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Summary
Summary
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas . . .Nikki Tate is infamous, even by Las Vegas standards. Her dad is sitting on death row, convicted of killing his best friend in a gambling dispute turned ugly. And for five years, he's maintained his innocence. But Nikki wants no part of that. She's been working on Operation Escape Vegas: playing in illegal card games so she can save up enough money to get out come graduation day.Then her dad's murder conviction is overturned. The new evidence seems to come out of nowhere and Nikki's life becomes a mess when he's released from prison. Because the dad who comes home is not the dad she remembers. And he's desperately obsessed with finding out who framed him--and why.As her dad digs into the seedy underbelly of Vegas, the past threatens everything and Nikki is drawn into his deadly hunt for the truth. But in the city of sin, some sinners will do anything to keep their secrets, and Nikki soon finds herself playing for the biggest gamble ever--her life.
Author Notes
Lamar Giles is the author of The Getaway ; Spin which was a New York Times Editors' Choice and a YALSA Quick Pick; Overturned , which was also a YALSA Quick Pick; Not So Pure and Simple ; Fake ID , which was an Edgar Award finalist and a YALSA Quick Pick; and Endangered , which was also an Edgar Award finalist. He the editor of the anthology Fresh Ink and has contributed to many other anthologies as well. Lamar is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. He resides in Virginia with his family.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Nikki is her father's daughter. Just like her dad, Nathan "The Broker" Tate, she is focused, strong-willed, and one of the very best poker players in Las Vegas, a city filled with pros. But when Nathan, recently released from death row for a murder he says he didn't commit, is murdered himself, Nikki has to summon all of her inner resources to find out what really happened to her dad. Why was he so obsessed with the new grand casino in town? What is his connection with its infamous owner, "Big" Bert Carlino? And what really happened the night that landed her father in jail? Learning the answers might be a gamble that could cost Nikki her life. The latest book from Edgar Award finalist Giles is just as fast-paced and suspenseful as his previous titles. All of the characters in the diverse cast are well defined and authentic. Those characterizations, and the believable ways in which Nikki interacts with everyone around her, are the novel's greatest strengths. The mystery never feels forced and seems to flow naturally, gaining momentum as Nikki peels away each layer until everything is ultimately revealed. One slight quibble: some of the poker descriptions don't seem accurate, but these would likely be caught only by someone with poker experience and won't derail the story. VERDICT A fast-paced, compelling mystery and memorable characters and relationships make this selection a first choice for most YA collections.-Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Famed poker player Nathan "the Broker" Tate is back in Las Vegas and free from death row after fresh evidence overturns a wrongful murder conviction. When he winds up dead outside his casino, his 16-year-old daughter, Nikki, already responsible for running the business and carrying on his legacy at the card table, starts doing some detective work in order to bring his killer to justice. High-stakes gambling, low-level espionage, and more typical high school concerns intersect, though the talk of football rivalries and choosing colleges can sometimes feel out of place against the deadly serious backdrop. Giles (Endangered) excels at pulpy crime drama, including a romance with a wealthy casino heir, scattering a trail of clues and bluffs to keep readers guessing. Racial elements at play-the Tates are black while their rivals, the Carlinos, are white-hover in the background, adding another layer to Giles's murder mystery. Nikki's sharp observations and self-deprecating sense of humor lighten the overall mood of this dark and twisty thriller. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Nikki Tate's father, wrongly convicted of murder over a gambling dispute, is now out of prison and intent on finding the real killer. The African American teenager quickly becomes entangled in the mystery herself and delves into the sinister underbelly of the Las Vegas gambling scene. A layered crime drama with compelling main and secondary characters; the well-paced mystery plot will keep readers turning pages. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A fast-paced mystery uncovers a truth hidden by the bright lights of Las Vegas.To bankroll her future escape from Las Vegas, Nikki plays illegal poker games, using her natural skill and training from her father, Nathan "The Broker" Tate. Those skills also help her run the family's failing casino, which languishes because her father is on death row for murdering his business associate. After five years, though, her father's convictionlike so many other black men, he's found to be wrongfully convictedis overturned and he returns home. Nathan is determined to reveal who framed him, only to quickly end up dead. So Nikki takes up her father's quest and tries to untangle the mystery. Even her blossoming relationship with Davis Carlinoson of local magnate Bertram "Big Bert" Carlinowon't get in the way of finding the truth. Then Nikki discovers how Big Bert and her father are connectedand that Davis could be part of it, too. Is Nikki about to become another Vegas cautionary tale? Nikki is a totally appealing character: gutsy, practical, and strong, at the head of a cast of well-drawn supporting characters. The interracial romance between Nikki and Davis, who is white, is handled deftly, as is Giles' skillful evocation of the townies-vs.-tourists nature of Las Vegas. An utterly compelling whodunit. (Mystery. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
If she knows anything, Vegas native Nikki Tate knows cards. She's trying to earn enough money to escape Vegas after high school, and she comes by the trade honestly: her casino-owning father, Nathan Tate, was a big deal, until he was convicted of murder five years ago. Now, though, that conviction has been overturned, and Nathan Tate joins a long line of wrongly convicted black men. But the man who returns is not the father Nikki remembers, and the circumstances surrounding the murder he was imprisoned for have not disappeared. As Nathan digs into the past, Nikki, too, becomes more entangled in Vegas' seedy underbelly, and the stakes are higher than she's used to. Giles deftly imagines the tense, sinister atmosphere of underground Vegas, while grappling with the issue of race in the justice system. Nikki's friendships and burgeoning relationship with the son of a rival casino titan are three-dimensional, and she herself is a tough-talking, sometimes impulsive heroine who's smart even when she's scared. A fast-paced, endlessly intriguing mystery.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist