Available at Amazon.com, in Kindle and paperback versions, also at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and in Bookstores and Libraries.
No Dice, My Debut Murder Mystery
“Smooth, suspenseful, and with a perfectly tuned voice, NO DICE weaves several strands together and neatly ties them off in the end. A satisfying read!”
~ Rosalie Maggio, author of 19 books,
including Pieces of Eight
“Bravo for a tale told well (even though probably not enough politicians and lawyers died). Can’t wait for the next one.”
~ Douglas Page, Science Writer
“I couldn’t put NO DICE down. The scrappy nonprofit heroine and the harried city council members rang so true. This book not only delivers the punch of a good whodunit, but it educates as well.”
~ Trebor Healey, author of Through It Came Bright Colors
and Song of Pan
No Dice – A powerful gambling empire is steamrolling local opposition to build a high-rise casino complex on the shoreline of upscale Santa Monica. The crucial city councilwoman with the deciding vote is murdered. Confronting Santa Monica Police Detective Dave Mason is a real whodunit.
The dance between politics, money, and big ideas that change the landscape draw Mason in, deflecting his attention from his daughter’s bullying and his impending divorce. He struggles against his attraction toward the witness, Ginger McNair, the community organizer leading the
opposition forces.
Mar Preston
I came of age in Santa Monica. I happened to be in my 40s, but that’s when I found myself. Living at 7th and San Vicente was my little paradise. I looked out on a row of exotic coral trees. The neighborhood soundscape was the slap of joggers’ shoes and the roar of Big Blue buses taking Latinas to jobs with rich households in the Palisades. I worked every Santa Monica election and became involved with the living wage movement. Excitement and political drama made it the time of my life.
NO DICE came out of my work with union laborers and the big hotels of Santa Monica. I sat in at City Council meetings and observed the players—rent controllers versus developers, big money versus cheap labor. It was the perfect backdrop for a fictional story about casinos vying for a piece of Santa Monica’s action. In my novel everything busts loose when a murder throws two unlikely characters together—Ginger McNair, community coalition-leader and Dave Mason, hard-nosed cop.
