I read the first in this series last year and liked it enough to eventually grab the next. I don’t know if this novella is required reading—I think it was probably written after the series had an established following—but I was glad to see how things picked up after the events of the first book and how the relationships continued to develop. Jennifer, who was my least favorite character in the first book, was a decent addition here, and I’m curious to know more about how her magic works. Daniel’s adoptive fathers made an appearance in kind of a contrived way (but Daniel pretty much said himself it was contrived), but I like them both (and without knowing much about the series yet, I’m guessing they’re fan favorites), and I was glad to see them. The plot was good, and easy to sink into. It got extremely violent in the end, which I’ll need to remember to be ready for with future installments, as well as the protagonists’ ruthlessness with their enemies/targets. Every kill isn’t in self-defense, which I think is how a lot of urban fantasy authors justify most killing their heroes do. This bunch is a scrappy crowd with super iffy morals, and we cheer for them because the other guys are worse, and because they’re likeable con artists whose cons are fun to watch play out. Daniel’s magic with his deck of cards is original and interesting—appropriate for the Vegas setting—and I hope to learn more about its origins as the series progresses. ( )

Okay, so in the afterward, the author says he wrote this novella to appease his readers as they wait for the next full-length Daniel Faust book in late 2016. I guess I read this out of order, since I’ve only read the first book ([b:The Long Way Down|22743827|The Long Way Down (Daniel Faust #1)|Craig Schaefer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405769210s/22743827.jpg|41333196]), and this one is book 1.5 in the series. I don’t think I lost anything in reading this book second, and it made perfect sense to me since Faust and his crew talk about the events from their book one caper.

The plot is simple: Bad things happen at a hotel, Faust is called in to fix these bad things, things get weird, then bad, then fun. Unsurprisingly, it turns from a quick fix to a con/heist that solves everything in one fell swoop.

If you have read any books in the series, you are already aware of what you are getting into: basically the protagonist is a magician and a conman, and he is hired to fix “problems”, sometimes causing great grief to the people who cause these problems. This novella is really no different than the others in that regard. This story does fill in a bit of backstory for a few of the main characters while teasing even more of a backstory for others.

While I wouldn’t recommend this particular book as the first read in the series, I would wholeheartedly recommend it as the second. If you are looking for an interesting mash-up of genres, this one fits the bill: take an Ocean’s 11 caper, a twist of Sam Spade noir, mix with a heavy dose of magic, and you end up with Daniel Faust and his crew working their cons. Fun stuff!

On to the next one: [b:Redemption Song|22470217|Redemption Song (Daniel Faust, #2)|Craig Schaefer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402789778s/22470217.jpg|41911052]! ( )

Novella schmevella. This is a good, quick romp in Daniel Faust's crazy world of demons, magic and ghosts. Well worth a few hours of reading! ( )

My original The White Gold Score audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Having read all of the Daniel Faust stories, having a 1.5 to go back to is awesome! The only downside to this story is that it is way too short.

Daniel is back to his antics. Which is weird because having read all of the previous books, I know his full story. To come back to right after book one, The Long Way Down, I had to change my thinking a bit. There are certain things that obviously have not happened yet and the Daniel Faust that I have come to know, is not quite this person. Still, he is amazing and I love hearing about him, no matter where in his time line!

That said, 150 pages is not enough for this story. It does add to the overall plot but was not one of my favorites. Maybe because of the time line and I know where things go. Either way, I did enjoy it. Craig Schaefer has a way of creating a mystery and although he peppers clues throughout, I am always surprised by the end. I am also always amazed how the end comes together. Much like his other books, there is so much happening that you may want to slow down the audio just to make sure you catch everything.

I definitely recommend to read them in order if possible, but if not, go back and take a listen to this. You will not regret the extra time with Daniel. As usual this was a ton of fun to listen to.

I was also very happy to see Adam Verner back for the narration! He did an impeccable job, as always. Having anyone else narrate Daniel would make me very uncomfortable! The audio was perfect. The tension from Adam Verner's voice is palpable. Well done!

Audiobook was purchased for review by ABR. ( )