<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br><b>From a writer who "dazzles with prose strength and style" (Michael Koryta), <i>Bluff</i> takes us deep inside the fraught and fascinating world of a modern magician who becomes obsessed with magic's dark twin--the underworld of the card cheat</b><p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>The magician's job is to create a mystery--an unbridgeable gap between cause and effect. Michael Kardos brilliantly constructs his new novel <i>Bluff</i> as a magician would, delivering a perfectly calibrated performance of intrigue and, ultimately, astonishment.<p> At twenty-seven, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she started touring at seventeen, took first place at the World of Magic competition at eighteen, and never reached such heights again. Shunned by the magic world after a disastrous liaison with an older magician, she now lives alone with her pigeons and a pile of overdue bills in a New Jersey apartment. In a desperate ploy to make extra cash, she follows up on an old offer to write a feature magazine article--on the art of cheating at cards. But when she meets the perfect subject for her article, what begins as a journalistic gamble brings into question everything Natalie thinks she knows about her talent, and herself. Natalie is dazzled by the poker cheat's sleight of hand and soon finds herself facing a proposition that could radically alter her fortune--to help pull off a $1.5 million magic trick that, if done successfully, no one will ever even suspect happened. With Kardos raising the stakes chapter after chapter, <i>Bluff</i> is a breathtaking work of suspense from a writer at the top of his game.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p><b>Praise for <i>Bluff</i>: </b></p> <p>"As lithe and cunning as its characters, Michael Kardos's <i>Bluff</i> is a masterly exercise in narrative sleight of hand. This is suspense in its purest form--character-driven, immersive and hopelessly addictive. Prepare to be taken."<b>--Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of <i>You Will Know Me</i></b></p> <p>"Michael Kardos is a master at ratcheting up the suspense, and <i>Bluff</i> combines poker, a brilliant con game, and two terrific women who run the show. If you haven't read Kardos yet, <i>Bluff</i> is the perfect place to start!"<b>--Lisa Scottoline, bestselling author of <i>Exposed</i></b> <p>"Terrific writing, great characters, an insider's knowledge, and a killer plot with a leg-breaker of a twist. What are you waiting for? Buy this book."<b>--Peter Blauner, author of <i>Proving Ground</i> and <i>Slow Motion Riot</i></b></p> "Natalie is a sharp-witted survivor with a relatable self-sabotaging streak whose move into the dark world of card cheats climaxes with a spin worthy of the most adept con artists."<b>--<i>Booklist</i></b></p> <p>"So exciting and thrilling--I loved this from the first line! Female card-sharp with a mysterious past gets drawn into life-changing heist. Smart and fun."<b>--Mary Cotton, Newtonville Books, Newton, MA</b></p> <p>"Engaging and interesting, with enough lore about magicians and gambling to give the story veracity without weighing it down."<b>--<i>Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine</b></i></p><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>Michael Kardos</b> is the Pushcart Prize-winning author of the novels <i>The Three-Day Affair</i> and <i>Before He Finds Her</i> and the story collection <i>One Last Good Time</i>. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he lives in Starkville, Mississippi, where he codirects the creative writing program at Mississippi State University.
Cheapest price in the interval: 16 on October 23, 2021
Most expensive price in the interval: 16 on November 8, 2021
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