The Only Girl in the Game
by John D. MacDonald
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The Only Girl in the Game, one of many classic novels from crime writer John D. MacDonald, the beloved author of Cape Fear and the Travis McGee series, is now available as an eBook.Her employers are the high priests of the great gambling mecca in the desert—and she is their handmaiden. Her job is to lead the lambs to the sacrifice, to keep them happy at the tables, where her partners slaughter the suckers. She longs to be free of the entertainers rubbing elbows with thugs at the craps show more tables, the divorcées hocking their jewels next to all-night marriage chapels, and the little white balls bouncing along the roulette wheels twenty-four hours a day in this world without end. But no matter how hard she tries to escape her past, she’s fated to be caught forever backstage in the sick glitter of the infamous Las Vegas strip with nothing but sand and neon and money, money, everywhere.
Features a new Introduction by Dean Koontz
Praise for John D. MacDonald
“The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King
“My favorite novelist of all time.”—Dean Koontz
“To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt Vonnegut
“A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins Clark. show less
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Member Reviews
Sharp stark account of relationships in a Las Vegas casino owned by an organized crime syndicate. As hard and bright as a gemstone.
one of JDM's best! the exploration of human values and emotions is excellent and this should be taught at the university level as a classic novel of the 20th century.
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Author Information
229+ Works 31,908 Members
John D. MacDonald was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania on July 24, 1916. He received a B.S. from Syracuse University in 1938 and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1939. During World War II, he served in the Army. His first novel, Brass Cupcake, was published in 1950. He wrote about 70 books during his lifetime show more including the Travis McGee series, Condominium, No Deadly Drug, Nothing Can Go Wrong, and A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and John Dann MacDonald. A Flash of Green was adapted into a movie by the same name and The Excuse was adapted into a movie entitled Cape Fear. He received numerous awards including the Ben Franklin Award for the best American short story in 1955, the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere for A Key to the Suite in 1964, the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award in 1972, the American Book Award for The Green Ripper in 1980. He died from complications of an earlier heart bypass surgery on December 28, 1986 at the age of 70. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Original publication date
- 1960
- First words
- It was the middle of April, and the morning sun laid its white weight across all the architectural confections along the Las Vegas Strip, and shone with bright impartiality upon the grubbiness of the town itself, upon twenty-... (show all)four-hour-a-day marriage chapels, the sour little rooming houses and anonymous motels.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The screen door slapped shut behind them as they walked into the orange glow of the lights.
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Statistics
- Members
- 119
- Popularity
- 268,491
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.72)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 14
