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Summary: Dice Angel
Review: Highly entertaining! A must for anyone who has been to Las Vegas.
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Summary: Great writing, characters--Las Vegas comes alive
Review: James Delaney, Jr. better known as Jimmy D, owns a successful bar in Las Vegas, has a great relationship with his young daughter, and thinks he has his drinking and gambling problems under control. But when a break-in at the bar turns into something more serious, everything begins to unravel. The bar has been looted, the IRS is after Jimmy for more than he can possibly afford, and the IRS lien on the business means he can't even borrow against it. Drinking starts to look more atractive. But gambling isn't an option--Jimmy has learned one thing for sure, he has no luck on the gambling tables of Las Vegas. Even when a homeless friend gives him the battered business card of Amaris, the 'Dice Angel,' Jimmy has learned how to say know. Gambling nearly ruined his life and cost him his marriage. But what other options can he pursue? Author Brian Rouff delivers a truly fine read in DICE ANGEL. Jimmy comes off as real and human, battling his problems, the IRS bureaucracy, and himself as he gets more and more deeply into trouble. Rouff does a good job letting Jimmy get close to a solution, only to see it twist away before he can grasp it. Jimmy's relationships with his daughter, his employees, and eventually with Amaris too are human and enjoyable. Rouff has a good feel for Las Vegas and the people who make it their home. For them, and for those of us reading DICE ANGEL, Las Vegas comes alive in a very real way. I enjoyed DICE ANGEL a lot and recommend it without hesitation.
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Summary: A Spectacular First Novel
Review: Brian Rouff has hit a home run in his first time at bat with "Dice Angel," a tight tale of a Las Vegas saloon keeper whose luck turns in a couple of cleverly constructed twists. This book is a real page-turner, informed by the author's 20 years in Las Vegas. I've been there and everything about the characters and settings rings true. If the major publishers are even half bright, they'll beat a path to Rouff's door and duke it out for his next effort. Honestly, folks, Las Vegas isn't on my Favorite Places list and I started this book with a chip on my shoulder. I ended it with a smile and a desire to see what Rouff gives us next.
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Summary: Delightful!
Review: Some writers labor over their work and the results are not always the best. Author Rouff may or may not have labored over Dice Angel but the end result is seamless, smooth and wonderfully good-natured. It's laugh-out-loud funny in spots and an altogether entertaining book with likeable, well-wrought characters, and no excess flab. Some writers take to the medium naturally and their work has a flow to it that effortlessly carries the reader along. Rouff is a natural and this is one of the more enjoyable books I've read lately. Noteworthy is the superior editing with only a couple of typos. I can only hope that this is the beginning either of a series featuring Jimmy Delaney or a long, productive career for Brian Rouff.
Highly recommended.
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Summary: Dialog sparkles as tension deepens. Great story!
Review: Brian Rouff, the author of this tightly constructed, fast paced novel set in Las Vegas really knows his craft. I was not only swept into the story immediately, but once hooked, I couldn't put the book down. It's all about guy named Jimmy Delaney who owns a saloon in Las Vegas. He's about to lose his business though, and has to come up with $50,000 fast. He's someone we all can identify with as he copes the best he can. His style to keep cracking wisecracks. The dialog sparkles and, as the tension deepened, I couldn't help laughing out loud at some of the jokes. The characters are well drawn with just a few simple words and come alive on the page. They're all people I've met somewhere along the way and each moves the story forward. There's ongoing conflict with his ex-wife and ongoing love for his 7-year old daughter. There's his seemingly upstanding brother-in-law accountant who has disappeared with all of his money. There's an IRS agent with an agenda of his own, a cop friend who knows how to get information on anyone, and a homeless guy who hangs around the bar. But most of all, there's the "Dice Angel", a middle-aged woman with a shady past who guarantees she can help Jimmy win at the craps table. This book took my out of my own little world and plunked me down right in the middle of Las Vegas. I got so caught up in Jimmy's predicament that I kept turning the pages faster and fast. And, as the story sped through the Las Vegas casinos and then added even more complications, I literally could not put the book down. I reached the arc in the story as I was traveling on a New York City bus moving slowly through snow filled streets. When it came to my bus stop, I had just a few pages to go. Believe it or not I stood on the street with icy slush all around me and finished it standing up. I read a lot, but this was a first for me. This is Mr. Rouff's first book. I am sure there will be more. He's just has too much talent to let his finely tuned craftsmanship go to waste. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Entertaining & oh-so true!
Review: DICE ANGEL is one weird, funny & hair-raising read! Written with an immediacy that mimics the feelings you too would get were your telephone to ring at 3 in the morning with a police officer on the other end, telling you your place of business had just been burglarized...again! Good dialogue, enthralling momentum, & some hilarious scenes & jokes, makes DICE ANGEL a lively, entertaining read & an interesting mini-vacation on the sands of Sodom & Gomorrah complete with appropriate language & misery! Great fun! Memorable!
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Summary: It was OK
Review: I've just finished the book (finally...it had been on my reading list for some time), and also finished with amazement, looking at all the impressive reviews for the book. Clearly, I must have read a different book! Though the book is well written, it's my belief that it would have been much better suited for one of those short story Vegas anthologies (which are great). The book's an OK read, but the competition for Vegas fiction isn't exactly rich in variety. This explains why most of the books relating to the Vegas and gambling genres are of the non-fiction variety -- the non-fiction is so amazing, it's hard to beat with trite fiction. I digress...anyway, the story is a good one, with some very good flashes of humor and interest, but ultimately, it's all rather circumstantial. There simply wasn't enough of the title's name sake, or subject present throughout the book (the title has a hook as do most); not enough of the Vegas or gambling action I crave when I read a novel about what's obviously going to be a man faced with a Craps table at some point. The other reviews do describe the book well. It's just that for me, I expected/hoped for more of an exploration of the Vegas lifestyle, the locale, the great characters around Vegas, the game of Craps (after all, it's called Dice Angel), gamblers, and some of the other amazing qualities which characterize Las Vegas life. Perhaps my own vision of Las Vegas life has been somewhat tainted. Finally, I would say to save your pennies for Brian Rouff's next effort (should one be in the works), as I'm certain it will be significantly improved.
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Summary: Fastest Read in the West!
Review: I had read all of the wonderful reviews on this book, and thought I would buy it myself. "Dice Angel" is so much fun. I extended my bedtime deep into the night to get through it. And when it was over, I wanted to find more books by the author. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any. It's a great book!
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Summary: A real winner and page turner, I couldn't put it down.
Review: I can't recommend this book enough. A great piece of Vegas fiction with interesting characters and an entertaining story line. I only wish it would have lasted longer. Thanks for the super book Brian and I hope you're working on another.
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Summary: WHAT A PAGE TURNER
Review: I didn't feel like I was reading a book, I felt like I was a part of Jimmy's life going though the events that made up his days. I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns in this book and amazed that the fictional characters resemble those that we all seem to know in real life(exect the diva). This is a must read for anyone that loves vegas, suspense and the luck of the tables. My only complaint is that the book was over before I was ready to say goodbye to the characters and Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to the next novel....this was a great read!
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