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Casino Queen (Night Hawk #1)

by Cara Bertoia (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in February 2022

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Robert said: " There are two things I really look for in a good read, first I want to go inside a world that’s unknown to me. Next. I want to be surprised when I finally get to the part where the “who done it” is revealed. Casino Queen hit it for me on both points There are two things I really look for in a good read, first I want to go inside a world that’s unknown to me. Next. I want to be surprised when I finally get to the part where the “who done it” is revealed. Casino Queen hit it for me on both points and one more. I love Palm Springs California the setting for the story. For over a decade I attended the Palm Beach film festival and saw a lot of films and even more celebrities, writers, directors and artists of all types. While I was there I frequented a casinos run by the Aqua Caliente tribe, who I assume is the basis for the Shotowa tribe in the book. This brought the reading experience close to home for me. But make no mistake if you haven't been to Palm Springs the authors descriptions of the area will make you feel like you have already been.

As I’ve walked through casinos I have always felt like an outsider, I feel it’s not really my territory, no matter how hospitable the casino staff try to be and how exuberant the greeters are I know that there is more than meets the eye. Clearly there is something I don’t know or I’m not supposed to know behind that velvet rope or dark curtain. But Cara Bartoia brought me in, showed me the back rooms, the rooms which no one is supposed to be in or see. The many layers of security and scrutiny that are set up to protect the casinos’ profits from not only the players but from the staff as well. The reader sees It’s a world that’s built on trust where no one is actually trusted. As the story unfolds it becomes clear that this lack of trust does not end at the walls of the Night Hawk Casino.

Simultaneously as the reader starts to grasp the inner workings of the gaming industry the door to another world opens. The relationship of the Native American community to almost all forms of gambling. We all know that Native Americans own and run casinos but have you ever seen the tribe as a literal, related by blood family where it’s head must possess the managerial skills of a Fortune 500 CEO combined with the emotional intelligence to successfully navigate the needs, wants, and expectations of hundreds of unique personalities? After meeting John Tovar, the chief of the Shotowa Tribe we see how those often conflicting tasks are expertly accomplished.

Besides the chief all the other main characters are fleshed out. The amiable Irishman, who everyone trusts and are comfortable in his presence, maybe a bit too comfortable. the Tovar twins, cousins to the chief, who are in a position of trust, but can they really be trusted? An absentee husband, who could be a trusted life partner, or maybe not. Not everyone is who they seem and every time you think you know where the story is going you will be lead some where you never expected, you will be surprised.

Last but certainly not least is Caroline Popov, the Casio Queen. Caroline introduces us to the characters who frequent the casino and she does it by humanizing them. She shows us how these people consider the Night Hawk a second home, she gives us their back stories, some touching, some tragic but always engaging. The industry is seen through her eyes and we may learn more that we should about how an enjoyable diversion for most, an obsession for many can turn deadly for her. That’s the starting off point for the “who done it”. Murder, mayhem, treachery, betrayal, it’s all at the Night Hawk. I rate it five stars, straight flush, four bars, Twenty- One, cash in your chips and buy the book. ...more "

progress:

(100%)
— Feb 08, 2022 03:19PM

Feb 08, 2022 03:33PM · see review