TEMPTATION TOWN (The Jack Barnett / Las Vegas Series) [Kindle Edition]

Mike Dennis (Author)

Book Description

"The ghost of Mike Hammer moves through these pages..." -- Jonathan Woods, author of BAD JUJU & OTHER TALES OF MADNESS AND MAYHEM

"Fans of Elmore Leonard should find Mike Dennis an author worth watching - and worth reading." -- BooksAndPals.com

"His writing is tight, to the point, like a line drawing." -- Noir Journal

Jack Barnett has had it with the private eye business. They took his license away in LA, and fearing criminal prosecution, he split town in the middle of the night and headed for Las Vegas, where anyone can become anonymous.

He swears off the business, but his money runs low and when a man offers him $5000 to find his missing daughter, he agrees. He soon wishes he hadn't when the haunting memory of a woman from his past gets in the way.

TEMPTATION TOWN is a novelette, about 12,000 words, the first of the Jack Barnett series from Mike Dennis. Set in the steaming underbelly of Las Vegas, these tales of a reluctant ex-private investigator drag the reader down the darkest streets of Sin City, USA, a town in constant need of fresh blood for its own survival.

The book also comes with an exclusive preview of the next Jack Barnett installment, a short story called HARD CASH.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mike Dennis is a crafty writer and a huge asset to the world of PI fiction." -- Sons Of Spade

"(Mike Dennis') gift for vivid prose brings (Las Vegas) to life. Jack Barnett has a future in the realms of PI fiction. -- Noir Journal

About the Author

After thirty years as a professional musician (piano), Mike Dennis left Key West  and moved to Las Vegas in 2006 to become a professional poker player. He turned to writing when his first novel, The Take, was picked up by a publisher in 2009.
 
His second book, Setup On Front Street, was the first of a series of Key West Nocturnes, standalone noir novels. These books will lift the veil on Key West and reveal it as a true noir city, on a par with Los Angeles, New Orleans, or Miami.
 
The Ghosts Of Havana is the second book in that set. The third, Man-Slaughter, is now available, and the fourth, The Guns Of Miami, will be coming in 2013.
 
Mike has also introduced the Jack Barnett/Las Vegas series, about a reluctant ex-private investigator living in Sin City, USA. The first entry in that series, a novelette called Temptation Town, is now available. The second installment, Hard Cash, also a novelette, is currently available, as is the third entry, a full novel called The Downtown Deal.
 
Mike also has a collection of short stories, Bloodstains On The Wall. In addition, his stories have been published in A Twist Of Noir, Mysterical e, Powder Burn Flash, Slow Trains, and The Wizards Of Words 2009 Anthology.

In addition, Mike has an experimental rockabilly novel called Cadillac's Comin', a hard tale of a one-hit wonder who recorded for Sun Records in the chaotic early days of rock & roll.
 
In December, 2010, Mike moved back to Key West, where he enjoys year-round island living with his wife Yleana, whom he married on a warm December night in 2012 on the rooftop of an apartment building in Havana, Cuba.
 
 
 

Product Details

• File Size: 201 KB
• Print Length: 100 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Mike Dennis (January 15, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006YB65PS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #157,033 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty & Clever - Like turning over a rock January 17, 2012

By Jessica

Format:Kindle Edition

The Barnett series is an idea whose time has come and an obvious move for this very noir author. Barnett is hair-trigger, battered hero who watches a nightmare unfold and must drum up some faith that something good can come of an investigation into a missing girl from the seamy streets and back alleys of Las Vegas, AKA Temptation Town.

Barnett could be describing himself when he speaks of Emily, the missing girl he's been hired to find, "before they drown, they've got to dig down within themselves and find something they think is worth saving. And they've got to do it all alone." Hang on to this roller coaster because when the screaming stops, it's like turning over a rock. Signature Dennis twists and turns, that keep you guessing, and a multi-layered ending that leaves you waiting for the next Barnett caper. Gritty and clever, a nimble departure from his longer works.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Believable Fiction" January 23, 2012

By Robyn (aka PokerBabe)

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Mike's greatest talent is his ability to write fiction that doesn't feel like fiction. His new book "Temptation Town" brings the Jack Barnett character to life and makes him seem like he's a guy you actually know.! To me, getting inside the players' heads and their internal dialogues makes reading Mike Dennis intriguing. The current story is a must read for anyone who likes their fiction told in a style which is believable.!

Robyn Salisbury
Las Vegas, Nevada

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw Vegas January 17, 2012

By Jonathan Woods

Format:Kindle Edition

Mike Dennis, author of the Key West Nocturne series of crime novels, has here penned a tight, cautionary tale of corruption and greed set amid the flash & filigree of the Vegas strip and the city's darker byways where drugs, violence and hopelessness abide. The tale is told by Dennis' newest character, Jack Barnett, an ex-gumshoe haunted by his past, who can't leave well enough along. The ghost of Mike Hammer moves through these pages, as Dennis nicely executes several unexpected twists and turns and ends on a plaintive jazz horn lament.

More About the Author

After thirty years as a professional musician (piano), Mike Dennis left Key West and moved to Las Vegas in 2006 to become a professional poker player, but turned to writing when his first novel was published.

SETUP ON FRONT STREET is now available in ebook and paperback. It's the first in the Key West Nocturnes series of noir novels which lift the veil on Key West, revealing it as a true noir city, on a par with Los Angeles, New Orleans, or Miami. The next book in the series, THE GHOSTS OF HAVANA, is currently available in ebook and paperback. The third book, MAN-SLAUGHTER, is also available in ebook and paperback. The fourth book, THE GUNS OF MIAMI, will be coming in 2013.

Mike has also begun the Jack Barnett / Las Vegas series, about a reluctant ex-private investigator in Sin City USA. The first two entries in that series, both novelettes called TEMPTATION TOWN and HARD CASH, are now available in ebook and paperback. The third installment, a full novel called THE DOWNTOWN DEAL, is now available in both print and digital.

In addition, Mike has had short stories published in Powder Burn Flash, A Twist Of Noir, Mysterical e, Slow Trains, and the 2009 Wizards Of Words Anthology.

In December 2010, Mike moved back to Key West, where he enjoys year-round island living.

Other titles by Mike Dennis:

THE TAKE / A novel of human desperation, the ebook and paperback are now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble online, Fictionwise, and All Romance.

BLOODSTAINS ON THE WALL / A collection of three short stories from the dark side, the ebook and paperback are now available on Amazon.

CADILLAC'S COMIN' / A hard tale of a one-hit wonder in the early days of rock & roll, the novel is now available in ebook and paperback on Amazon.

BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE EYES / Las Vegas noir short story shows Sin City USA at its darkest. Ebook now available on Amazon.

THE SESSION / A harrowing short story of a man who can't quite grab the brass ring.