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Mr. Lucky
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Plot Summary of Mr. Lucky
"

Ballantine, Mar 2005, 19.95
ISBN: 0345475445

When a fire breaks out in the Riverboat Casino, small time gambler Ricky Smith jumps from his burning balcony into a pool. A few minutes later without a look back he enters the Mint. He borrows twenty bucks; Smith starts at blackjack, turns to roulette and dice before completing his incredible run by wiping out poker expert Tex Snyder. In a short period, Smith went from loser to millionaire never losing a hand at any of the games he played.

The Vegas Nevada Gaming Control Board wants Tony Valentine, head of Grift Sense, to figure out how Smith accomplished this incredible run. Tony wants to refuse the assignment, but when the consortium adds the wiping out his wastrel son's debts, he agrees only for the sake of his daughter in-law and granddaughter. Smith is back in North Carolina, but the streak continues with a lottery win. Tony struggles to debunk MR. LUCKY as no pattern except the wins emerge.

Harriet Klausner

"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Mr. Lucky
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - casino crime
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - champion of justice
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - Swiss
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - thief/con artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast - West

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Mr. Lucky
The Druperman Tapes by John Goodger
Killing Raven by Margaret Coel
Sin City by Harold Robbins
Sucker Bet by James Swain
Jackpot Bay by Martin Hegwood


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James Swain Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Harriet Klausner  

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