Tessie King is determined to save the Royal Palace
Casino, but braving a mobster family gathering is more
than she intended. Professional snowboarder and casino
board member Rafe Lorenzo has helped Tessie arrange for
the finale of Battle Buffet to be filmed at the casino in
an effort to boost the casino's income and keep Tessie in
place as chairman and operating director. Unfortunately,
things get quite complicated when a casino guest turns up
murdered and FBI Agent Devon Ryder suggests
the casino is a hotbed of mob members. Can Tessie dig her
way out of this mess, or will she lose everything in her
wild gamble?
HEY BIG SPENDER is the second entry in Gemma Halliday and
T. Sue Verteeg's Tahoe Tessie series, but I was
able to easily jump right in and enjoy the characters and
setting. In fact, I'm not normally a huge fan of stories
involving mobsters, but Tessie's attitude towards them
truly makes the storyline work for me. I definitely
intend to read the first book in the series and I suspect
other new readers to the series will want to as well,
mainly because Tessie herself is so much fun.
Gemma Halliday and T. Sue Verteeg do a great job with
developing their characters. Tessie is the perfect main
character, dedicated to her friends and family but
willing to admit her insecurities and flaws. I absolutely
love the scenes with her and her stepmother, particularly
when they go to a yacht party. The contrast between
them only makes me love Tessie even more. However, Tate
Lopez practically steals the show. I adore Tessie's
flamboyant but oh so loyal best friend!
HEY BIG SPENDER is the perfect book to curl up with as
Gemma Halliday and T. Sue Verteeg craft a darned good
mystery chock full of quirky characters. From the tacky
(and tactless) LeAnna Aiden to the temperamental chef to
mobsters galore, HEY BIG SPENDER is just sheer fun!
Gemma Halliday and T. Sue Verteeg definitely hit the
jackpot with HEY BIG SPENDER.
When Tessie King inherited the Royal Palace Hotel, Lake
Tahoe's biggest resort, she inherited a cranky board of
directors along with it. A board that is demanding higher
revenues, or Tessie's out. Faced with the possibility of
losing her father’s legacy, Tessie turns to her staff to
help her come up with a plan: film the season finale of
Battle Buffet, the hottest cooking competition show on
TV, at the resort. It's a scheme sure to bring in the big
bucks.
But is also brings big trouble. When one of the casino’s
wealthiest clients is found dead on the gaming floor, and
the killer comes up incognito on the security footage,
everyone is a suspect—from the television crew to the
blue haired retirees at the slots. Tessie teams up with
her stepmother-turned-BFF and her snowboarding teenage
crush in a race against the clock to repair the casino's
reputation, dodge mob accusations from the hot FBI agent
on the case, and track down a killer before any more of
her big spenders end up sleeping with the fishes.