Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die: A Rat Pack Mystery

by Robert J. Randisi

Book Overview

Six months ago, while they were filming Oceans 11, the Rat Pack needed Eddie Gianellis help to track down the mug who was sending threatening letters to Dean Martin. Now theyre back for the premiere and its Frank Sinatra who needs Eddies help.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312360436
• ISBN13: 9780312360436
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

"Women are meaner than men, Mr. G."

Las Vegas, 1960. The Sands Hotel. The Rat Pack's in town to attend the premier of "Oceans Eleven." Frank's latest squeeze, Mary Clarke, disappears. Hoping to find her, he turns to his friend, Eddie Gianelli, who has all of Vegas wired. As soon as Eddie G. starts looking for Mary, he finds a trail of fresh blood with dead clydes strewn all along it like mile markers. He also finds Mary's sister, Lily, and finds himself in the middle of a---how shall we say it?---a small but pungent disagreement between mob boss Sam Giancana and a low-level soldier on his payroll. The wisecracks fly as fast as the bullets in this novel, which, like Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (Rat Pack Mysteries) is paced about as fast as a blackjack dealer's hands. Once again, Robert Randisi has written a noir light tale of murder, mystery and mayhem, this time centered around the darker side of life in that fondly-remembered Las Vegas of times gone by (CSI, eat yer heart out!) and The Chairman of The Board's legendary weakness for beautiful women. That was the world that was. Great beach reading, LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE never slows, and it never loses your interest either. With chapters as short as one page, Randisi tells his story in full-color live-action snapshots, and the only failing of this book is that it ends before you want it to. And that's the sign of A REALLY GOOD BOOK, pallie.

LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE by Robert J. Randisi

Robert J. Randisi is one of the hardest working writers currently producing and his work is reliably entertaining, action-packed, and good fun. He has written a broad variety of popular fiction over his twenty-five year career--Westerns, mystery, action, and even horror. He reintroduced me to the Western early in the twenty-first century with his fine novel MIRACLE OF THE JACAL and downright wowed me with his police procedural ALONE WITH THE DEAD, the first of his impressive Joe Keough series, and now he's at his best with the latest Rat Pack novel, LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE. LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE opens six months after the filming of the original Ocean's Eleven. Eddie Gianelli--Eddie G to his friends--is back at his post as a Sands pit boss when he learns his new friends, the Rat Pack, are expected back in town for the premier of the film. Eddie isn't expecting much so when Dean Martin summons him, Eddie is pleasantly surprised; and even more surprised when Martin asks him to help Frank with a problem. His new paramour, who was supposed to meet him in Vegas, has disappeared. Frank assigns New York heavy Jerry Epstein to watch Eddie's back again, and with good reason, because it doesn't take long for the body-count to rise and for Eddie to realize things are going to get a little personal. LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE is a terrific private-eye novel--Eddie G is a likable, hip, sarcastic, and tough protagonist. The supporting cast is strong. The New York import, Jerry Epstein--don't call him torpedo--is perfect. He brings a straight-faced humor to the story that elevates it well beyond the usual. And his appetite for pancakes and playing the horses is seemingly endless; in a good way. The background characters--the Rat Pack, Sam Giancana, Jack Entratter--help create the glitzy, cool atmosphere of 1960s Vegas; you know, before it was dummed-down to Disneyland in the desert. The mystery is top-notch and there is more than one kink in the final pages. The reader, as well as Eddie G and his small gang, are in the dark until Randisi expertly reveals the intrigue. LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE is Randisi's best work since the Joe Keough novels, and if you like American-style mysteries, hip private eye stories, or just an entertaining and enjoyable read you can't do much better. And I hope Randisi has plans for one or two more of these. Ben Boulden, Gravetapping

A super fun read by a fire or at beach

Hey pallies! Robert J. Randisi is back with the second in the Rat Pack Mysteries, Luck Be A Lady, Don't Die. The boys (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop) are back in Sin City for the premier of their first movie together, Ocean's 11. Dean's already arrived and is playing the Copa Room. Joey's in town get things ready, while Sammy, Peter, and Frank sneak in the front door via limos with tinted windows and a little hush money. Sinatra has been stood up by a dame-and nobody stands up Sinatra. It's Dean's turn to help his pally, Frank, so Dean sends Eddie to see Frank and Frank asks Eddie G.--who is the Sands' pit boss and the most wired cat in Vegas--to help find the missing broad, who also happens to be canoodling mob boss Sam "MoMo" Giacomo. First stop, home. Here Eddie G. finds a present from Dean- a New York muscle man Jerry Epstein, a.k.a. Jerry the Torpedo. Jerry is to stick by Eddie G. no matter what. Mainly because he's also protecting Mr. S's interests but after awhile, Jerry's also watches Eddie G.'s back because he and the two men become friends. Luck Be A Lady, Don't Die explores the theme of friendships and loyalties, whether Randisi meant to or not. The dame who stood up Ol' Blue Eyes checked in at the Nugget so as not to draw too much attention to Frankie's oh-so-public affair with Juliet Prowse and his torch for Ava Gardner. But, by the time Eddie G., Jerry, and Eddie G.'s PI buddy Danny Bardini get there, she's long gone, leaving her unpacked bags in her hotel room and a little present in the bathtub. Eddie G. unravels the case of the missing dame, which is a lot more complex than not wanting to date the charming Mr. S. Like Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime, Luck Be A Lady, Don't Die is a, to quote myself, "wonderful take-me-to-the-pool read that sure to bring smiles to those old enough to remember the Pack's antics and a history of those hard partying days and nights." Armchair Interviews agrees.

homage to the Rat Pack

In 1960 during the filming of Ocean's 11, Sands casino pit boss Eddie Gianelli helped Dean Martin with a problem (see EVERYBODY KILLS SOMEBODY SOMETIME). So when the leader of the Rat Pack, Frank Sinatra tells Dino he has a problem, Dino suggests Eddie. Frank explains to Eddie he has a female problem that has nothing to do with the two women the press connects him with. He asks Eddie to help him, but the pit boss cannot fathom what Frank is saying about the dames until finally he says the lady in question has vanished. Gianelli and his New York protector, Jerry Epstein search for the missing female as someone is bumping off people connected to the Rat Pack; Epstein assumes Mafia Don Sam Giancana is involved as money is the root of a potential gang war between the mob and the pack. The key to the second Rat Pack crime caper is Robert J. Randisi's adoring homage of the members while also bringing them to life especially Frank this time. The story line is fast-paced while enabling the readers to meet the Rats up front and personal even as the original Ocean's 11 film is about to hit the big screen and an apparent mob war between a gang that uses real bullets and a group that uses Hollywood glitter seems imminent. The mystery is light but fun as it is more a mechanism for the readers to meet the rat Pack so that baby boomers and other fans of the recent Ocean's movies will enjoy LUCK BE A LADY, DON'T DIE. Harriet Klausner