The Very Last Gambado [Hardcover]

Jonathan Gash (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1990

By the author of "Jade Woman", this is a novel featuring Lovejoy in an attempt to rob the British Museum.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A gambado is a scam on a magnificent scale, and as such is irresistible to the devious, delightful Lovejoy, Gash's lover/dealer/forger of antiques, whose previous misadventures, criminal and amorous, have been chronicled in Jade Woman , Pearlhanger et al. Hollywood comes to East Anglia as Lovejoy is drawn into a high-paying consulting project for a movie spectacular about a theft from the British Museum. Complications are introduced by an aged Russian countess whose collection of family heirlooms sets Lovejoy's divvying heart a-pounding; by a local heavy reportedly sending containers loaded with antiques to America; by the death of an eminent neighborhood forger; and by the disappearance of a dealer. In irreverent, lively prose, Gash leads Lovejoy through an intricate plot that will challenge even the closest readers. Devoid of compunction or scruple, the appealingly unconventional hero leaps from bed to bed, from scheme to scheme, into a final, highly moral victory complete with shoot-out, smokescreen and resounding defeat for the real bad guys. As always, Lovejoy's calamitous path is strewn with priceless bits of antiques lore.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312051751
• ISBN-13: 978-0312051754
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,604,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart, June 13, 1999

By 

Joseph Furshong - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Very Last Gambado (Lovejoy Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Nicholas Gash is always entertaining but he isn't always informative. Despite best efforts to keep characters straight, track possible motives and alibis and follow a labyrinthine plot, it was still difficult to figure out what the hell was going on. The plot fairly gallops and Lovejoy is truly delightful, but I got a little weary always trying to figure out how things matched up. I will no doubt tackle another Lovejoy soon, but I will need a break before I do so.

5.0 out of 5 stars Do yourself a favor and read this and skip California Game Entirely, June 30, 2006

By 

D. F. Curran "dfcurran" (Missoula, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Very Last Gambado (Lovejoy Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was the next published after Jade woman. Chronologially California Game follows Jade woman as Lovejoy fled Hong Kong in Jade Woman to the USA where he encountered the California Game. The Very Last Gambado is a good book. Do youself a favor and skip California Game entirely. I had been enjoying the Lovejoy series until that awful book that should never have been published.

5.0 out of 5 stars The caper to end all capers!, February 28, 2005

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Very Last Gambado (Lovejoy Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a big, brash Lovejoy caper, and as wonderful as it is, I wouldn't recommend this to be read before any other books in this wonderful series. This book's plot and the huge caper are very complex, and Lovejoy has really bitten off more than he can chew in this one. Lovejoy is recruited to act as a consultant for a film about a robbery from the British Museum. Lovejoy knows all along that he's a pawn in some crook's game, but he can't figure out why they need him. Lovejoy, you're too modest - not only are you a divy, but your reputation preceeds you! Anyway, Lovejoy ends up mixing up with some very bad people, and he even finds himself in between two mob bosses that are after each other's blood. I love all the books in this series, but I would have to say that this particular book is my favourite so far. It is the "very last gambado" (the big score), just as the title states.