A vintage mystery, Signet. Printed in 1963. 144 pages, no ISBN.

"Meet Jake Winkman, slick bridge expert with sharp duds, soft heart, and a quick deal. Age 38, weight 175. Eyes hooded, wary, questioning. Plays his cards right and his women fast. Living in Honolulu, where the sun is hot and the babes are available, living the sweet life of a brige bum, everything soft and easy... until Lady Luck pulls a joker and turns up a corpse. Then Winkman dins himself marked as heavy loser in the game of murder-is-wild..."

"When Vera Stratton, high-headed, cool, and clear-eyed, sauntered by the Hawaiian-blue pool, Jake Winkman felt the old familiar kick in his guts. Vera was the only dame he really loved. Trouble was, she wasn't a dame, she was a lady."

What can I say? I love the covers of the vintage whodunits, mysteries, thrillers and spy stories... and they are sometimes fun to get absorbed in. In the world where the first James Bond stories were located in time, and where the Ludlum heroes started their extravagant hunts for the evil. This one isn't as dramatic as the Bonds or Ludlums, and occasionally it contains a bit too much details about bridge to my taste, but nevertheless, Jake Winkman's Hawaii in early 1960s doesn't sound like a sucky place. Unless you are murdered, of course...

This book is reserved for svoight's mystery & suspense vbb.

Sending to solittletime from the VBB. Enjoy! :)

Received the books from the Mystery VBB today. Thanks very much.

When a book originally cost 35 cents, you know it's ancient (copyright 1963) but that's what makes it fun; mysteries were written in a whole different style back then. I'm looking forward to reading this one.

Reserved for the 2012 Never Judge a Book By Its Cover Release Challenge which week 39 features a brown, red or yellow cover.

Released at Denny's Restaurant, 1220 Brighton Ave, Portland, Maine, (almost at the Westbrook line), around 11 PM on September 27, 2012.

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