Book Review: Murder in Vegas

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

Murder in Vegas     Amazon US PB Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Michael Connelly
Class/Genre:   Mystery   [Short Stories]
Forge; $34.95 hardcover; 351 pages

Las Vegas. Lost Wages. Sin City. There’s a reason the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is set in this desert city, and it’s not the scenery. Las Vegas is the gambling capital of America, where everyone hopes to win big and only a very few do. More lose big. Some even pay the ultimate price.

In this collection of 22 short stories from the International Association of Crime Writers, edited by New York Times best-selling author Michael Connelly, you’ll encounter a birdwatcher who puts her life on the line to save an endangered raptor from Mob killers; an armoured car driver who pulls off the ultimate heist and manages to ruin her bigoted colleague’s perfect record; and a couple who find themselves accidentally on the wrong side of the law when they find a metal box in the desert.

I’d never heard of most of the authors in this anthology. Only a few were familiar names, like Lise McClendon, S. J. Rozan, and Rick Mofina, but I hadn’t read much from them; in some cases, I hadn’t read any of their work at all. Sometimes reading a collection of short stories is a gamble all in itself. Sometimes, it’s seven-come-eleven; other times, it’s snake-eyes. In this case, though, there’s not much chance of crapping out.

Catherine Thompson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM