No Dice (A Detective Dave Mason Mystery Book 1)
by Mar PrestonPublish: Mar 20, 2013Crime Fiction Thriller MysteryBook Overview
No Dice is set in Santa Monica, California where a gaming goliath is trying to steamroller local opposition to building a glitzy casino complex on the shoreline. A real whodunit confronts Santa Monica police detective Dave Mason when a crucial city councilwoman is murdered on the eve of the vote bringing the gaming consortium another step closer.The dance between politics, money, and big ideas that change the landscape draw Mason in, taking his attention away from his daughter's bullying, and acknowledging finally that his wife is serious about a divorce. He struggles against his attraction toward the witness, a scared cop hater he's trying to protect.
The leader of the opposition forces, an ally of the councilwoman, must prove her innocence in a murder she didn't commit. She must also live with the knowledge that the real killer--probably someone she knows--is hunting her, fearing she could identify him.
She can't run. She can't hide because she's running the election campaign to fight off the casino consortium. The police can't protect her, nor can her brother and father, both Sheriff's Department deputies.
Mason struggles to keep his mind on this baffling case with way too many suspects with no alibis, while his own life unravels, and the activist he's trying to protect keeps interfering, turning up legitimate leads of her own.
The focus of the investigation lands on the money people: real estate developers, PR flacks, the hotels, the politicians and their dark shenanigans.
An explosive secret boils up from Santa Monica's seamy past that the casino interests cannot suppress. It's then a down-to-the minute challenge for Mason to stop the killer before he strikes through the flimsy curtain of protection surrounding his witness.
Billions of dollars in profit can turn the nicest people ugly. No Dice shows how grassroots organizations and smart, conniving women sometimes win local contests against powerful moneyed opponents.
