Chasing Eights [Paperback]

Michael Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1992

Hired to track down Jack Price, a card shark forever in search of the one hand that will win him the jackpot, Dan Fortune enters a netherworld of small-time gamblers, wheeler-dealers, drug pushers, and murderers. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One-armed private eye Dan Fortune, seen before in Minnesota Strip , is hired to trace Jack Price, whose wife is suspicious of his mysterious all-night absences from their home in Santa Barbara, Calif. Fortune discovers that Price is "chasing eights" as one of the members of a continuing poker game with business partner Ed Brower and others who play for high stakes. But Fortune stumbles on a body, the first among various members of the group who become victims killed on orders from one of the players, a financier. Price, starting to suspect that a "big deal" promised him by the financier is collapsing, and that he's set to lose everything as part of a scam that depends on murder to succeed. Other than Price, the other potential victims are a Mexican-American and his wife; a militant liberal and the homeless people he shelters; and, ultimately, every one of Collins's fully realized characters, lured into a trap baited by hope. Humming with tensions, this page-turner is first-rate, yet veers alarmingly close to modern reality.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

An undeniable sense of urgency characterizes this fine effort from the author of Castrato and Red Rosa. Angela Price hires series hero Dan Fortune--one-armed, brave, and now in Santa Barbara--to investigate her husband's latest shady financial deal with shadier boss Ed Brower. Fortune, however, finds a third partner dead and cannot locate Mr. Price. Much of the subsequent plot follows Fortune, Price, the police, and the bad guys as they chase each other around to the accompaniment of shooting, torture, and murder. Well-directed action, excitement, and entertainment.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Leisure Books (Mm) (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843932740
• ISBN-13: 978-0843932744
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,952,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Disjointed Detective Story, December 29, 2003

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chasing Eights (Paperback)

One armed private detective Dan Fortune is hired by Angela Price to check up on her husband who she fears may be in some sort of trouble with a business deal. The case turns out to be part of a long, long night for Fortune as he conducts his search for his target, Jack Price. While on his trail, the body counts begins to grow with alarming rapidity leaving Fortune to unravel the mystery into who the murderer is and why were the murders committed.

Concentration is key in following the plot to this detective mystery. We jump from character to character, changing points of view with regularity. I thought the effect was a rather disjointed story that was lacking in impact.