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The Poker Club
Four men accidentally kill a burglar while gathered in a lawyer's house. They hide the crime, only to discover the burglar had an accomplice and he proceeds to stalk them, threatening their families.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Ed Gorman
468 books122 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 12, 2022
A fun, creepy read by Gorman, but marred somewhat by having the main characters make too many dubious decisions-- they almost felt like Laymon characters, albeit without the breast fixation. The Poker Club tells the tale of four middle aged buddies who meet once a week or so for some poker. Our lead, Aaron, is hosting this time and he lives in an old Victorian within a gentrifying part of some unnamed, medium sized, midwestern city. One of the players goes to take a leak and encounters someone breaking into the kitchen; a scuffle ensues and they subdue the guy. Aaron wants to call the cops, but some of the others think best to 'sweat him' a bit; in the end, they kill the guy and dump his body in a local river.
Vowing to keep mum about it, they are a little worried as they know the burglar came with a buddy that got away. Soon, their worries come to pass as it becomes apparent that the burglar buddy wants some revenge. Meanwhile, the cops are sniffing around, especially after they find a note with Aaron's address on it on the body they dumped in the river...
What Gorman does really well here is laying bare the worries of the four poker players, much beyond their deed with the body. Three of the characters are lawyers and one a doctor. Yet, they all struggled to get where they are today and are terrified of losing it all. Gorman also does a nice job in ratcheting up the tension as things just seem to go from bad to worse for our protagonists. The tension amongst the protagonists is super also-- the were evenly spilt on calling the cops in the first place or covering the sordid scene up, and this division just worsens as the burglars strike back little by little. The denouement? Meh to say the least. This was pushing 4 stars until the ending, leading me to grant 3 stars, although YMMV. I will say, Gorman's prose is smooth and this is definitely something of a nail biter!
Vowing to keep mum about it, they are a little worried as they know the burglar came with a buddy that got away. Soon, their worries come to pass as it becomes apparent that the burglar buddy wants some revenge. Meanwhile, the cops are sniffing around, especially after they find a note with Aaron's address on it on the body they dumped in the river...
What Gorman does really well here is laying bare the worries of the four poker players, much beyond their deed with the body. Three of the characters are lawyers and one a doctor. Yet, they all struggled to get where they are today and are terrified of losing it all. Gorman also does a nice job in ratcheting up the tension as things just seem to go from bad to worse for our protagonists. The tension amongst the protagonists is super also-- the were evenly spilt on calling the cops in the first place or covering the sordid scene up, and this division just worsens as the burglars strike back little by little. The denouement? Meh to say the least. This was pushing 4 stars until the ending, leading me to grant 3 stars, although YMMV. I will say, Gorman's prose is smooth and this is definitely something of a nail biter!
April 24, 2014
I've read this one long time ago and I managed to forget it sufficiently enough to warrant a reread. Gorman is a very solid writer, the cover praise by Koontz is right on the money, although Koontz wishes he'd write half as well yet is inexplicably infinitely more popular. The main strength of Gorman stories is writing, there is a simple minimal sparsity to it, yet his descriptions are vivid and his characters are well rounded and three dimensional. Another positive is the pacing, the book speeds by, this one took maybe 4 hours at most. Pretty straight forward story of four 40something buddies whose night of poker gets interrupted by a burglar and how that event sends their whole lives spinning out of control. Very entertaining thriller. Recommended.
July 6, 2009
A strong concept is hindered by lackluster execution in this thriller by Ed Gorman. This was originally a short story, and it feels like it -- a very strong opening and several strong sequences are surrounded by lots of padding and repetition.
Gorman's a great writer, and it's a good read, but it never quite comes together the way I felt it should. Read CAGE OF NIGHT or some of his westerns to see what he's like when he's firing on all cylinders!
Gorman's a great writer, and it's a good read, but it never quite comes together the way I felt it should. Read CAGE OF NIGHT or some of his westerns to see what he's like when he's firing on all cylinders!
July 15, 2020
Well written but lost points due to pacing. A good suspense novel that gets off to a great start but wanes somewhere towards the middle. It then races towards an abrupt ending that perhaps pushes the reader to dwell with the consequence of choice and regret.
October 9, 2017
***1/2
Ed Gorman’s “The Poker Club” has the “Leisure Horror” stamp on the spine, but is more of a Dean Koontz-style suspense story. Alan and his three friends meet weekly for poker, and one night accidentally kill an intruder. They aren’t completely innocent; instead of calling the police, they tie up the would-be robber and beat him up a bit. When he tries to escape, he falls, hits his head, and dies on the spot. The four friends dump the body into the river and then cross their fingers.
