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Rating: 
Summary: Oh, My Bob!!
Review: How have I lived this long w/o knowing about Gary Phillips?!? These books rock. It's an exploding video happening before your eyes. Only gave this one 4 stars because the second one in this series is even better.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, My Bob!!
Review: How have I lived this long w/o knowing about Gary Phillips?!? These books rock. It's an exploding video happening before your eyes. Only gave this one 4 stars because the second one in this series is even better.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting
Review: I believe readers will enjoy the characters and pacing in this novel of crime and mystery. Please join Martha Chainey, a six foot, brainy, beautiful ex-showgirl who is now a courier for tthe corporate mob in Las Vegas. Some seven million in cash she's transporting is ripped off, and she has less than 72 hours to recover the scratch or her luck runs out.Gary Phillips, author of High Hand
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I really enjoyed Martha Chainey in her role as mob courier and ex-Vegas showgirl. This is a great new character and series.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I really enjoyed Martha Chainey in her role as mob courier and ex-Vegas showgirl. This is a great new character and series.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping start to a new series
Review: Readers who, like myself, have heard good things about Gary Phillips but don't want to commit themselves to reading the four Ivan Monk books should find this a good starting place to sample his work. Former Vegas showgirl Martha Chainey makes an interesting protagonist. She's not a cop, a private eye, or any of the typical mystery heroine professions. Although a courier for the Vegas mob (such as it is in the 21st century), she's also not a crook. She's just a woman doing her job, until events force her to track down thieves and murderers, if only to clear her own name. Mr. Phillips does a great job creating distinctive characters. While some characters are more likeable than others, almost everybody makes an impression. He also evokes a real sense of place in his descriptions. Best of all, he keeps the story moving and the tension high, rarely slowing down, never letting the reader forget that Chainey is working against the clock to save her own life. The book isn't perfect; there are one or two too many coincidences, and sometimes characters' sexual quirks were played so broadly they almost felt gratuitious. And while the main plot is resolved by the end of the book, Phillips does tease his readers with a cliffhanger about future threats to Chainey's life. On the other hand, the main story ends with a stark simplicity that I found refreshing, and I didn't mind the dangling plot threads. Real life never ends neatly, and now I have an excuse to pick up the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent tale
Review: Siblings Frankie and Victoria DeGault, owners of the Riverhead Casino on the Vegas Strip, gives Martha Chainey several million dollars to deliver to a Mill Valley, California address. However, upon arrival, nothing goes right as masked hombres interrupt the exchange killing everyone, but a diving to safety Martha. An irate Frankie accuses Martha of stealing the cash. He gives her three days to recover his money or else. To keep her on the hunt, he sends a lunatic of a thug Baker to watch over Martha. Following the money, Martha traces the robbers to an Indian reservation with a casino located on it. Even with help from a close friend and a mobster, the truth may be out there, but seems one dangerous step away from Martha attaining it and the lost loot. Gary Phillips, author of the superb Ivan Monk novels, successfully switches to a female African-American protagonist. The story line is exciting as readers obtain an in depth look at the black side of Las Vegas. Although some scenes starring Baker seem a bit depraved and profanity is used, for the most part readers will love this tale starring a Cleopatra Jones-like heroine. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: What's next for Martha?
Review: This story of a long-legged ex-showgirl, currently making a living as sub-contracted courier for Las Vegas casino bosses is ...okay. It is fast-paced with a moderate degree of action as the self-reliant protagonist, Martha Chainey, finds herself suspected of having personally engineered the heist of a multi-million dollar package. She has 72 hours to recover the intercepted delivery or suffer the usual and customary consequences for anyone in her line of employment who comes up short. The story has a screenplay feel as Martha scrambles around California locations, Indian Reservations, and the less glamorous sides of Las Vegas in search of the perpetrators while attempting to stay a few steps ahead of the lunatic casino muscle shadowing her every move. In essence, there is not one sympathetic character in the mix of bad guys and "less" bad guys. The sidelight of the competitiveness between traditional casino owners and the Native Americans is an interesting plot line although the Indigenous were a bit too stereotypically stoic for my taste. HIGH HAND is an all right read. There just are not any surprises.
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