Mystery

Another series from this author. Likable and believable characters and a well thought out story.
Very entertaining book. ( )

I enjoyed the 1st instalment of the Aloysius Archer.
Its 1949 not long after World War 2. Archer now finds himself in Reno where he teams up with a lovely young lady called Liberty Callahan, Archer buys a very fancy and unusual car. They make their way to a town in California called Bay town.
Archer gets a job as a Private eye working for a man called Willie Dash.
Liberty gets a job at a local night spot called Midnight Moods.
Willie and Archer are hired by a man called Douglas Kempler who wants to become Mayor. Someone is digging up dirt and making stories up about him.
A few folk turn up dead. The town is owned by Kempster's Father in law Sawyer Armstrong who wants to build a Casino on an island off the coast. He will also kill anyone who gets in his way or tries to come between him and his daughter Beth. It turns out Beth isnt his natural Daughter after all. Beth shoots Sawyer dead as he was going to kill Liberty. OK fast paced book. ( )

Synopsis: 'The 1950s are on the horizon, and Archer is in dire need of a fresh start after a nearly fatal detour in Poca City. So he hops on the bus and begins the long journey out west to California, where rumor has it there is money to be made if you're hard-working, lucky, a criminal - or all three.
Along the way, Archer stops in Reno, where a stroke of fortune delivers him a wad of cash and an eye-popping blood-red 1939 Delahaye convertible - plus a companion for the final leg of the journey, an aspiring actress named Liberty Callahan who is planning to try her luck in Hollywood. But when the two arrive in Bay Town, California, Archer quickly discovers that the hordes of people who flocked there seeking fame and fortune landed in a false paradise that instead caters to their worst addictions and fears.
Archer's first stop is a PI office where he is hoping to apprentice with a legendary private eye and former FBI agent named Willie Dash. He lands the job, and immediately finds himself in the thick of a potential scandal: a blackmail case involving a wealthy, well-connected politician running for mayor that soon spins into something even ore sinister. As bodies begin falling, Archer and Dash must infiltrate the world of brothels, gambling dens, drug operations and long-hidden secrets, descending into the rotten bones of a corrupt town that is selling itself as the promised land - but might actually be the road to perdition...and Archer's final resting place.' From the book jacket
Review: The plot line is really twisted, which makes this interesting. The characters are believable ( )

A Gambling Man is a LA Noir story. It starts off in Reno and then winds up in Southern California. The story is bogged down by itself. The characters are not necessarily likeable or even not likeable. The story is very slow in moving. David Baldacci is an excellent thriller storyteller. There are not many writers in his league which makes it all the more difficult to rate this book only with three stars. Three stars meaning average. ( )