This novel is twist on the standard crime novel of sorts in that it focuses nearly equally on the wife of police detective as much as the detective. Leslie McHugh is a detective's wife and mother of a nearly out-of-control teenage daughter. Feeling the pressures of life more, she does feel lonely while her husband, Craig is a dedicated uncover cop in a difficult assignment and nearly absent from home. Craig is currently trying to pose as an easy mark in a series of gambling games in the Chinese community of Chicago.
Alternating chapters in the book--I liked this technique--the story is told from Leslie and Craig's perspective of Craig's big case and related events.
As I recalled with those of us gathered, I preferred the book much more than others. A couple gave up on the book after reading for a while--with one wanting more of a mystery story and another not caring for the characters. And granted this book is not a standard mystery as such with a lot of time devoted to Leslie who is outside of Craig's work environment. However, she does begin to suspect him of adultery and begins an investigation, of sorts, on her own.
I guess I was OK with a hybrid novel of sorts. One attendee, though, found that tact a disappointment. I suspect I should have checked closer on the content of the book...
Some didn't care for a twist in the novel (a quite violent one) and found the victim's response unlikely. It also appeared to invite an sort of grand white knight ("male savior") situation as the resolution which left one person cold.
As the case in many novels, characters actions are a back breaker for following a novel's appeal and some questionable judgments with these characters were turn-offs.
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