"Nick of Time" By Cathi Stoler: Review/Giveaway

Review by Terrance Mc Arthur

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Mix Casino Royale’s gambling action, Ocean’s 11’s caper, Chasing Madoff’s financial shenanigans, and The Godfather’s gangsters, and you have Nick of Time: A Nick Donahue Adventure, a clever little novella by Cathi Stoler.

“What’s a novella?” you might ask. A novella is to a novel what a Happy Meal is to a ten-course banquet. A novella is 20,000 to 50,000 words; over that is novel territory. Stephen King’s 10 largest novels average about 750 pages. Nick of Time is 80 pages, but that’s enough to tell a good story like this one.

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Nick is a gambler-blackjack’s his game. The sultry Marina comes along, getting him to help her bust a group of Serbian jewel thieves. Nick is betrayed, and he ends up beaten, ragged, without his wallet and passport, and riding in the back of a Czech vegetable truck with the cabbages. What lies ahead for Nick? Private jets, Swiss banks, Mr. Roger Moore (no, not that one), missing persons, casinos, gangsters, implied sex, money laundering, kidnapping, ultra-high-stakes Baccarat games, fake passports, narrow escapes, and journalists with connections in high places.

Stoler is the author of the Murder On the Rocks Mysteries (based in a New York City bar) and the Laurel and Helen New York Mysteries (pairing a woman’s magazine editor with a female private investigator). Her sleuths are resourceful, have a wry sense of humor, and tend to land in dangerous situations because of their acts of kindness. In your mind, you might want to choose the actors and celebrities you would cast as characters if the story was made into a movie. If you want to know who Stoler would cast in a film version of this story, check out her recent article in Kings River Life.

Nick of Time: A Nick Donahue Adventure is a quick read for a summer evening. You’ll vicariously travel to Italy, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Monaco, and Great Britain. You’ll meet noble gamblers, evil bankers, vengeful gangsters, fearful executives, wily spies, and a mom to be reckoned with.

Take the trip. If you know Stoler’s other books, you’ll be eager to begin. If she’s new to you, you’ll enjoy the journey. Bon Voyage.

To enter to win a copy of Nick of Time, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "nick,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen August 19, 2023. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes up next week.

You can use this link to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is newly retired as a Librarian in Fresno County, California. He is also a storyteller, puppeteer, magician, and maker of pine needle baskets. On top of that he writes stories that range from rhymed children's tales to splatterpunk horror. He's an odd bird, but he's nice to have around.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.