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Nina Reilly's new client ought to be dancing in the streets. She's just won the biggest slot machine jackpot in Lake Tahoe history. But if Jessie Potter claims it, she's putting herself and her little boy in harm's way. Someone's out to get the young woman, and the only one who seems to be on her side is Kenny Leung, an awkward but likable techno-wizard who's about to go bankrupt. Nina comes up with a plan to help Jessie collect her jackpot without revealing her identity to the powerful man who believes she killed his son. But her client's pursuer is already on the sniff. Though he was unable to convince the police to charge her with homicide, he and his sleazy lawyer counter Nina's maneuver by filing a writ of execution that will deprive Jessie of her rightful winnings. And just to thicken the plot, there's someone else threatening Jessie--a very angry man who believes she stole the jackpot that should have been his. He will kill anyone who stands in the way of his claim. Nina may be a crafty lawyer, but she's not quite as deft in juggling her personal and professional lives. Paul van Wagoner, her investigator, isn't happy with their romantic relationship, and Nina herself, still mourning the death of her husband, is reluctant to commit to more than a casual romance. Perri O'Shaughnessy doesn't devote a lot of ink to her heroine's emotional concerns, but she's good at plotting, excellent on the legal maneuvering, and handles her secondary characters well, particularly Leung, whose computer expertise illuminates the technical aspects of slot machine gaming. This is a series that keeps getting better. O'Shaughnessy fans who've stuck with Nina since her somewhat plodding earlier adventures will be glad they stayed the course. --Jane Adams
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