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

Mike Dennis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product 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.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 193 KB
• Publisher: Mike Dennis (January 15, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006YB65PS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,173 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #21 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Hard-Boiled

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 his second published novel, 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 coming soon.

Mike has also begun the Jack Barnett / Las Vegas series, about a reluctant ex-private investigator in Sin City USA. The first entry in that series, TEMPTATION TOWN, is now available in ebook and paperback..

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, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

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 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Robyn (aka PokerBabe) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: TEMPTATION TOWN (The Jack Barnett / Las Vegas Series) (Kindle Edition)

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 Gritty & Clever - Like turning over a rock, January 17, 2012

By 

Jessica - See all my reviews

This review is from: TEMPTATION TOWN (The Jack Barnett / Las Vegas Series) (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 Raw Vegas, January 17, 2012

By 

Jonathan Woods - See all my reviews

This review is from: TEMPTATION TOWN (The Jack Barnett / Las Vegas Series) (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.