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Review by Sandy Huesby
Grifter, shill, capper, singer, card shark. The world Stephen J. Cannell creates in his punchy new thriller "King Con" is peopled with the colorful characters of the con.
Chief among them is Beano X. Bates. Even among his own family, he's an icon.
But Beano's confidence has undergone a rude adjustment. He's made the mistake of pulling a con on Joseph Rina, and Joe "Dancer" Rina doesn't like being conned.
"[Beano] spun awkwardly around in time to see a nine-iron flying out of the darkness right into his face. It was a chip shot from hell that broke all his front teeth and shattered his jaw.Beano vanishes from the hospital, but determined prosecutor Victoria "Tricky Vicky" Hart plans to proceed with prosecuting Joe Dancer, thanks to an unexpected eyewitness, Carol Sesnick. When Joe Dancer arranges the murder of Carol and her two police protectors at the safe house, Tricky Vicky's case is blown. But Beano's is just beginning." 'Now I'm gonna take my money back. But let me assure you this has been very helpful,' Joe Dancer said with exaggerated politeness. 'I've been having trouble with my short game. Thanks for the practice.' "
He'd run away when his own skin was at stake, but now family and his own honor have been challenged. In childhood he'd promised to protect his cousin Carol. Now, he's determined to avenge her.
The chief prosecutor's up for re-election, and Vicky becomes the scapegoat to protect his own hide. On her own, determined to avenge what she considers her personal failing to take proper care of Carol, Vicky overcomes her usual compulsive, law-abiding nature to team up with Beano.
That's the set-up. The con is a grand one. From a pseudo gas field in California to casinos in Atlantic City and the Bahamas, Beano Bates and an extended family of Bateses numbering in the thousands set about their plan to destroy Joe by coming between him and his brother Tommy "Two Times" Rina.
Not since "The Sting" has there been a savvier, more appealing team than Beano the mentor guiding his protege, the former prosecutor, through the exotic world of marks and shills and cons.
Cannell grabs you by the hand with this tale, tugging you along with promises delivered for excitement and adventure around every corner.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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