cover image STRIP POKER: A Sierra Lavotini Mystery

STRIP POKER: A Sierra Lavotini Mystery

Nancy Bartholomew, . . St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95 (276pp) ISBN 978-0-312-26259-4

What a game! (Note the title.) What a dame! Sierra Lavotini, the gutsy, busty, blonde exotic dancer who moonlights as a catcher of bad guys, is back for her fourth raunchy and amusing adventure (after 2000's Film Strip). Sierra, along with her fellow dancers, is out of a job after Vincent Gambuzzo, the dim owner of Tiffany Gentleman's Club, loses it in a poker game. When a gang of hoods bursts into the room to seize the take, in the ensuing fracas one player, Denny, is killed and the bouncer is badly injured. The police, including Sierra's boyfriend, John Nailor, arrest Vincent for murder, since the fatal bullet came from his gun. At Denny's wake, Sierra literally stumbles on another corpse. And so it goes. This girl is a magnet for trouble, as one of her friends points out. But with the help of her familiar supporting cast of characters, notably Raydean, her lovable but certifiable trailer-park neighbor, and Fluffy, her hairless Chihuahua, you can count on Sierra to sort it all out. Sierra displays her usual uninhibited candor and bad grammar, neither of which can be attributed to Sister Frances, a former teacher, whose advice she often gives herself. Sierra and Nailor, now an established couple after a long flirtation, enjoy steamy sex, but unexpected competition enters in the person of "Big Moose" Lavotini, a New Jersey mobster whom Sierra has long claimed sight unseen as her uncle to impress others of his ilk. While the murders are satisfactorily resolved, the author leaves a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up and soon! (Nov. 12)

FYI:Bartholomew is also the author of the Maggie Reid series (Your Cheatin' Heart).