Sirk TV Book Review: SO DAMN LUCKY [Forge]

The directness of Vegas can make elements a bit maddening, especially because money is the name of the game. Trends disappear and reappear with alarming frequency. But old school elegance and charm never loses it luster unless there is no traffic.The idiom behind "So Damn Lucky" [Deborah Coonts/Forge/384pgs] follows a behind-the-scenes casino maven who helps run the insanity of the most interesting of characters. Our lead character: Lucky knows what she wants. She thinks about it all day long multiplied by sex against the motivation of work. The texture feels like "Out Of Sight" buoyed by a murder plot functionality that keeps the tension moving. However, it is Lucky's interrelation with all of her cohorts both in law enforcement, the media and, in her job, that makes the most impact. The interplay offers a skewed and funny view of a girl on the up, enjoying her double bourbons, doing her best to help those less fortunate and fantasizing like most people do, but with more of her intentions and actions bubbling to the surface. One can make the comparison to the female PI in "One For The Money" but with a more fun playground. The book itself begins with our titular character burning down the strip in a Ferrari and pulling up to the hotel. However she is not a party girl and the Big Boss of the massive casino is her father who has never released said information publicly. Granted alot of the great humor comes from the internalization which might be lost in a film adaptation but Lucky is her own woman: smart, sexy, fantastic and aware of her flaws which she embraces with an inherent humor.The narrative flow simply buoys this in a "I can't believe this has to happen to me today" kind of way. Mixing in elements of Area 51 psychic warfare and a bondage ball at the casino makes the progression interesting to catch a killer but, at times, borders on the cheesy. However, the tone understands itself in an interesting way. More than the narrative, you want to spend time with these people from Mona, the mother-cum-madam who had Lucky when she was barely out of her teens to Dane, the would-be cowboy that Matthew McConaughey was born to play to Miss P, the fifty year old assistant who runs the whole gamut while doing a boy half her age, the shenanigans keep pace without being overwhelming.B