mar Preston's protagonist,a thirty-something anti-casino activist named Ginger McNair, is the first person on the scene of the councilwoman's murder.
To Dave Mason, the detective assigned to the crime, Ginger is an attractive woman who is automatically a suspect. The sexual tension between them is never banal and neither is the conflict, although the character of the conflict is a trope of crime fiction: Ginger won't stay out of the case. Thing is, investigating crime is in Ginger's DNA because she comes from a law enforcement family. Her dad, a law enforcement range master, is a good character. Author Mar Preston knows law enforcement procedure;she's done her research.
The author shifts points of view between McNair and Mason throughout No Dice--and she does it well, moving the story forward,heightening our engagement with the characters. Preston writes with clarity--pure skill,reflecting Preston's education and talent--but it is Preston's political and sociological erudition that puts No Dice over the high bar. It's a scary enough ride as a mystery because the murderer is stalking McNair--after all, the killer ran right by McNair as he exited the murder scene--but No Dice is also an intellectual thrill for its sophisticated descriptions of city politics and the unique sociology of Santa Monica.
April 25, 2012
Welcome to Raymond Chandler’s world! Same city. Same gambler’s game. Same mayhem. Except it’s a new era with its own intrigues – and murder. Ms. Preston has caught the feel of the issues and the politics with authenticity and fresh insight. She not only unravels a political murder in the “people’s republic” but reveals the internal machinations of grass roots organizing with an eye only an insider could know and in a town so small the players all know each other. She helps us understand how conflict between the 1% and the rest of us shadows our lives while carrying us on a cliff-hanging wild ride of a mystery. Read it for fun, read it for wisdom – above all enjoy.
Rev. Jim Conn, Former Mayor of Santa Monica
Rev. Jim Conn, Former Mayor of Santa Monica
April 30, 2012
i am totally shocked that this is the author's FIRST novel! It is such a fast paced who-dun-it, that I would have thought she had 5 or 6 books under her belt! Guess being a creative writing teacher really DOES give you the writing chops!
You will be hooked from the first chapter of the tight story. Her characters are lively, true to life and you can't beat real life for giving you an excellent backdrop to base a story on! The story has lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even if you guess who the murder suspect is before the end, you'll be flipping the pages quickly to see how they get caught! You'll also be hoping there will be another book to follow- and there will be!
If you're looking for a new voice in the police procedural genre, check out Mar Preston!
You will be hooked from the first chapter of the tight story. Her characters are lively, true to life and you can't beat real life for giving you an excellent backdrop to base a story on! The story has lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even if you guess who the murder suspect is before the end, you'll be flipping the pages quickly to see how they get caught! You'll also be hoping there will be another book to follow- and there will be!
If you're looking for a new voice in the police procedural genre, check out Mar Preston!
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December 31, 2015Great police procedural mystery! It is very well written and the characters are developed enough to be real people, not cardboard cut outs or walking clichés. the mystery was good enough to follow along and kept me guessing til the end who was the killer!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews