cover image Fortune

Fortune

Paul Loup Sulitzer. L. Stuart, $15.95 (276pp) ISBN 978-0-8184-0446-7

What happens when Sulitzer's endearingly short hero Franz Cimballi (star of Cash and Money) gets a chance to pay $30 million for a decaying hotel in Atlantic City? Maintaining his relentless pace, Cimballi interrupts these negotiations to rescue his kidnapped friend Hassan Fezzali with a hefty ransom that includes a massive shipment of ice cream. The release will benefit Cimballi in the hotel deal, but he now runs afoul of mobster owners, the Caltani brothers, and their sinister consigliere Olliphan. The global ramifications of finance are clear. Along comes tiny Tyrolean Heidi, who tells Cimballi that his free-wheeling has deprived her blond sisters of their income. The plot whirls on, jetting Cimballi between Las Vegas and New York (with a rapid tour of the sights). In Macao, gorgeous businesswoman Miranda and her female bodyguards try to befuddle the hero. Then there's a Capetown interlude where he gets an offer to scatter casinos in the Bophuthatswana homelands. Sulitzer provides insider lore seasoned wth whimsy, e.g., pointers on outfitting a casino with a nuclear shelter so that choice clients can keep gambling. Lighthearted entertainment, Fortune careens headlong at a breathless tempo. (October 19)