You got to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. Case in point: The original start-off book to this week’s column was going to be Don Von Elsner’s THE JAKE OF DIAMONDS, but I could not make it past chapter two — it was that tedious, and I was even warned that the novel was like a wheelchair in molasses. So decided to go with something we all know and love.

JOKER IN THE DECK by Richard S. Prather — Shell Scott is back is this 1964 novel — one of his “everything’s fun until someone gets killed” adventures. Now this is more like it for a Shell Scott story: It’s light enough with a nice mystery to go along, as Shell is invited over to a friend’s home to watch some movies. Afterward, they decide to play strip poker. But the party is over when it turns out the host’s brother is found dead, killed by a bullet.

Right away things stick in this case, with Shell discovering the victim was a con man who just got out of prison, so he assumes everything is settled. Then he starts digging into the con man’s past, which included purchasing an island off the coast for way too much money. Somehow, a baby food company is tied to it all. The case is a lot larger than expected, with the discovery of an oil gusher on the island and a drug ring operating under the noses of everyone.

Prather keeps it fun — I mean, as much fun as a murder story can be — with Shell falling for a knockout dame who wants to play a game of Eden with her as Eve. To really go into this book would ruin the surprises, with the idea that the bad guy might actually get away with it all. Could it really happen? Quick answer: No. But have fun with the fine mystery.

THE GUNSMITH #23: THE RIVERBOAT GANG by J.R. Roberts — When I think of riverboats, the one thing that comes to my mind is a room full of gamblers playing poker, all wearing cravats and diamond stickpins. Well, that’s exactly what we get at the start of this 1983 GUNSMITH title, with Clint Adams taking a much-needed vacation to New Orleans, figuring he’ll pass some time with some riverboat gambling.

But once in the game, he discovers that one of the players is a card cheat, yet says nothing until another member of the table accuses Clint of cheating. Now, that’s not a bright thing to do — I mean, he’s the Gunsmith and can draw faster than most. The accuser is none other than one of the riverboat’s owners, Roger Lacombe, which stirs up a wasp’s nest of trouble for Clint.

Everything gets smoothed out by the other owner, Roger’s older brother Gaston, who knows who Clint is and offers a job to him as muscle. Clint wants nothing to do with it, even when Gaston tries to use his mistress as enticement. Once in New Orleans, Clint tries to distance himself from these siblings, only to find out they run a syndicate in town. Clint tries to do the right thing by stopping a robbery of an old man who turns out to be a retired judge, but some of the local cops are on the take from the Lacombe brothers. Most can guess where this book is headed: The little guy vs. the big scary syndicate.

There is plenty of action in this book — both kinds, if you catch my drift. Author Roberts — aka Robert J. Randisi — has created a very breezy Western that can be devoured in an afternoon, never taxing the reader with confusing plot points or hidden clues. It’s just straight-up, good vs. bad, with the core being an engaging lead character who always seems to run into problems and willing ladies. I totally regret not having more of these novels in my collection, but they are easy enough to find out there.

LONE STAR #22: AND THE TEXAS GAMBLER by Wesley Ellis — Closing out the column this week is the 1984 return of that redheaded cowgirl Jessica Starbuck and trusted companion Ki. This novel picks right up in the bigger picture of Jessie’s adventures with the secret group that killed her father and is trying to gain control of her vast empire.

People are spreading rumors about Jessie and how she might be dead and how her company is failing. Once she arrives in the East Texas town to meet one of her managers, he is killed off by some of the baddies, with Jessie saved by a gambler named Black Jack Morgan.

Ki gets into his own set of adventures, including getting thrown off of one of Jessie’s own ships. (Wait until you see how she handles that little incident.) Ki teams up with one of the workers to find out what is going on, only to learn it’s a setup that is supposed to kill him. But that won’t stop him, especially when every woman he meets wants to bed him.

While this happens, Jessie gets played for a fool and kidnapped by a group of men who reveal they are part of the European contingent bent on revenge, with a great scheme of having someone double for Jessie to sign over ownership of her company to them.

The LONE STAR books are fun, but this one seems a bit repetitive in the plot department, especially the mechanics of Jessie and Ki always being split up early on, only to meet up again at the climax. But if you spread the reading of them out over a course of a few months, you won’t mind as much. I don’t suggest reading one after another or you might get a sense of déjà vu.

Next time: THE DARK KNIGHT and HELLBOY II? It really is the summer of sequels! —Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.

“The sharp tip of the steel blade struck the apache in the solar plexus and pierced upward into his heart.”
–THE GUNSMITH #23: THE RIVERBOAT GANG by Robert J. Randisi

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF WESLEY ELLIS:
• LONE STAR #35: AND THE BUFFALO HUNTERS by Wesley Ellis

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF RICHARD S. PRATHER:
• DANCE WITH THE DEAD by Richard S. Prather
• THE PEDDLER by Richard S. Prather
• THE SHELL SCOTT SAMPLER by Richard S. Prather
• THE SWEET RIDE by Richard S. Prather
• WAY OF A WANTON by Richard S. Prather

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ROBERT J. RANDISI:
• LONE STAR LAW edited by Robert J. Randisi
• THE PICASSO FLOP by Vince Van Patten and Robert J. Randisi

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF J.R. ROBERTS:
• THE GUNSMITH #128: THE CALIENTE GOLD ROBBERY by J.R. Roberts