A Gambling Man (An Archer Novel, 2)

Aloysius Archer is a WWII vet who has served time in prison and now seeks to make an honest living as a private eye. The novel is set in the 1950s era and as I read, I could picture the scenes as if they were playing on an old black and white TV. The main character goes by the name Archer, and he is smarter than he lets on, having no problem stepping into someone else’s mess if he can give them a hand.Archer travels to California with the hopes of learning how to be a private eye under the tutelage of one named Willie Dash. However, before he gets there, Archer becomes entangled with a man who needs to sell a very rare vehicle to cover a debt. With his new ride and a woman he just met by his side, off they go in search of fulfilling their dreams. Readers first meet Archer in One Good Deed, which is a riveting suspense-filled tale, though one doesn’t have to read it to understand the nuances of A Gambling Man.Archer is a stand-up man, who enjoys his Lucky Strike cigarettes and carries a flask in his coat pocket at all times. The moment Archer meets Willie Dash until the last page of the book, there is never a dull moment. What is really appealing about the story is it doesn’t have new-fangled gadgets to help him solve crimes. Archer has to trust his instincts and go where the cluses lead him. Even when Archer is questioning people, his thoughts aren’t always revealed which makes it more intriguing to see where Archer goes and who he is going to see.The one major difference I noticed between the first book and this one is the focus here being more on who done it and less on Archer’s extra circular movements. Liberty Callahan brings a flair to Archer’s life and a unique perspective to his new career as a “gumshoe.” I hope the author plans on giving us more action and adventure with Archer; he’s a favorite to me and I like the era Archer is placed in too!I have been anticipating this book for a while and spent the weekend enjoying every word! Each of David Baldacci’s books are filled with mystery, romance, thrills and spills! If you haven’t’ read any of his books, pick one up and be prepared to be entertained for hours!

This is Baldacci's second book in the Archer series and in my opinion better than the first in terms of story. I love the old-school gritty detective series and look forward to reading the third in the series. This one the main character, Archer, gets his feet wet in the PI business in a seaside town called Baytown. It feels these are more action than mystery but there is a touch of putting the pieces together in it.

A lot of action, good character development, and a well developed plot. Also learned a lot about the atmosphere of the area during the 50's. Good followup to the first Archer book.

I liked the way the two main met! The care free and excitement they created. And of course the danger and excitement they experienced kept me unable to put the book down. Was a good read!

A good book, kept my interest most of the way. Not much for retro detective stories so maybe a little biased.

I, like many others who reviewed David Baldacci’s “One Good Deed,” suspected that Aloysius Archer, the protagonist, would be the key character in a new Baldacci series. No sooner had I filed my column than the second Archer book arrived at my door. Like the first book, “A Gambling Man” is set in post-World-War-II America. But Archer has traveled from Poca City where he was released from prison to Reno, “The Biggest Little City in the World,” and then Las Vegas, where he hooks up with Liberty Callahan, a showgirl who has aspirations of becoming a movie star. Archer is on his way to Bay City, CA, to become an apprentice private eye. After Callahan saves his life, he decides to give her a ride, at least most of the way to Hollywood. Because Archer has won a good sum of money by “not gambling” at craps and roulette, they travel in style in a 1939 Delahaye Model One Sixty-Five, Figoni and Falashi convertible cabriolet. (Do yourself a favor and Google this magnificent French-made automobile.) Archer’s goal is to hook up with Willie Dash, Very Private Investigations, a former FBI agent who was recommended by Lieutenant Detective Irwin Shaw, back in Poca City. Although Liberty Callahan’s goal was to get to Hollywood and become a movie star, she forms a friendship, laced with a bit of sexual tension, with Archer and takes a job singing at a local nightclub. Liberty is an immediate smash hit, but Archer has a lot to learn from Dash, and he needs to learn quickly because he finds himself in the middle of a case, the intricacies of which reminded me a bit of the 1974 movie “Chinatown,” starring Jack Nicholson. Specifically, Archer has to tread carefully as he investigates a case that involves power, politics, corruption, and a mysterious bit of family intrigue. Bay City is run by a wealthy man, Sawyer Armstrong, whose son-in-law, Douglas Kemper, is running for mayor. But Armstrong is not only wealthy, he seems to own outright or have a financial interest in virtually everything that has value. Archer becomes involved with the family when Kemper comes to him for help because he’s being blackmailed. Just when the reader begins to wonder if Archer is a kind of superman, like Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, he is soundly beaten by Armstrong’s strong-arm henchmen Hank and Tony. But Liberty sticks with Archer through thick and thin. P.I. Willie Dash seems to have an advisory role, at least until he shows up with a machine gun that he claims to have taken “from Ma Barker’s cold, dead hands.” Still, it’s wonderful to listen to Archer and Dash sift through clues together and formulate hypotheses. Like the first book in this new Baldacci series, A Gambling Man takes us back to a time that most people will recognize through the novels by Ross McDonald, Mickey Spillane, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler....Jim Glynn

It was a gift

couldn.t stop reading this book ( A Gambling Man ) well worth the five starsProb more and now looking for the next Aloysiuos Archer to keep me enthralled.

Superbly etched characters, fast paced with many twists. A true page turner

Bon thriller.

Archer sembra un fratello di Reacher: ex militare, intollerante di ogni ingiustizia, moralmente integerrimo, avvenente ma senza malizia. La differenza principale sta nell'approccio con le donne: R molto riservato, quasi monacale, A attivo ma solo se provocato. Piacevole la scrittura, il contesto post-bellico e il potenziale di intrattenimento. Naturalmente per chi ama consumare questo genere letterario.