Simon Lendrum
Published by
O'Malley makes his living at the poker table and his reputation solving problems the police won't touch. When an acquaintance asks him to look into his nephew's unexplained death, O'Malley figures there's little harm in helping out. But in Auckland's underworld, no favour stays simple for long.
Now he's juggling a dead young man nobody powerful enough cared to investigate, and a rigged card game that has drawn the attention of people who collect debts with extreme prejudice.
As the heat rises from every direction, it's only Claire — O'Malley's smartest and most reluctant accomplice — who can keep him from getting burned.
Auckland ex-convict turned professional poker player O'Malley never expected to become an investigator — until a father at the card table begs him to find his missing teenage daughter. Nothing is simple for O'Malley. His search plunges him into the city's gang pads, private poker games, and the plush offices of dodgy lawyers, all while his girlfriend Claire — sharper and steadier than he'll ever admit — keeps him one step ahead of trouble.