The Only Girl in the Game

By John D. MacDonald

Book Overview

Her employers are the high priests of the great gambling mecca in the desert-and she is their handmaiden. Her job is to lead the lambs to the sacrifice, to keep them happy at the tables, where her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000EVKHYO
• Release Date: January 1960
• Publisher: Gold Medal
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Broken Dreams.

This pre-Travis McGee John D. MacDonald novel is undeniably compelling as it describes a mob controlled Las Vegas where corruption permeates each and every aspect of the gaming and entertainment industries that together go to make up the city's life's blood. The novel's protagonist is Hugh Darren, an up and coming assistant hotel manager, through whose eyes the reader learns the harsh facts of life about Las Vegas. It's an unforgiving place that, given half a chance, will corrupt and destroy. The Only Girl in the Game is most definitely not a book the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce would want you to read. There are a number of well fleshed out and believable characters and two major subplots both of which involve individuals close to Hugh Darren. Both subplots are hard edged and intriguing. In neither case does MacDonald pull a single punch. The Only Girl in the Game is a viscerally engaging page turner of a novel. Highly recommended.

Broken Dreams.

This pre-Travis McGee John D. MacDonald novel is undeniably compelling as it describes a mob controlled Las Vegas where corruption permeates each and every aspect of the gaming and entertainment industries that together go to make up the city's life's blood. The novel's protagonist is Hugh Darren, an up and coming assistant hotel manager, through whose eyes the reader learns the harsh facts of life about Las Vegas. It's an unforgiving place that, given half a chance, will indiscrimanently corrupt and destroy. The Only Girl in the Game is most definitely not a book the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce would want you to read. There are a number of well fleshed out and believable characters and two major subplots both of which involve individuals close to Hugh Darren. One of these subplots gets resolved three quarters of the way through The Only Girl in the Game, while the other plays out all the way to the bitter end. Both subplots are hard edged and intriguing. In neither case does MacDonald pull a single punch. The Only Girl in the Game is a viscerally engaging page turner of a novel. Highly recommended.

the best writer of the genre

Agree with above comments. This is typically plot-driven, expertly written j.d. macdonald. Most of his work is of this quality; a rare few are a little disappointing; and then there are the cream of the crop. For those interested, I most recommend, of course, the Travis McGee series. Read them in order, starting with The Deep Blue Goodbye. The Green Ripper was my favorite, and Freefall in Crimson was, for me, the weakest. Of short stories and novels, my favorites so far are The Empty Trap; April Evil; The Price of Murder; The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything (great). I thought Barrier Island took too long to get going, though. Don't miss his short stories, Good Old Stuff, etc. And a treat is his early sci-fi stories, Other Times, Other Worlds-- while he was not the writer he would become at that time, they show why he was compelled to begin writing. Also, there's a little-known novella called Linda, found in the two-novella collection Border Town Girl, that I found to be particularly good.

Typical wonderful John D. MacDonald Vegas Style

Fallen women forced to degrade themselves, scheming manipulative women, evil casino owners who go to any lengths to make sure that winners don't stay that way, their sleazy goons, lots of alcoholics, compulsive gamblers, all to the luxurious and gaudy setting of Las Vegas, not to mention of course the upright hero with revenge on his mind. Everything that makes a MacDonald paperback.At first glance John D. MacDonald may come off as a pulp fiction writer. Indeed, the cover art and plot summary on my used copy do nothing to diminish that impression. But anybody who has read him knows that he is much more than that. His characters are always interesting and have intriguing motivations. His writing is exquisite and vivid. And the book, as all good books are, uses its story to reflect the world at large. I found this book in a used book store. Since so many John D. MacDonald books are out of print I would recommend to anybody learning to love this author as much as I do to buy up any old MacDonald titles the next time they are in a used bookstore because you may never find them again.