Lucky Stiff

Deborah Coonts

Feb 2011 · The Lucky O'Toole Vegas Adventure Series Book 2 · Chestnut Street Press

About this ebook

“Evanovich…with a dash of CSI.” – Publishers Weekly

Everyone Has a Hidden Talent

For Lucky O’Toole it’s murder…solving it.

Surviving in Sin City takes cunning, a pair of five-inch heels, and a wiseass attitude. Lucky has mastered them all and has a pair of legs she uses to kick butt and turn heads.

As the Chief Problem Solver for the Babylon, Las Vegas’s most over-the-top destination, mischief is in her job description.

She’s good at her job.

She’s less good at life. But who has time for a life when there’s a killer on the loose?

LUCKY STIFF

Someone fed Numbers Neidermeyer to the tiger shark in the tank at Mandalay Bay resort.

Lucky’s friend, the Beautiful Jeremy Whitlock, is suspect Numero Uno.

Miss P, Jeremy’s squeeze and Lucky’s partner in crime, is in a tailspin.

A tractor-trailer full of honeybees jackknifes on the Strip in front of the Babylon, spilling its load.

The district attorney—apparently the odd man out in a threesome—is hiding in the buff in a laundry room.

And Lucky’s mother decides to auction a young woman’s virginity.

Can Lucky get Jeremy out of the hot seat, handle the new hot French chef and her mother…and restore order in her life?

A light, funny, romantic mystery providing a Vegas escape appropriate for anyone looking for a good laugh. Join the fun! Get your copy today!

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH COONTS

Why did you decide to write humor?

I’m not sure I decided to add snark to the Lucky books, specifically to Lucky’s own voice, it just happened that way. When I was a kid, my mouth always got me into trouble. Finally, I’ve found a way to harness the sarcasm for the Forces of Good—or at least in a way not to anger my grandmother. And when Lucky started talking to me, she had a strong dose of sass in her.

The Lucky O'Toole Vegas Adventure series is hard to categorize. Is that by design?

When I set out to write Wanna Get Lucky?, I knew I wanted to write a romp through Las Vegas. I had the characters and the setting but no real understanding of narrative drive. So, I threw a young woman out of a tour helicopter into the middle of the Pirate Show and let the story unfold. A bit of murder to keep the plot moving, some wisecracking and Vegas mischief to make you laugh, and some romance to keep it interesting. A bit of a mash up, but it works.

PRAISE FOR Lucky Stiff

“Lively, funny, scary! The pages will singe your fingers, and you’ll laugh yourself stiff.” - Barbara D’Amato, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author

“The pages turn so fast they give off blue fire.” - Carol McCleary, author and CrimeFest Award finalist

"Las Vegas is the perfect setting for this witty tale of misdirection and larger-than-life characters. Fans of J. A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series will love this." - Library Journal, starred review

“Fast-paced, witty, and full of colorful characters, Lucky Stiff is a sure bet to be a readers’ favorite.” - Booklist

“A prize fight, a pop star and a virginity auction. Could we be anywhere else but Las Vegas?…[Lucky Stiff] is as lively and endearingly wacky as Wanna Get Lucky?” - Kirkus Reviews

“This wonderfully funny and entertaining mystery stars Lucky O’Toole, head of customer relations at a Las Vegas resort. Readers who like cozy mysteries with a lot of sass, great dialogue and a plot that flies will love this.” - RT Book Reviews

“Deb Coonts’ Lucky Stiff is a postcard of Las Vegas like you’ve never seen it, populated by outrageously imaginative characters embroiled in raucous high-stakes action. Toss in sizzling love affairs, deadly enemies, naughty humor and never-saw-it-coming twists and you’ve got a winning mystery with a heart of gold. Coonts has a gift for showcasing the darker realms of human nature against a wickedly funny backdrop. Irresistible!” - Sophie Littlefield, Anthony and RT Books award-winning author

"Coonts covers Sin City territory with a dash of CSI and Janet Evanovich in her second glitzy, lighthearted novel." - Publishers Weekly

Ratings and reviews

Omw I love these books. Love Lucky's sassy attitude she leaves my in stitches all the time. And how the author discribes life in the Casino and Las Vegas I can almost feel it its so real. Buying this series of books is definitely on my Xmas wish list. Well done Ms Coonts

Stephanie Plum fans should eat this up!

Twists and turns throughout! Well written and enjoyable reading!

About the author

Deborah Coonts swears she was switched at birth. Coming from a family of homebodies, Deborah is the odd woman out, happiest with a passport, a high-limit credit card, her computer, and changing scenery outside her window. Goaded by an insatiable curiosity, she flies airplanes, rides motorcycles, travels the world, and pretends to be more of a badass than she probably is. Deborah is the author of the Lucky O’Toole Vegas Adventure series, a romantic mystery romp through Sin City. Wanna Get Lucky?, the first in the series, was a New York Times Notable Crime Novel and a double RITA™ Award Finalist. She has also penned a few standalone novels; After Me, a medical thriller, Deep Water, a romantic suspense, and Crushed, a contemporary romance set in Napa. Although rarely there, Deborah calls Houston home. You can always track her down at www.deborahcoonts.com.