High Hand (Martha Chainey Mysteries) [Paperback]

Phillips Gary (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Martha Chainey, athletic, gun-toting ex-showgirl and mob money courier, makes her hard-hitting debut in this tawdry heist thriller, in which everybody is a crook. Las Vegas casino-managers Frankie Degault and his sister Victoria entrust Chainey to drive from Nevada to a swank address in Mill Valley, Calif., to deliver $7 million in 100-dollar bills. Soon after she arrives, several masked thugs shoot everyone but her and steal the cash. Suspecting that Chainey double-crossed them, the Degaults give her 72 hours to find the thieves and recover the money. They assign Baker, a sadomasochistic South African (and one of the book's few white characters), to keep Chainey running for the money and her life instead of running away. The trail leads to an Indian reservation with a casino that wants to expand into Las Vegas. Various Indians, gamblers and the creeps who stole the $7 million menace Chainey. With help from Cuban mobster Ira "Mooch" Maltazar and reporter Rena Solomon, she manages to worm out the surprising truth behind the theft, but not before Baker gets her at his mercy, tied up upside-down and bare-bottomed. Phillips, author of Zook and the Ivan Monk series, knows the history of black Las Vegas and serves up a fast-moving, uncomplicated plot. Many readers will be put off by this sordid tale, but no doubt plenty of others will look forward to further degradation for Chainey in the sequel. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Phillips is on a roll. His Ivan Monk series is back in high gear with Only the Wicked [BKL Ag 00], and now he launches a new series, starring Martha Chainey, courier for the corporate Vegas mob. She's assigned to carry a bundle of cash from Vegas to L.A., but she's ambushed when she arrives. Martha escapes, but the money's gone, and she only has 72 hours to get it back or face the worst sort of ramifications from the mob-connected casino owner who hired her. The trail takes Martha on a hip-hop journey from Vegas to California and back, with bullets flying at various points along the way and the levels of deceit piling up like spent casings. Chainey is tough, sexy, smart, and thoroughly charismatic--sort of a Pam Grier for the new millennium. Phillips effectively uses the cartoon appeal of the best blaxsploitation flicks but overlays it with three-dimensional characters living in an all-too-real world. There's also some fascinating historical material about black Las Vegas in the '50s and '60s. A fine debut in the hip, hard-boiled tradition. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575666847
• ISBN-13: 978-1575666846
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,660,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tale, October 27, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High Hand (Martha Chainey Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Siblings Frankie and Victoria DeGault, owners of the Riverhead Casino on the Vegas Strip, gives Martha Chainey several million dollars to deliver to a Mill Valley, California address. However, upon arrival, nothing goes right as masked hombres interrupt the exchange killing everyone, but a diving to safety Martha.

An irate Frankie accuses Martha of stealing the cash. He gives her three days to recover his money or else. To keep her on the hunt, he sends a lunatic of a thug Baker to watch over Martha. Following the money, Martha traces the robbers to an Indian reservation with a casino located on it. Even with help from a close friend and a mobster, the truth may be out there, but seems one dangerous step away from Martha attaining it and the lost loot.

Gary Phillips, author of the superb Ivan Monk novels, successfully switches to a female African-American protagonist. The story line is exciting as readers obtain an in depth look at the black side of Las Vegas. Although some scenes starring Baker seem a bit depraved and profanity is used, for the most part readers will love this tale starring a Cleopatra Jones-like heroine.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give the Gentleman a Hand, December 17, 2007

By 

M. Ball "Book lover" (Kc,mo) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: High Hand (Martha Chainey Mysteries) (Paperback)

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In High Hand, Gary Phillips gives us an action-packed portrayal of a Las Vegas casino money courier, Martha Chainey is a beautiful vixen, skilled in martial arts,and is very capable of defending herself. For the most part, she could handle the most formidable foe and is always ready for action. Unfortunately, Martha skills were not enough when she was robbed of money that Frankie and Veronica Degaults entrusted her to deliver. The robbery left her with a debt that could eventually lead to her demise. As a result, the Degaults gave Martha a redemption pass of seventy-two hours to recover the stolen money or else, it is curtains for her.


In her pursuit to recover the stolen funds, Martha discovers that blood thirsty Molly Zevonian is involved in the plot and is pulling out all stops to destroy her. As the story unfolds, Martha learns that she must find the mastermind that sent Molly to kill her to recover the stolen money. To find the mastermind, she joins forces with Six-Pack who is investigating the murder of two Indians that were found dead in the desert. His investigation might be the key in finding out who set her up.


This book is packed with non-stop action and the reader will be shocked by who masterminded the robbery. Lovers of mysteries and action will love this book. In a sense, Martha Chainey's character is parallel to that of Cleopatra Jones, a glamorous woman with the moxie and ability to protect herself against all odds. I became so involved with this story that it felt as if I was Martha, stopping bad guys. In the future, I will be looking forward to reading more of Martha's next escapades.

Reviewed by Margaret Ball
APOOO BookClub

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What's next for Martha?, March 25, 2001

By 

mateo52 "invisible man" (State College, Pa.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: High Hand (Martha Chainey Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This story of a long-legged ex-showgirl, currently making a living as sub-contracted courier for Las Vegas casino bosses is ...okay.

It is fast-paced with a moderate degree of action as the self-reliant protagonist, Martha Chainey, finds herself suspected of having personally engineered the heist of a multi-million dollar package. She has 72 hours to recover the intercepted delivery or suffer the usual and customary consequences for anyone in her line of employment who comes up short. The story has a screenplay feel as Martha scrambles around California locations, Indian Reservations, and the less glamorous sides of Las Vegas in search of the perpetrators while attempting to stay a few steps ahead of the lunatic casino muscle shadowing her every move.

In essence, there is not one sympathetic character in the mix of bad guys and "less" bad guys. The sidelight of the competitiveness between traditional casino owners and the Native Americans is an interesting plot line although the Indigenous were a bit too stereotypically stoic for my taste.

HIGH HAND is an all right read. There just are not any surprises.