The Picasso Flop

by Robert J. Randisi, Vince Van Patten, Vince VanPatten

Book Overview

Van Patten, host of Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, and mystery writer Randisi team up to deliver this first novel in a new fast-paced, high-stakes poker mystery series. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892960701
• ISBN13: 9780892960705
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

A Fun Read

I listened to this book on tape with my fiance and we both loved it. It is a nice, light book that is interesting, has a unexpected ending, and incorporates poker in a great way. I love mysteries and my Fiance loves poker- both of us loved this book.

Fun celebrity poker, serviceable mystery

The story in this book follows the basic conventions of the mystery genre and does an adequate job. Mystery fans with no interest in poker won't hate this book, but it won't make their top ten lists. Some serious poker players will think it emphasizes silly froth over pure poker. I loved this book for the inside jokes about celebrity poker. If you're a fan, there's all kinds of fun detail, carefully-etched portraits and amusing color. If you're not a fan, and don't know any of the people involved, it will seem like shameless plugs for the World Poker Tour with lots of silliness in between the murders. This isn't a book for everyone (as the other reviews clearly show), but if you like this sort of thing, it's a five-star book.

enjoyed it

I enjoyed the story and the Las Vegas setting. I'm not a poker aficianado so the game play could be dead wrong and I wouldn't know it, though I've watched poker tournaments on TV. I did think the name-dropping of "real" players was used too heavily, to the detriment of developing the fictional characters and should have stayed more in the background for flavor.

interesting poker mystery

Having spent the past decade in jail on a manslaughter conviction, poker guru Jimmy Spain is stunned by the changes. Texas hold 'em is all over TV and the Internet, and women and amateurs participate in tournaments in which a zillion play. Prison friend Harold Landrigan worries about his daughter Kat, who dreams of making it big in the poker world though her tournament experience is near zero. Harold hires Jimmy to mentor his twenty-two year old daughter Kat; to do so Jimmy enters the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in which she is a participant. He arranges to meet her and cons her into hiring him to train her. When Jimmy manages to meet Kat he make his mentoring her idea. He also meets Sabine Chevalier, but his plan for her is more personal. When someone murders star Tim Bennett, leaving behind THE PICASSO FLOP (a jack, a queen and a king) Kat and Sabine name Jimmy as their alibi. As others are killed with the same calling cards left at the scene, Las Vegas Police Detective Cooper asks Jimmy, the son of a cop, to conduct a supplemental insider investigation. THE PICASSO FLOP is an interesting poker mystery starring a likable player who is caught between two women, LVPD, and the deadly tournament where someone is not bluffing. The story line is at its best at the card table where the audience will be enthralled while the games are played. The whodunit and Jimmy's background take gallery seats to Texas hold `em as TV poker announcer Vince Van Patten and mystery writer Robert J. Randisi combine to provide a full house. Harriet Klausner

A Winning Hand

Vince Van Patten and Robert J. Randisi launch what will hopefully be the start of a new series with THE PICASSO FLOP. With the Texas Hold'Em and Las Vegas background thrown in, the book delivers a lot of interesting information in an exotic location. Not only that, but there's a murder to solve and an amateur detective that I found easy to root for. Jimmy Spain is an ex-con and professional poker player. Recently released from prison, he's trying to get his life back together and get his poker game back. But an offer from Landrigan, a guy he met in prison, puts Jimmy squarely in harm's way. Landrigan tells Jimmy he'll pay for all his buy-ins at the poker games as long as he watches over Landrigan's estranged daughter, Kat. Kat, however, can't know that her father is involved. Kat is brash and somewhat offensive, everything you might expect a 22-year-old hardcase to be. She's got a definite jones for the poker game and plenty of moxie and enough talent to back it up. But Jimmy really doesn't know that much about her. Only days into the tournament, feeling the effects of his rusty game, Jimmy gets caught up in a murder investigation. One of the prime poker players gets killed and is found with a Picasso Flop, a jack, queen, and king, on his body. The flop is a poker term, and the Picasso part refers to the fact that all the cards are face-cards. Jimmy realizes just how little he knows about Kat when she lies about him and uses him for her alibi during the time of the murder. There was some bad blood between Kat and the dead man, but was it enough to make her kill him? Trapped between his friend, the poker tournament, and a hard-nosed cop who's got it in for him, Jimmy has to cover all the angles just to stay alive. Vince Van Patten is one of the top spokesmen on the Texas Hold'Em scene. As host of World Poker Tonight and a frequent player and commentator on the game, he brings a lot of knowledge and connections to the novel. Robert J. Randisi is an accomplished author with hundreds of books to his credit. Although a little slow going action-wise at first, THE PICASSO FLOP is an excellent read. Randisi's writing is smooth and effortless. Mystery and private-eye fans are going to find a lot to enjoy here. I found myself reading through to the end in a couple sittings. Pick the book up. This one's a sure bet.