It's a fast opening, and for most of the book this momentum is kept up. It gets a little repetitious, both in the situations and dialogue between characters, but is mostly well done. I’d nitpick some of the word choices; these, too, get repetitive. But my first impression of Mr. Gorman’s writing is a good one.
Alan and his buddy Curtis are lawyers whose careers will obviously be on the line if word gets out about this accidental homicide. No problem, right? Just keep it quiet. Except that there were two burglars, and the one who got away isn’t just going to disappear quietly. First Alan and his friends receive prank phone calls. Then they start to feel like they’re being followed driving around town. And then an acquaintance of Alan’s is killed. Eventually the Poker Club realizes they’ll need to make some serious decisions.
The book is set firmly in the real world, and there are some interesting dialogues regarding race and class disparity, when Alan and his friends find themselves looking for their tormentor in a run-down part of town. There’s some good suspense and a bit of violence, and lots of heated emotions.
[SPOILER NEXT PARAGRAPH]
However, I hate the epilogue. The whole book we’re constantly reminded that Alan’s life is in jeopardy, and that even if he were to make it out of this situation alive, his career would be ruined and he’d spend years in jail. But then, in the final pages, the friendly officer approaches him and says, basically, “I think you’ll be fine, probation probably. Come on, let’s get you home.” What? Excuse me? It didn’t seem realistic, or in character for the cop, and just overall is too easy.
Ed Gorman’s “The Poker Club” has the “Leisure Horror” stamp on the spine, but is more of a Dean Koontz-style suspense story. Alan and his three friends meet weekly for poker, and one night accidentally kill an intruder. They aren’t completely innocent; instead of calling the police, they tie up the would-be robber and beat him up a bit. When he tries to escape, he falls, hits his head, and dies on the spot. The four friends dump the body into the river and then cross their fingers.
It's a fast opening, and for most of the book this momentum is kept up. It gets a little repetitious, both in the situations and dialogue between characters, but is mostly well done. I’d nitpick some of the word choices; these, too, get repetitive. But my first impression of Mr. Gorman’s writing is a good one.
Alan and his buddy Curtis are lawyers whose careers will obviously be on the line if word gets out about this accidental homicide. No problem, right? Just keep it quiet. Except that there were two burglars, and the one who got away isn’t just going to disappear quietly. First Alan and his friends receive prank phone calls. Then they start to feel like they’re being followed driving around town. And then an acquaintance of Alan’s is killed. Eventually the Poker Club realizes they’ll need to make some serious decisions.
The book is set firmly in the real world, and there are some interesting dialogues regarding race and class disparity, when Alan and his friends find themselves looking for their tormentor in a run-down part of town. There’s some good suspense and a bit of violence, and lots of heated emotions.
[SPOILER NEXT PARAGRAPH]
However, I hate the epilogue. The whole book we’re constantly reminded that Alan’s life is in jeopardy, and that even if he were to make it out of this situation alive, his career would be ruined and he’d spend years in jail. But then, in the final pages, the friendly officer approaches him and says, basically, “I think you’ll be fine, probation probably. Come on, let’s get you home.” What? Excuse me? It didn’t seem realistic, or in character for the cop, and just overall is too easy.
October 13, 2020
While this was a good novel, it didn't pack as much of a punch for me and it could have. Not because of the novel itself but because I read the short story "Out There In The Darkness" which was the basis for this book. The short story is roughly forty pages and covers the same plot and the same twist at the ending. The book is 393 pages with much more characterizations, more events and a more satisfying but not as spooky ending. Bill, Curtis, Neil and Aaron are four friends that get together once a week to play poker. Their game is interrupted by an attempted burglary which goes awry as the friends accidentally kill one of the burglars. Due to a vigilante streak where they were going to torture the burglar, they all decide to not call the cops. Unfortunately this gets used against them by the burglar's partner who is now out for revenge. Other than an occasional mumble on my part of "Just call the cops already.", I didn't have any problems with the book. I kind of wish that I hadn't read the short story so that I could enjoy the novel more, but then I would have wished the same about the novel so that I could have enjoyed the short story. Either way I would recommend reading the book.
April 22, 2018
This turns out to be one of my favorite Ed Gorman books. I thought it had a down beat ending but I like that a lot.
December 6, 2022
A real page turner. I finished in 2 sittings.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews