A Lucky O'Toole Original Novella

“Evanovich…with a dash of CSI.” – Publishers Weekly (review of Lucky Stiff)

Everyone Has a Hidden Talent

For Lucky O’Toole it’s murder…solving it.

Surviving in Sin City takes cunning, a pair of five-inch heels, and a wiseass attitude. Lucky has mastered them all and has a pair of legs she uses to kick butt and turn heads.

As the Chief Problem Solver for the Babylon, Las Vegas’s most over-the-top destination, mischief is in her job description.

She’s good at her job.

She’s less good at life. But who has time for a life when there’s a killer on the loose?

LUCKY IN LOVE

Lucky O’Toole, the Vice President of Customer Relations for the Babylon, one of Las Vegas’ most over-the-top strip properties, is seriously regretting booking a reality television show, The Forever Game, into the small theater at her hotel. One thing she knows for sure: Vegas does NOT need a dose of reality.

The four couples competing in The Forever Game add their own mischief to the incendiary mix normally available in Sin City while competing for a Las Vegas wedding extravaganza. The host of the show, Trey Gold, appears interested only in keeping the spotlight on himself while the contestants run-wild sampling all Vegas has to offer, threatening to blow the whole show out of the water.

Not only must Lucky keep the couples from killing each other, killing their relationships, or ending up on the front page of the Review-Journal, she has to navigate the rocky road to love herself. Teddie, her live-in lover, is leaning more-and-more towards chasing a new dream as a singer, leaving Vegas…and Lucky behind. And a new French chef seems determined to muddy the murky waters of love even further.

Then there’s Lucky’s mother, Mona, who never could leave well enough alone…

A light, funny, romantic mystery providing a Vegas escape appropriate for anyone looking for a good laugh.

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH COONTS

Why did you decide to write humor?

I’m not sure I decided to add snark to the Lucky books, specifically to Lucky’s own voice, it just happened that way. When I was a kid, my mouth always got me into trouble. Finally, I’ve found a way to harness the sarcasm for the Forces of Good—or at least in a way not to anger my grandmother. And when Lucky started talking to me, she had a strong dose of sass in her.

The Lucky O'Toole Vegas Adventure series is hard to categorize. Is that by design?

When I set out to write Wanna Get Lucky?, I knew I wanted to write a romp through Las Vegas. I had the characters and the setting but no real understanding of narrative drive. So, I threw a young woman out of a tour helicopter into the middle of the Pirate Show and let the story unfold. A bit of murder to keep the plot moving, some wisecracking and Vegas mischief to make you laugh, and some romance to keep it interesting. A bit of a mash up, but it works.

PRAISE FOR THE LUCKY O’TOOLE VEGAS ADVENTURE SERIES

“Lucky’s story is funny, fast-paced, exuberant and brilliantly realized.” - Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Get ready to win big--with a novel that will keep you glued to the pages all the way to the end.” - Brenda Novak, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author

"More fun than a winning streak in Vegas. Lucky O’Toole is a character with brains, beauty, and a wry sense of humor. Readers will want to meet her again—and soon." - Diane Mott Davidson, New York Times bestselling author

"Deborah Coonts...entrusts the sleuthing to a brainy beauty who sees the lighter side of human folly." - New York Times Book Review

"Las Vegas is the perfect setting for this witty tale of misdirection and larger-than-life characters. Fans of J. A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series will love this." - Library Journal, starred review

“A whirlwind of a kooky crime novel, and readers will enjoy every minute of it. Coonts provides the perfect solution for readers waiting for the next Stephanie Plum book.” - Booklist