A fast-paced mystery uncovers a truth hidden by the bright lights of Las Vegas.To bankroll her future escape from Las Vegas, Nikki plays illegal poker games, using her natural skill and training from her father, Nathan "The Broker" Tate. Those skills also help her run the family's failing casino, which languishes because her father is on death row for murdering his business associate. After five years, though, her father's conviction—like so many other black men, he's found to be wrongfully convicted—is overturned and he returns home. Nathan is determined to reveal who framed him, only to quickly end up dead. So Nikki takes up her father's quest and tries to untangle the mystery. Even her blossoming relationship with Davis Carlino—son of local magnate Bertram "Big Bert" Carlino—won't get in the way of finding the truth. Then Nikki discovers how Big Bert and her father are connected…and that Davis could be part of it, too. Is Nikki about to become another Vegas cautionary tale? Nikki is a totally appealing character: gutsy, practical, and strong, at the head of a cast of well-drawn supporting characters. The interracial romance between Nikki and Davis, who is white, is handled deftly, as is Giles' skillful evocation of the townies-vs.-tourists nature of Las Vegas. An utterly compelling whodunit. (Mystery. 14-18)

If she knows anything, Vegas native Nikki Tate knows cards. She's trying to earn enough money to escape Vegas after high school, and she comes by the trade honestly: her casino-owning father, Nathan Tate, was a big deal, until he was convicted of murder five years ago. Now, though, that conviction has been overturned, and Nathan Tate joins a long line of wrongly convicted black men. But the man who returns is not the father Nikki remembers, and the circumstances surrounding the murder he was imprisoned for have not disappeared. As Nathan digs into the past, Nikki, too, becomes more entangled in Vegas' seedy underbelly, and the stakes are higher than she's used to. Giles deftly imagines the tense, sinister atmosphere of underground Vegas, while grappling with the issue of race in the justice system. Nikki's friendships and burgeoning relationship with the son of a rival casino titan are three-dimensional, and she herself is a tough-talking, sometimes impulsive heroine who's smart even when she's scared. A fast-paced, endlessly intriguing mystery.

Nikki Tate's father, wrongly convicted of murder over a gambling dispute, is now out of prison and intent on finding the real killer. The African American teenager quickly becomes entangled in the mystery herself and delves into the sinister underbelly of the Las Vegas gambling scene. A layered crime drama with compelling main and secondary characters; the well-paced mystery plot will keep readers turning pages.

A fast-paced mystery uncovers a truth hidden by the bright lights of Las Vegas.To bankroll her future escape from Las Vegas, Nikki plays illegal poker games, using her natural skill and training from her father, Nathan "The Broker" Tate. Those skills also help her run the family's failing casino, which languishes because her father is on death row for murdering his business associate. After five years, though, her father's conviction—like so many other black men, he's found to be wrongfully convicted—is overturned and he returns home. Nathan is determined to reveal who framed him, only to quickly end up dead. So Nikki takes up her father's quest and tries to untangle the mystery. Even her blossoming relationship with Davis Carlino—son of local magnate Bertram "Big Bert" Carlino—won't get in the way of finding the truth. Then Nikki discovers how Big Bert and her father are connected…and that Davis could be part of it, too. Is Nikki about to become another Vegas cautionary tale? Nikki is a totally appealing character: gutsy, practical, and strong, at the head of a cast of well-drawn supporting characters. The interracial romance between Nikki and Davis, who is white, is handled deftly, as is Giles' skillful evocation of the townies-vs.-tourists nature of Las Vegas. An utterly compelling whodunit. (Mystery. 14-18)

Famed poker player Nathan -the Broker- Tate is back in Las Vegas and free from death row after fresh evidence overturns a wrongful murder conviction. When he winds up dead outside his casino, his 16-year-old daughter, Nikki, already responsible for running the business and carrying on his legacy at the card table, starts doing some detective work in order to bring his killer to justice. High-stakes gambling, low-level espionage, and more typical high school concerns intersect, though the talk of football rivalries and choosing colleges can sometimes feel out of place against the deadly serious backdrop. Giles (Endangered) excels at pulpy crime drama, including a romance with a wealthy casino heir, scattering a trail of clues and bluffs to keep readers guessing. Racial elements at play-the Tates are black while their rivals, the Carlinos, are white-hover in the background, adding another layer to Giles-s murder mystery. Nikki-s sharp observations and self-deprecating sense of humor lighten the overall mood of this dark and twisty thriller. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.)

Living in the glare of the bright lights of Las Vegas, sixteen-year-old Nikki Tate is wise beyond her years. Nikki’s father, Nathan Tate, a professional gambler and owner of a struggling casino, is released from prison’s death row after five years. His conviction for the murder of a business acquaintance is overturned. Nikki and her mother struggle to assume a sense of normalcy with the return of Nathan. During her father’s absence, Nikki became instrumental in running the family’s casino, the Andromeda. Learning from her father and perfecting her craft in his absence, Nikki is a first-rate poker player. Running back-door games, Nikki and her friends, Molly and Gavin, are bank-rolling cash for their college education at the University of Virginia. Nikki is dealing not only with her father’s erratic behavior and quest to clear his name, but also with her developing crush on new student Davis Carlino. Unluckily for Nikki, Davis is the son of rival casino owner Bertram Carlino, causing tension within her family. When tragedy strikes the Tate family, Nikki begins an obsessive hunt to find the truth behind the deceit. Giles, a founding member of We Need Diverse Book, has written a fast-paced mystery featuring a strong, female, African-American protagonist who is involved in an interracial romance with David. Nikki is a relatable character for whom readers will root and cheer as she tries to solve the mystery hiding under the neon lights. The romantic tension between Nikki’s best friends, Molly and Gavin, is real, and the mother-daughter angst is something to which most teens can relate.—Adrienne Amborski.