Review: A secret to printing money and what some people would do to get it
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 11, 2014
Reviewed by Angelica Bentley (for The Kindle Book Review).If you like non-stop action, a lengthy excursion across the glorious islands of the Caribbean Sea and plenty of nautical, sea-faring adventure, this well-paced tale will keep you well entertained.  The element of surprise is perhaps lacking since most of what happens is predictable, given the circumstances, but the narrative does not bog down and carried me along pleasantly enough.  I believe this is a sequel, but for me it worked well as a stand-alone story.Jimmy Spencer is living a quiet, idyllic life in Marathon, a small boating community in the Florida Keys.  He runs a boat charter business and shares his life with a beautiful woman with a taste for adventure, Naomi, and Rex, his disturbed, borderline crazy terrier/shih tzu cross.  Rex's aggressive personality and imperfect digestive system provide some of the plot devices.Boats and a leisurely, outdoorsy life feature large in Jimmy's current existence but we soon learn that, behind a carefully constructed new identity, hides a former casino insider with the key to a fool-proof system that can beat any house in any casino in the world.  The man who gave him this priceless secret has been killed, and Jimmy/Johnny is now the only person alive with the lucrative knowledge.When two armed strangers find his boat, realizing his cover is blown, Jimmy, with Naomi and Rex in tow, flees on a fast trimaran in a desperate attempt to lose himself in the vast Caribbean region with its string of sleepy or bustling small islands.  What follows is the ceaseless pursuit of the fugitives by a ruthless gang of middle-eastern thugs who, in true James Bond style, seem to have endless resources to expend in their quest for the secret of Free Money.I thought the underlying theme was well executed:  the tension between evading relentless pursuit while moving in most people's idea of paradise on earth.  Jimmy and Naomi lead a parallel, double life of periodic excursions through heaven and hell.  They seem to have the ability to stay vigilant and proactive during the hunt, but relax and enjoy the high points and the good life in between.  Perhaps not entirely realistic, but very satisfying from the viewpoint of the reader who gets to vicariously enjoy their luxurious extravagances.  Having spent several holidays in the Caribbean, I find the descriptions of places and people to be very evocative and true to life.With a story that's all action, chase and pursuit, one does not expect an exploration of the full range of human psyche but Vass's characters are rather one-dimensional.  They are life-hardened survivors with the moral code of a jungle beast.  It's kill or be killed.Jimmy is a happy-go-lucky type.  He lives for the day, has enough brains and brawn for the precarious, nomadic existence he has embraced and the good sense to enjoy the good bits when they come.  Through long years of insider exposure to casino practices, he has acquired specialized knowledge which he uses to his own advantage as he pits his own system against that of the house.  I see nothing wrong with that.  It would be difficult to defend the moral right of casino owners to fleece gullible customers from their unassailable position of superiority.  Equally, his propensity for shooting people can be seen as the individual exercising his right to defend himself.  I abhor guns and the laws that condone and protect the acquisition of arms, but if someone keeps shooting at you and you happen to have a gun handy, well it would be stupid not to use it.  Most people will not have much in common with him, but he is a likeable narrator and we consistently see events from his singular viewpoint.Naomi's cartoon character evolves through the story.  At first she is simply a street-smart ex-cocktail waitress with a passion for vintage movies.  Handy and capable as a sailing mate, despite an aversion to cooking, she keeps Jimmy fed on a diet of dodgy sandwiches. Her motivation for sticking with a lover who could, at any moment, come to a violent end and often places her in mortal danger is never fully explained.  She goes along for the ride, loyal to a man she sees as a ticket to the easy life, adventure and frequent bouts of luxurious shopping.  Perhaps even facing hoods with evil intent is preferable to her previous life serving drinks.  What an indictment on the profession!  In the second half of the book, Naomi morphs into what one of the characters terms "Rambolina", and she becomes distinctly annoying.  She is essentially a male fantasy:  gorgeous without make-up or hair salon visits, capable sailor, more than handy with a gun, feminine only in the ways that are attractive to men, she is so one-dimensional as to be see-through.  However, as the side-kick to Jimmy's capable, tough guy persona, she serves a necessary function and, like Rex, provides a major plot device.The last part of the action takes us through a somewhat sentimental journey of small-time America in the secluded backwaters of Nevada's mountain country.  The social commentary is understated and well done.  Barry Vass writes the action with detached precision, the dialogue is lively and effective and provides good balance with the narration.  Sexual references are so coyly handled that this novel is easily suitable for a YA audience, well hardened to violent content by TV and the news.Despite Naomi's irritating personality, I was interested enough to keep following the rather predictable story, enjoyable mostly because the reader gets the expected ending.  I would venture the observation that this book is more suited to a male audience who will not get tired of the gun toting Rambo stuff.The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair, and honest review. We are not associated with the author or Amazon.