One Armed Bandit

A novel by Dennis N. Griffin

Released by Publish America in 2003

 

Early in the morning on January 6, three patrons were at Honest Abe’s Gas and Convenience Store in Las Vegas, two shopping, and one playing video poker. The door opened and a man in shorts and a jacket walked in; less than a minute later they, as well as the clerk behind the counter, were dead - a bullet in each of their heads. The police, in their investigation, view the surveillance tape and discover that the killer had one arm, and that something just doesn’t make sense about the killings, why these four? Was there a common link, and if so, what could it be? That is what Detective Steve Garneau and his partner Theresa (Terry) Bolton have to find out. With help and hindrances that stretch from the seedy strip joints of the side of Vegas no one wants to admit exists, to the steps of our nation’s capitol, they must find this man that the media has dubbed “The One Armed Bandit” before he can kill again.

Author Dennis Griffin has crafted a tale that, if you will pardon the use of an old cliché, could have been taken from today’s headlines. I have read many murder mysteries/police investigation stories in my day, but few have drawn me in as this one did. His writing style is fresh and vibrant, not bogged down by long flowery phrases of unnecessary passages.

In many of these books, it seems the author wants you as the reader to know that either he A) used to, or still does this for a living, B) wishes he did this for a living, or C) Look at the research I did. All three of these can lead to “I learned a lot of stuff so I can write this story, and now I am going to pass it all on to you.” I know from reading his bio that Griffin falls under category A, but he escapes the trap by concentrating on the story and the characters. None of them spouts explanatory dialogue that is said only for the sake of the reader, but instead, talk and act like people really do.

Let me give you an example. I am so tired of sentences that say techno-geek babble like, “You know, it’s a shame that such a beautiful five foot five one hundred twenty pound woman that lived alone in an apartment at 135 east 35th Street, was shot by a man using his right hand to hold the Smith and Wesson 44 magnum. That gun that can take the side off of a barn at 100 paces, using its velocity of 358 feet per second of speed times impact.” Now then, before anybody writes me, I made all of that up. The point is-when you talk to someone, especially someone that is your partner, you don’t go over what you have already discussed, or what you both know. It is redundant and distracting.

Griffin doesn’t do that. His characters speak and talk and act like normal people in normal conversations, and that makes it easy to slip into the story and enjoy the read, not skipping past things, waiting for the author to get to the point. In addition, his characters act and move believably. They don’t do everything in one day or one hour, but take the time that a normal person would take to do things, another refreshing point in his favor as a writer.

This causes the story to move at a brisk and compelling pace, making this a true page-turner, as you want to know what will happen next. The tale of the dual investigations of the police and a private investigator that is brought in by the family member of one of the victims compels you to read on as you watch the circle growing smaller and smaller, the truth comes out, with the actual motivation of the killing coming into focus. I hope this becomes a movie, and if it does, I will be one of the first in line for a ticket. If you want to read a fresh take on what can be a very tired genre, then I recommend fully that you be looking for “One Armed bandit” when it gets released, you’ll be glad you did. OK now Dennis, when is the next book going to be out?