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A Hazard of Losers
Private Investigator J. Pletcher is hired by casino owners in Las Vegas to find the culprits responsible for rigging the Keno games and murdering an employee at one of the casinos
- GenresMystery
388 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1995
About the author
Lloyd Biggle Jr.
132 books27 followersBiggle was born in 1923 in Waterloo, Iowa. He served in World War II as a communications sergeant in a rifle company of the 102nd Infantry Division; during the war, he was wounded twice. His second wound, a shrapnel wound in his leg received near the Elbe River at the end of the war, left him disabled for life.
After the war, Biggle resumed his education. He received an A.B. Degree with High Distinction from Wayne State University and M.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. Biggle taught at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University in the 1950s. He began writing professionally in 1955 and became a full-time writer with the publication of his novel, All the Colors of Darkness in 1963; he continued in the writing profession until his death.
After the war, Biggle resumed his education. He received an A.B. Degree with High Distinction from Wayne State University and M.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. Biggle taught at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University in the 1950s. He began writing professionally in 1955 and became a full-time writer with the publication of his novel, All the Colors of Darkness in 1963; he continued in the writing profession until his death.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 31, 2020
Lloyd Biggle, Jr. is primarily known for science fiction, but he has also written a few mysteries. A Hazard of Losers is the second in his Brown Bag Mystery series. (The author's SF proclivities show up in the very first paragraph of the novel, in which the protagonist is reading The City and the Stars, by Arthur C. Clarke.) I've greatly enjoyed his science fiction writing, so was primed to read some of Biggle's other work.
J. Fletcher ("J" being the investigator's constantly-changing first name) works for Lambert & Associates, owned and operated by petite, beautiful Raina Lambert. Fletcher is called upon to solve the mystery of a scam at the Diamond D's casino involving the tilting of odds at the game of Keno. The casino owner is concerned about irregular, but large payouts in the supposedly foolproof game, and has hired the investigators to learn how this is being accomplished.
Soon after arriving, he stumbles across the body of his casino contact; a man named Harley Dantzil, which suddenly adds the complication of a murder investigation. Fletcher and his boss Raina work closely with the police to solve the two mysteries.
It's evident that Biggle had done a great deal of research into Vegas life, both on and off the strip. I've only been to the city once, but the settings and ambience ring true to my ear. The writing is somewhat dry emotionally, but does not hurt the plot since this is largely an exercise in solving logical puzzles. There were lots of complications that prevent the reader from figuring out the culprits too soon, but overall I enjoyed the book, and plan to read the first one in the series at a later date. (The works of the author are hard to find these days, but most of them are stored in ebook format at the Internet Archive.)
J. Fletcher ("J" being the investigator's constantly-changing first name) works for Lambert & Associates, owned and operated by petite, beautiful Raina Lambert. Fletcher is called upon to solve the mystery of a scam at the Diamond D's casino involving the tilting of odds at the game of Keno. The casino owner is concerned about irregular, but large payouts in the supposedly foolproof game, and has hired the investigators to learn how this is being accomplished.
Soon after arriving, he stumbles across the body of his casino contact; a man named Harley Dantzil, which suddenly adds the complication of a murder investigation. Fletcher and his boss Raina work closely with the police to solve the two mysteries.
It's evident that Biggle had done a great deal of research into Vegas life, both on and off the strip. I've only been to the city once, but the settings and ambience ring true to my ear. The writing is somewhat dry emotionally, but does not hurt the plot since this is largely an exercise in solving logical puzzles. There were lots of complications that prevent the reader from figuring out the culprits too soon, but overall I enjoyed the book, and plan to read the first one in the series at a later date. (The works of the author are hard to find these days, but most of them are stored in ebook format at the Internet Archive.)
September 16, 2008
An excellent mystery where the Las Vegas Double D Casino is suffering from a Keno-rigging scheme tipping the odds so the casino is losing money. The casino owner hires Raina Lambert's firm to find the scam operators. J. Pletcher arrives and begins working to find a body of one of the casino's employees, Harley Danzig.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews