SUCKER BET

Author: Erin McCarthy ISBN: 0425217183 1/2008 PARANORMAL Publisher: BERKLEY

A night of indulgence. Gwenna Carrick is a woman with a history—900 years of it. As the vampiress ex-wife of the notorious vampire Roberto Donatelli, she has to keep a low profile. Not easy when she's bathed in the neon glow of Las Vegas-especially when there's a whole on-line group of vampire slayers bent on dealing her last hand. can feel like an eternity. A wild night with a stranger was not in the cards for Gwenna. But that's exactly what happened when she met the ruggedly handsome detective Nate Thomas. Their passion made her feel.well, alive again. But when Donatelli catches wind of the tryst, he's determined to clean house, with Nate the first on his to-off list. Gwenna knows she hit the jackpot with Nate and won't let her ex stand in the way. But both soon realize they have far more enemies than Donatelli—both on the strip and underground.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Well, I am not sure how the fabulous writing showcased in the book MY IMMORTAL has dumbed down to less-than-stellar writing in SUCKER BET, but it has. Though I am sure fans of the previous books in this Vegas vampire type series will enjoy its slightly funny and touching moments, for me SUCKER BET pales (no pun intended) to McCarthy's MY IMMORTAL offering.

Ditzy, drug-addicted, desperate, and controlling characters are among the main ones making what could be some heavier material and plot, look less heartbreaking than it should. It is as though the book has to be a constant chuckle which does not work when dealing with terrible events. The hero's life-altering traumas are nothing, while the heroine getting drunk and checking out other men's, uh, "units" take center stage. Sure, that part is cute, but when you add in the fact that she just did the dirty with a grieving cop hero and she is supposed to be the gentle, loving, sensitive one of the group, I find it in poor taste.

Well, I am not saying SUCKER BET should be all dark and dreary, but since it includes some of those elements, it should at least pay attention to them, perhaps finding a better balance between the silly stuff and the murders that just appear like fluff for the book. Someone close to the hero passing away and the fact that his life is "changed" without his consent, should have more than two to three not-so-dramatic pages given to it.

Shannon Johnson