Ellen Graham

The Bad And The Beautiful by Jamie Craig is another good book by the writing duo of Vivien Dean and Pepper Espinoza (writing together under the name of Jamie Craig) that adds to the Jamie Craig reputation of smooth writing and solid plots. It’s easy for me to choose and recommend Jamie Craig books, regardless of subject matter, because the books almost always give me great escapism. This story unfolds in alternating third-person viewpoints from David, an Irish-American piano player, and Vince, an Italian-American mobster, who fall into an unexpected and forbidden relationship in 1950s Las Vegas. The polished writing, fast pace, charmingly retro dialog, and vivid setting all add up to a fun reading experience. Even those readers who normally dislike historical romances may want to try The Bad And The Beautiful since both its twentieth century time period and its subject matter, which involves organized crime, give this story a contemporary relevance.

David is an innocent Irish-American piano player who comes to Vegas with his cousin Kate to provide musical accompaniment for her career as a singer. She also plans to marry Jimmy, the owner of the Thunderbird casino, whom she knows is a crime boss with the Mafia. She and Jimmy are so much in love that they overlook David while she launches her career at the Thunderbird, which throws him together with Jimmy’s bodyguard and main enforcer, Vince. Vince has a tough guy’s stoic acceptance of his criminal professional as well as a total lack of guilt about his desire for men, though he knows he has to keep it a secret. He also knows what he wants and how to get it. He begins to pursue David whose life is turned upside down when his Catholic guilt collides with his natural lust for Vince. When David becomes the target of extortion, Vince’s protectiveness brings them closer together even while it puts Vince at risk from the enemies who want to bring down his boss Jimmy.

Val for AReCafe… (mais)