Crown Jewel: A Simon Riske Novel

Early in Thriller Award winner Reich’s entertaining sequel to 2018’s The Take, Lord Toby Stonewall, Duke of Suffolk and shareholder in the Casino de Monte-Carlo in Monaco, approaches professional problem solver Simon Riske in London. Over the past few months, someone has been winning big at the casino’s tables. Nearly $2 million has walked out the door, and the casino is facing bankruptcy. It’s cheating on a massive scale, and Stonewall wants Riske to find out who’s behind the crime. Risk is soon rubbing elbows with the international elite, including a beautiful heiress with deadly troubles of her own. Riske, a former gangster who once served time in prison for theft, is a self-made gentleman whose nefarious skills balance nicely with his now more polished exterior. All his talents come into play in this tale of high-stakes gambling, kidnapping, and murder. Reich infuses his narrative with numerous plot threads that seem separate but end up satisfyingly intersecting for a suspenseful ending. Readers will want to see a lot more of Riske. [em]Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Mar.) [/em]