DEADLY GAMBLE

Author: Linda Lael Miller ISBN: 037377141X 11/2006 SUSPENSE Publisher: HQN

This game has some very unusual players . . . She’s got an uncanny knack for winning at slots, but her home-sweet-home is Bad-Ass Bert’s Biker Saloon. She’d love to go deep undercover with an irresistible hot cop, but he’s got baggage as big as his biceps. She’s survived a mysterious tragedy, but Mojo Sheepshanks hasn’t quite figured out who she is or how to get on with her life. Now the wisecracking Mojo is seeing ghosts—the real, ectoplasmic kind—and turning up baffling clues to her real identity. Suddenly a wealthy man is claiming to be her long-lost uncle, and she’s being shadowed by an ex-con brother with a talent for killer mind games. As Mojo races to finally uncover the facts, she’ll need all her savvy and strange new talent to keep someone from burying her—and the truth—for keeps.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I'll say one thing: Linda Lael Miller knows how to kick-start a book! DEADLY GAMBLE, the first book in Miller's new romantic thriller series, grabs your attention immediately. Hands down, DEADLY GAMBLE is a terrific book! Starting with the main character, Mojo Sheepshanks, Miller created intriguing characters (whether they be dead or alive), a thrilling mystery, and enough humor, romance and drama to keep her readers glued to the pages of this book!

Mojo Sheepshanks is a pistol. What a likable and sympathetic character. After having survived the brutal murder of her parents by her half-brother and being kidnapped by a neighbor at a young age, to dealing with the death of her ex-husband, Mojo knows how to handle whatever life throws at her. Living above a biker bar now and working as a medical transcriptionist, life is pretty normal—that is, until her dead ex-husband shows up in her bedroom! Let's not forget Mojo's childhood cat that likes to visit her, too, from beyond the grave. But Mojo's ex-husband, Nick, has a mission, and she must put aside any negative feelings she has and trust him.

Mojo's life is about to be turned completely upside down. Not only does she have to deal with her snide uncle, but she also has to deal with the return of her half-brother. Together with her ex-husband and her love interest, Tucker, Mojo is going to have a fight for her life where no one is who they seem to be and where danger is at every turn!

DEADLY GAMBLE is an absolute page-turner! I loved it—the plot, the characters, and the roller coaster of emotions that you will go through while reading this book. I liked this book so much that I will forgive Miller for leaving the book in a cliffhanger that had me yelling, "No, it can't be over!" out loud.

I definitely give Linda Lael Miller's DEADLY GAMBLE a TOP PICK! I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Julie Kornhausl