Customer Reviews

Lucky at Cards (Hard Case Crime)

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
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"They say every man has a weakness. They say that for every man there's a woman somewhere in the world who can make him jump through fiery hoops just by snapping her fingers. They say a man's lucky if he never meets that woman." -- from Lucky at Cards

If your publishing imprint's best-selling novels were by a particular author, you'd keep putting out novels by that author, wouldn't you? Well, that must be what's going on over at Hard Case Crime, because Lucky at Cards is the third "lost" Lawrence Block classic they've come out with. Lucky for us, it's another doozy, but what else could you possibly expect from the master of the crime novel?

Bill Maynard is an ex-magician who found his way into the card-sharp business. He upset the wrong people in his last town, so he's moved temporarily to New York, following an opportunity. But he's about to get very distracted by another, much more unexpected, opportunity -- one "with hooker's hips and queen-sized [...]," and one that's easily as dangerous as getting aces and eights.

Lucky at Cards was originally released under the title The Sex Shuffle and the byline "Sheldon Lord," and it was published in 1964, the year before The Girl with the Long Green Heart, Block's previous Hard Case Crime outing. It shares a more optimistic tone with that novel that is a far cry from the much darker Grifter's Game (a.k.a. Mona) from just a couple of years before. This is apparently a huge coup for the Hard Case gang as Block has been notoriously shy when it comes to his early pseudonymous novels.

Its brisk pacing is a big attraction, but Lawrence Block's forte has always been his wonderfully complex plots, especially in these early novels. The likable, relatable characters like Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenbarr came later -- guys like Bill Maynard in Lucky at Cards are just slightly nonaverage Joes with very healthy imaginations. Hell, they think like novelists, with their convoluted scenarios involving multiple character roles and layers of deception requiring huge amounts of footwork and no discernible sleep. No real person could pull all this off. And while this may be a drawback for some readers, I get a lot of fun out of watching these unrealistic, but still somehow highly plausible, situations play out. As long as Hard Case Crime keeps discovering these gems, I'll keep reading them.

This is the best of Block's Hard Case Crime novels, though all three are superb. It's all that the reviewers say--vintage, pulpy noir with all the expected features and attachments. The interesting thing is that it's very different from the current Block style. Block's Scudder, Burglar, and Hit Man books are silky smooth, with economical plotting, perfect pacing, and effortless, but plausible endings. LUCKY AT CARDS is very different, and not just because of the differences in genre. For one thing, the book spends a lot of time on the mechanics of the card sharp's craft, the differences between cheating at gin and cheating at poker, the simplicity of cheating at bridge, etc. Second, the plotting is far more complex than Block's usual, with cuticle-chewing suspense and nasty double binds. The characters are straight out of the pulp noir genre, but they're still engaging and memorable. One of the first we meet is a dentist with a heavy nicotine addiction who sticks his fingers in the protagonist's mouth and annoys him with their taste. Yum. Welcome to pulpdom.

You know you're in the classic noir time zone when our protagonist is disgusted by the taste of nicotine on the fingers of the dentist working on his teeth. Bill, a professional card sharp, has lammed out of Chicago with a mouth full of broken teeth (guess why). A pause for dental repairs at some huckburg. An invitation to a poker game. At the game, one of the player's wives, Joyce, wanders in and, on the QT, let's Bill know she recognizes what he's doing. Bill and Joyce, being two of a kind, plot to take hubby's money.( Interestingly, it's not by killing him.) While Bill starts putting the set-up in place, he takes a job as cover. What do you know? He's good at this job! Then he meets a soulful school teacher, who digs him. Two paths. Which one? You may think you have it figured out, but Block pulls off a twist ending that will have you grinning and shaking your head. If you like your pulp high on wit and low on gunplay, this is your book.

This is a fabulous reprint of a Lawrence Block title originally published in 1964 from the good folks at Hard Case Crime. I don't believe anything was altered to fit 2007. Esso gas is mentioned. The prices all sound like 1964's. I like that.

This paperback is a pure gem. The card sharp is Bill Maynard who has breezed into town. After caught cheating and getting his thumbs busted, Bill beat it out of Chicago. He meets a vivacious Joyce Rogers who's married to a Murray Rogers, a wealthy tax lawyer. Sparks fly. Bill and Joyce soon scheme to rip off Murray and go off to live the good life.

The poker and card-playing references give the tale its gritty realism. Bill with a conscience becomes a likeable protagonist. Marvelous twists and great minor characters, too.

Hard Case Crime's newest offering is a 40 year old novel from master crime writer Lawrence Block. Block delivers the goods with this tale about a drifter/grifter card cheat. While the plot is thin in spots, the "noir" feel shines through with spare, tough, spot-on dialogue and characters that seem believable for the time and place. "Lucky at Cards" is a quick, satisfying dip into the "noir" crime fiction pool.

This book, written in 1964 and reprinted now by Hard Case, shows the real value of the Hard Case Crime line of crime novels. It's classic example of '60s crime fiction, a piece of history, but at the same time it's also a good read, a page-turner. The historical element is fun - all the now-anachronistic things like elevator attendants, the stick shift, and a whole lot of cigarette smoking. The writing is crisp, with colorful noir-ish characters and descriptions, and the plot is in the vein of movie thrillers of that period. I must say, the last chapter turned out differently than I expected! (Which is a good thing...I'm not surprised by thrillers or mysteries all that often.)

Plot was good, the story is teetering on totally not believable but walks the line in a great way and is a good read. Great reprint and nice little hard case novel!

If you are a fan of Lawrence Block, like I am, "Lucky at Cards" is right up your alley. It was written in 1964, and is one of Block's earliest works. It's about a card shark named Bill Maynard, who falls in love with Joyce Rodgers, the wife of sleazy tax attorney Murry Rodgers. Joyce is 20 years younger than her husband, and wouldn't you know it, she falls for Maynard (or does she?) and they plot to steal hubby's money and live the good life together.

Lucky at Cards is one of several of Block's early works that imitates the popular film noir movies of the 40's and 50's. None of his protagonists are very likable, like Maynard, for instance, who is nothing more than a card cheat, but we wind up rooting for them anyway. It would be nice if Block, who never has writer's block, stared writing again as if he were still stuck in the 1950's, or even 1960's. No one is doing this now, and no one else could do it better than Lawrence Block

This is a real pulp fiction book written by the legend writer Lawrence Block who has a vast resume of classic books. Hard Case Fiction has done a great job of both reissue of different novels as well as new novels put out that are as easy to read as the orginal authors. The pulp fiction era was in the 30's & 40's and got it's name pulp from the type of paper that was used . It was quite rough paper. The novel is a twist and turn story and follows all the well written classic Lawrence Block mysteries. Do yourself a favor and check out this mystery that is short and sweet.

Great story, really captures the fine art of mixing characters and events, always fun !!