Bet Your Life

This is a gripping tale, inventively-written in a style like no other and very funny. I instantly gave my copy to a good friend to read when i finished it.

In Bet Your Life, Richard Dooling spins a tidy mystery suspense tale with twists and turns aplenty. Think Raymond Chandler complete with hi-tech savvy and a contemporary edge. Press releases dub this book "classic noir", and it certainly is that, combined with well-defined characters and an unusual plot Carver Hartnett is a straight arrow insurance fraud investigator who tells the story in first person. Miranda Pryor is the chaste but seductive object of Carver's desire. And Lenny Stillmach is the friend who manages to be a high tech genius despite manic-depression and chronic drug and alcohol abuse. These three friends comprise the team of fraud investigators who are very good at what they do. Each brings different but effective skills to the team. Lenny's unexpected death under strange circumstances casts suspicion on his friends. These suspicions are compounded by the discovery that he has purchased multiple six figure life insurance policies naming Carver and Miranda, as well as others, as beneficiaries. Seems that Lenny's boss, the local police, and FBI think he has been running a lucrative scam by buying and selling high dollar policies for fun and profit. Carver can't trust anyone, including Mrianda, and he finds himself up to his eyebrows in a local and federal investigation. His life is in danger and it's up to him to find out why as he tries to separate the good guys from the evil doers. Richard Dooling is an award nominated author because his wordsmithery is unique. His style is modern with the noir voice of past masters of the genre. Bet Your Life is not a simplistic tale. Intelligent fans of the genre will enjoy the experience.

The NY Times was absolutely right to make "Bet Your Life" a notable for 2002 selection. Heads up to film noir and mystery lovers: This book is a MUST read.

Doolings new book continues to display his imagination, intelligence and gift for making the seemingly mundane (an insurance company fraud division in *yawn* Omaha Nebraska) interesting. As a National Book Award finalist people seem to constantly be expecting Dooling to only right "important" books with heavy social comentary. This book is heavy on the latter and displays Doolings continued wide range of things which intruige him. Some people get confused by this diverity mistaking it for inconsistency. Consistency is of course contrary to nature, contrary to life and the last reguge of the unimaginative. Maslin's New York Times review of this book (praising it) was especially helpful and Dooling has a link to it on his web sight.If a literary guy wants to write a mystery, good for him. This is especially true when it is and interesting and funny page turner as "Bet Your Life". Doolings ironic recounting of insurance fraud scams along with a diverse cast of characters make this an unsettling, compelling read as you laugh and squirm while reading about fraud, sexual fantasy, death and whire collar crime. This is a good read.

written on several levels.First it is a murder mystery. Who, if anyone, killed Lenny Stilmach and why?Then it is a comedy with several funny stories and characters. The story about the funeral of an Omaha politician was a howler.There is the love/lust interest for our hero.Computers, since they are a pervasive element of modern society, are prominently featured.Drugs, unfortunately, are also in the same category.The ancient vice of greed is the main element. The sick selling their life insurance policies during the their lifetime may or may not be a public good. It does happen but the criminal element have moved into the industry and many honest people have been bilked by what they thought was a safe investment doing some good for people.Religion plays a role and shows that there is nothing new under the sun.As in "Brainstorm" life imitates art. The recent takeover by the Florida Department of Insurance of Future First Financial Group (a viatical company) shows Dooling is right on the mark.Detective Becker, styled after real Omaha detective Charlie Parker, is my favorite character.The names are funny and, as an Omaha native, it is fun to see Omaha locations described in the book. But the insurance company Hartnett works for is NOT Mutual of Omaha or even Mutant of Omaha.