#12: The Prop

The Prop is a book I picked up off a clearance rack at Borders. I read two young adult novels by the author, Pete Hautman. Godless was a book I enjoyed, but I was more ambivalent toward Invisible.

The Prop is about Peeky, a middle-aged woman who works as a prop player at a Tucson Indian casino. A prop player is someone employed by the casino to prop up the action at a poker table when players leave and the game is shorthanded. Peeky enjoys her work and is successful at it. Things begin to change when she shares in a jackpot meant for someone else in a fixed game. Even though she suspects it was fixed, she feels she is due for some luck and that it is the job of the security staff to catch the cheaters.

Following the fixed game, Peeky is playing at the casino when four men wearing clown costumes burst into the card room with guns. The robbery quickly goes bad, as four people end up dead, although the robbers make off with over one million dollars. Peeky is disheartened to realize that one of the robbers is her boyfriend, Buddy, but she chooses not to reveal this fact to the authorities or her bosses at the casino.

In addition, Peeky's son-in-law Eduardo comes to her with the news that her daughter, Jaymie, is addicted to crack. Jaymie has been stealing money from Peeky to support her habit, and has now disappeared. Peeky and Eduardo become involved with lowlifes as they go in search of Jaymie.

Meanwhile, the reclusive founder of the casino comes to Peeky looking for help with the direction of the casino and with the robbery. He admires her way of reading people, the same quality that makes her successful at poker. Although he realizes she has not always been up front with him, he sees her as the only person who can help unravel the mysteries of what goes on at the casino. She agrees to become his eyes and ears, as she also tries to unravel the mysteries of exactly who her boyfriend is and what to do about her daughter.

I went into this book looking for something like Carl Hiaasen's writing, and while I noticed similarities, it wasn't quite as absurd. Maybe it is because it is hard to measure up to Hiaasen's depictions of Florida. Anyway, the story itself was engaging, with an interesting mix of unusual characters populating the casino. I was not very interested in the poker scenes, as I know nothing about Texas hold'em, but others might be more appreciative. As a mystery, it was enjoyable as a whole.

Rating: ****