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Author Pat Dennis
Readers will be swept up with the fun and excitement joining Betty Chance, owner of a casino junket company called Take A Chance Tour Bus headed out to Vegas. Betty, a professed amateur sleuth, and Tillie McFinn, her effervescent ex-con bus driver, and Betty's niece, Lori find themselves involved in a mystery adventure of addictive gambling and murder. The dialogue keeps the book moving at a fast pace. Dennis is skilled at tension building as clues are collected and predictions are made.
Vegas by Chance comes with a cast of quirky characters including legendary gambler Max Nicholas, who is trying to win a third mega fortune, Kumar Patel, Betty's friend knowledgeable in rituals and food from India, a freelance photographer and a host of other clients whose idiosyncrasies make readers chuckle. Betty and Tillie get themselves involved in some dangerous situations, but funny, while investigating the mystery of a corpse next to the tour bus, unmasking the killer and facing the daunting Triad, Asian version of the Mafia.
One of Dennis's writing strengths is being able to find humor in a variety of situations ranging from her descriptions of the legendary food buffets, paranormal world, the sinister dangerous world of the Triad, bungling detective work and the gambling world of casinos. Dennis who in real life is a comedian and a veteran of 1.000 plus performances in comedy clubs, women's organizations and church basements knows how to takes serious material, give it a lighthearted touch, build excitement and have fun telling the story along the way. Dennis creates characters that make you laugh at some of the hilarious situations they get involved in. With Dennis's deft hand she flushes out the characters so by the end of the book you know them well and even wonder where life will take them next.
A side benefit to reading Vegas by Chance is learning about the gambling world of casinos. Dennis shares her knowledge of the winning and losing side with strategies and tips for those curious on how to navigate the casinos, and learn how gambling not only takes skill and discipline but a bit of luck to win. Everyone wants to win big, take risks but minimize their losses.
So book a seat on Take A Chance Tour Bus, enjoy the ride and mingle with all Betty's clients. Who knows you may even learn some important gambling tips while having loads of fun.
An underlying theme of food can be found in Dennis's books which include recipes to entice the reader to try some. Some other of Dennis's publications include: Hotdish To Die For, a collection of six short stories where the weapon of choice is hotdish (18 recipes included). Pat’s memoir Fat Old Woman in Las Vegas (Gambling, Dieting and Wicked Fun) reached #1 on Amazon’s Travel Memoir for Kindle.
Dennis belongs to the Twin Cities chapter of Sisters in Crime, a world wide organization that offers networking, advice and support to other mystery authors. Four members are pictured here at their Winsted Library presentation.
Left to Right
Julie Seedorf, Pat Dennis, Barbara Merrit Deese, and Lorrie Holmgren.
Dennis has participated in Northwoods Art and Book Festival in Hackensack for more years than she can remember. It's always a delight having her participate. We love her enthusiasm!
Check out https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2016/09/pat-dennis.html
https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2013/04/mary-oliver.html
https://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-twisted-hot-dish.html
Follow Dennis on twitter @patdennisauthor and check out her website http://www.patdennis.com/ for book ordering, blog postings and contact information.
Meet up with Pat Dennis at upcoming January events. Call ahead for times.
January 5 Red Wing Public Library
January 22 Hazel Mackin Community Library Roberts, MN
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Excellent review, Sue. Thanks for mentioning Sisters in Crime. A great organization for crime/mysetery/suspense/thriller writers.
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