Peeky's life begins to unravel when she discovers that some of the dealers are using rigged decks in order to scam the casino. Little escapes her notice, and she can track poker players' habits at the tables with the best of them. She prides herself on being hyper-observant. She shows up for work every evening at a reservation casino outside Tuscon, Arizona, and though she's paid only $110 a shift and must cover her own gambling losses, Peeky manages to make a good living through a combination of skill, luck and an ability to read her opponents. Peeky Kane, a 44-year-old former police officer, makes her living as a prop, a professional poker player hired by the casino to fill in short-handed tables. Pete Hautman won the National Book Award in 2004, and in 1996 his novel MR WAS earned him an Edgar nomination, so it's not surprising that his latest mystery, THE PROP, succeeds in being both a fast-paced, high-stakes thrill ride and one of the funniest novels I've read this year.
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