Firecracker

Gar Anthony Haywood, author of the superb P.I. Aaron Gunner series, used the pen name Ray Shannon to write FIRECRACKER. This story centers on Raygene Price, a superstar playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Contract negotiations are coming up, and Raygene has to keep his nose clean or else the NFL will exhile him. Reece Germaine is pregnant with his child and seeks support payments. Raygene balks. But Reece has a betting slip for the Super Bowl and a shot to win 1.25 million dollars in a payout if her team wins. Shannon moves around a large cast of complex characters (including Raygene's God-fearing body guard), and the boisterous climax in Las Vegas over the Super Bowl weekend is probably spot on. Well-written, deftly executed, and convincing dialogue, FIRECRACKER favorably compares to NORTH DALLAS FORTY and SEMI TOUGH.

See storyline above.Shannon's latest is a no nonsense fast-paced story sure to attract more fans. You get twists and turns as well as a fun ride through Vegas. A highly enjoyable novel. I have to question the authors knowledge about football in reference to one glaring mistake towards the end. Lets see who's keen enough to catch it.Highly recommended.

Entertainment public relations specialist Reece Germaine and professional football star Raygene Price shared a tight wild weekend in Vegas. Raygene, a Dallas Cowboy player, bets $25,000 on the Arizona Cardinals winning the Superbowl at 50-1 odds. He gives the ticket to Reece as a seduction sweetener and because as a player he is not allowed to bet on the games.Now eight months later Reece is pregnant from that tryst and Raygene refuses any involvement including child support as this situation is not new to him. Besides his finances are a disaster, he has impregnated other women. However the improbable is that the longshot Cardinals are playing in the Superbowl on Sunday so that if they win, Reece will forget child support and run with the 1.25 million. Others vicious people want a piece of Raygene?s hide and that wager would make a fine down payment.FIRECRACKER is quite exciting while showing the darker side of American professional sports. Paraphrasing LBJ, the irresponsible and unlikable Raygene seems like he played football without a helmet and the prime thug acts like his brain tripped and never recovered. The wild Superbowl weekend is vividly described and Reece is a solid heroine whose efforts to keep safe (ask the drunk she knocks out with a punch) and retain the ticket is fun to follow, but Raygene, not her, is the center anchoring the story line and he fails to stop the sacking of the plot.Harriet Klausner