Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Temptation, peril, and dirty poker.

Love is a high-stakes game.

When Collin Callahan, British secret agent, goes up against math genius turned surfer bum Oliver Elliot, the battle is epic—and so is the attraction. They’re pitted against each other in an exclusive, ultra-secret—and ultra-illegal—poker match in Gibraltar, but when players start dying and they could be next, they find a common goal: catch the killer before it’s too late.

Evenly matched at poker and romance, they each wrestle personal demons that threaten to consume them as the stakes climb. It’s an all-or-nothing gamble with both life and love on the line as they fight to be the last seven-card studs standing.

 

 

First edition published as Seven-Card Stud by Ava Drake by Dreamspinner Press, November 2016.

Book Review

Danger, Danger, and more Danger… that is what you get when you read this book. How a poker tournament turns into one murder after the next is what both of the main characters are trying to figure out. Not to mention staying alive long enough to hopefully get to the end of the tournament and find out exactly what the payout will be, since that seems to be some kind of big mystery in and of itself.

Oliver, in my opinion, is just too smart for his own good. He acts like a dumb beach bum who only enjoys to surf, but that is so far from the truth that I began to wonder if Oliver even realizes he is as smart as he is at some points. But when it comes to poker and math, it is truly hard for Oliver to hide behind the beach bum personality because he is truly a genius when it comes to cards.

When Collin tries to rescue Oliver from the freezing cold water after it looks like he has been run over by a jet sky, their worlds as they know them will never be the same. It is definitely not love at first sight for either of them but there is certainly a heavy amount of lust between them.

Colin knows it is not smart getting involved with anyone at this tournament, especially since he is undercover to try to find out who is behind the tournament and what the prize is for his employers at Wild Card Inc. But there is something that keeps bringing these two men together and as the bodies start to pile up they decide to work together to not only try to figure out who is behind the murders but also they work together to try to keep each other and themselves alive.

The closer they come to figuring out who is behind the murders and the tournament the more danger they are both in. When everything is finally revealed to them one of them will not walk away with his life and both men will forever be changed.

This book is what I would consider an action-packed mystery. Not only does that make this book good but the relationship that developed between these two men was incredible. Coming together as complete strangers in a dangerous situation to find the person who is able to break through the walls that they each had built up around their heart is an incredible story. I love reading books about two people finding each other when they least expect it and having lust turn into love.

I cannot wait for the next book to come out. This book left me anticipating more from the ‘Stud Games’ series.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 204 pages/72277 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	14-July-2020
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/dead-mans-hand-by-cindy-dees-11680-b