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by Lamar Giles
A Teen Card Shark discovers hidden truths hidden behind the glamor of Las Vegas.
Nikki Tate is infamous, even by Las Vegas standards. Her dad is sitting on death row, convicted of killing his best friend in a gambling dispute turned ugly. And for five years, he's maintained his innocence. But Nikki wants no part of that. She's been working on Operation Escape Vegas: playing in illegal card games so she can save up enough money to get out come graduation day.
Then her dad's murder conviction is overturned. The new evidence seems to come out of nowhere and Nikki's life becomes a mess when he's released from prison. Because the dad who comes home is not the dad she remembers. And he's desperately obsessed with finding out who framed him - and why.
As her dad digs into the seedy underbelly of Vegas, the past threatens everything and Nikki is drawn into his deadly hunt for the truth. But in the city of sin, some sinners will do anything to keep their secrets, and Nikki soon finds herself playing for the biggest gamble ever - her life.
"Starred Review. The interracial romance ... is handled deftly, as is Giles' skillful evocation of the townies-vs.-tourists nature of Las Vegas. An utterly compelling whodunit." - Kirkus
"Nikki's sharp observations and self-deprecating sense of humor lighten the overall mood of this dark and twisty thriller. Ages 12–up." - Publishers Weekly
"[T]he believable ways in which Nikki interacts with everyone around her, are the novel's greatest strengths. The mystery never feels forced and seems to flow naturally, gaining momentum as Nikki peels away each layer until everything is ultimately revealed. One slight quibble: some of the poker descriptions don't seem accurate, but these would likely be caught only by someone with poker experience and won't derail the story." - School Library Journal
This information about Overturned was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Adrienne Giles
Lamar Giles is the author of the acclaimed novels The Getaway, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, Not So Pure and Simple, SPIN, Fake ID, and has written for globally beloved brands like DC Comics, Star Wars, and National Geographic. He is a three-time Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award nominee, a recipient of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Youth Literary Award, and founding member of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. He resides in Virginia with his family.
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