Dead Man's Hand - Tapa dura

Taking their inspiration from the card game that's more a way of life than an innocent pastime, fifteen crime-writing aces deliver a royal flush of brand-new poker tales. With contributions from Michael Connelly, Alexander McCall Smith, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Jeffrey Deaver and Peter Robinson, this is the best hand of crime short stories you will ever be dealt. Take Tracy Blitz, golden girl of the poker pros. Some say she could have won the ultimate poker tournament. Now she's dead in her car, and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch is on the case. Perhaps it is a man's game after all? Not according to Mrs Vancalm in Peter Robinson's tale of dangerous ladies - she was conveniently out playing Texas Hold 'Em with her girlfriends while her husband was being beaten to death by a poker. The irony of the weapon choice is not lost on the caustic DCI Banks. Meanwhile, Alexander McCall Smith sends a schoolteacher on a cruise where she will lose more than just her heart, Joyce Carol Oates watches a game of strip poker go very badly wrong, and Sue DeNymme enjoys a hand of “Poker & Shooter” where the ultimate prize is ultimate vengeance… One thing's for sure. Playing poker is a dangerous game.