Raw Deal: A Jake Morgan Mystery

Michael Payne is head of the Research and Publications Program at the
Historic Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development, and
the co-author of A Narrative History of Fort Dunvegan.

This is the first of a series of mysteries featuring Jake Morgan, an
ex-cop with a personal and professional interest in the gaming industry.
In fact, Morgan works as a dealer at a Las Vegas hotel and casino.

Morgan’s involvement with Rachel Sinclair, a beautiful showgirl,
takes a complicated twist when she is arrested for the bizarre murder of
a reptilian lounge singer, Christian Valentine. There are plenty of
people around Las Vegas with good motives for killing Valentine, but
Rachel seems to have the best combination of motive and opportunity.
Morgan gallantly takes on the task of proving that the police have
opted, yet again, for the most convenient suspect and are not
considering a variety of equally plausible alternatives. Who actually
killed Valentine, and why, are presented with a commendable narrative
energy and enough false leads and messy secrets to satisfy readers with
a taste for mysteries on the hard-boiled edge.

Jake Morgan may be the protagonist, but Las Vegas is the real star of
this story, which relies heavily on the heady intersection of sex, show
business, and blatant capitalism that shapes life and work in the city.
Books so based on a sense of place need authors who can suggest
convincingly that they know these places and have an insider’s
understanding of what really goes on in them. Rick Gadziola does just
that, from his back-cover photograph in full shades to his author’s
biography that outlines his real-life resumé as a player.