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	JOKER POKER (Pat Gallegher Mysteries) by Richard Helms
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Product Details Binding Paperback Dewey Decimal Number 813 EAN 9780971015920 ISBN 0971015929 Manufacturer Barbadoes Hall Press/Back Alley Books Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 288 Publication Date June 01, 2002 Publisher Barbadoes Hall Press/Back Alley Books Availability Usually ships in 24 hours Product Description First book in the Pat Gallegher Mystery Series. Slacker jazz cornet player in New Orleans' French Quarter agrees to help a desperate woman find her lover, whom she thinks has been murdered -- by her husband! Pat Gallegher, oversized cornet player, former forensic psychologist, and all-around gruff-but-lovable hard nose, plays nights in a French Quarter jazz club. He also works as an enforcer for a loan shark to whom he owes a gambling habit. When a wealthy woman hires him to find her missing lothario lover, fearing that her husband may have killed him, Pat's protective sense of justice emerges. He discovers the husband's connection to the local mob and realizes that he has been framed after the husband is murdered. For fans of noir mysteries, this debut offers a hearty concoction of violence, intrigue, sex, and even a little articulate humor. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. First book in the Pat Gallegher Mystery Series. Slacker jazz cornet player in New Orleans' French Quarter agrees to help a desperate woman find her lover, whom she thinks has been murdered -- by her husband! Richard Helms is a forensic psychologist and recognized expert in the assessment and treatment of sex offenders. He lives in North Carolina with his wife, Elaine, their two children, and four cats. Customer Reviews for: JOKER POKER (Pat Gallegher Mysteries) Rating - A tribute to the genre Joker Poker By Richard Helms The first thing I liked was the literary sleight of hand Mr. Helms pulled off in the first chapter. The second thing I liked was the rest of the book. Mr. Helms may have been a student of Chandler, Spillane, MacDonald and others, but this is a case where the student takes rightful place next to the masters. This is polished, professional prose with all the elements right on target. The main character, Pat Gallegher, has no illusions about his middle-aged body, his abilities ... Read More Rating - Mediocre Joker "Joker Poker", by Richard Helms is an entertaining and interesting romp through the dumber side of hard-boiled private eye fiction. It's obvious that Helms has done his homework and that he loves the genre; there are elements of the tough-guy spareness of Hammett, the purple poetry of Chandler and even the cool violence of James Lee Burke tucked throughout this freshman outing. But his adherence to the genre's rules may have been the book's eventual downfall - there's no room for hardboiled writers who simply ... Read More Rating - Edgar award nominee, a bright voice to the genre. Admirable, smooth, funny, intelligent writing. Helms is a terific story-teller, reminiscent of his idols Chandler, Hammett, Spillane; hard-boiled, but with his own,unique brand of sharp, clever humor, a terrific way with words and a deeper understanding of the human condition. His tough, but sensitive, multi-faceted protagonist is someone I would want for a buddy. Joker Poker is well worth a read. Rating - Big Score for Story Set in the Big Easy New Orleans is a perfect setting for a hardboiled mystery, as it is arguably the most corrupt city in the US. Helms uses this corruption to his advantage in Joker Poker, by portraying the expected legions of con men, gangsters, loansharks and pimps that have become a staple of the genre. In the center of this collection of ne'er-do-wells is Pat Gallegher,a man whose life is more than half over, with little to show for it. In an attempt to escape his past failures, he has settled into a life of playing music at night, and collected ... Read More Rating - Great Characters! Joker Poker is the first in a series of books by Richard Helms featuring his reluctant knight Errant and adventurer Pat Gallegher. The series is set in New Orleans. Pat Gallegher is a jazz coretist in a dive bar in New Orleans. He owes twenty thousand dollars to a loan shark so he works off his debt doing collections. He also does favors for friends with locating people when they cannot turn to the law; I guess you could call him a jack-of-all-trades. Cully Tucker, Gallegher's lawyer, shows up one night at the bar with a ... Read More See all books by author Richard Helms

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