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Otto Penzler comments in the introduction to his latest anthology of short stories about how no one has come up with a good book of stories involving the game of poker. Well, in this particular case he outdid himself by bringing together some of the most popular and best mystery novelists publishing today. Not only that, but each author brings some of their best work to the short story format. The one thing that connects all these stories is the game of poker. It is a game of risk, a game of bluffs, and one that could turn you into a king one day and a pauper the next. It is also a game of wills – one that can make or break you and that is reflected in some of these stories. Two that stand out, in that regard, are Laura Lippman’s Hardly Know Her and Joyce Carol Oates’ Strip Poker. Both of these stories have a female protagonist who is shown as a weakling but throughout the stories they start showing their mental strength and changing the way they perceive themselves. Though it also goes the other way with Alexander McCall Smith’s In the Eyes of Children where a teacher chaperoning a group of students in a cruise ship is taken for a ride by a crewmember with a game of poker. DEAD MAN’S HAND also marks the return of two beloved series characters with their own poker-related story: Michael Connelly’s Detective Harry Bosch in One-Dollar Jackpot and Peter Robinson’s Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks in The Eastvale Ladies’ Poker Circle. Both of these stories show these characters at their most clever, so if you haven’t read any of their books before you might want to after this. There are no bad stories in the bunch. All of them provide an interesting take to an old game, but most importantly a fun story. Short stories are a good way to become familiar with new authors. DEAD MAN’S HAND is writing at its best.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, December 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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