Deadly Gamble: A Toni Underwood
Mystery by Diane Davidson is the second in this series of lesbian
mysteries. This one finds Toni sorting through some dirty dealing in the
underworld of Las Vegas. This mystery is a light mystery after the manner of
“cozy” mysteries. It has no blood, no
graphic violence, no sex, what it does have is plenty of excitement, strange characters,
and snappy dialog.

Deadly Gamble is set against
the bright lights of Las Vegas. Toni Underwood has received an urgent call to
come and visit her “black sheep” aunt, Vera Valentine. Vera has been receiving
death threats and more recently, actual attempts have been made upon her life.
Vera, however, is no innocent. She was once a prominent madam who was not
opposed to using her knowledge about her clients for her own personal gain. Now
financially secure, but in failing health, Vera is a virtual prisoner in her
posh penthouse apartment on top of a famous gambling hotel, the Golden Calf. As
Toni strives to figure out whom among Vera’s former clientele might be behind
the threats, Toni finds herself to be a target. When Vera is found murdered in
her own bed with her own handgun in her securely locked apartment, Toni seeks
out the aid of Sergeant Sally Murphy. Toni had formerly worked with Sally when
she was in the police force. Together they follow leads, avoid dangerous traps,
and solve a crime in the dazzling world of high rollers.

The plot and characters in this
novel are well drawn. The character of Toni Underwood as the tough yet
emotional wounded former cop is believable. True, she does “stupid” things that
a trained police officer should know not to do, and Sally is quick to point
these out to her. Vera as the aging madam and Royce Ballard, her drag queen
beauty consultant, are portrayed somewhat stereotypically. Royce, however, is
still a truly humorous character, if you can imagine an aged drag queen dolled
up and dressed to killer, literally. Her former clients, Arthur Van Buren, the
television evangelist, William Brooks, the multimillionaire CEO, and Mylo
Lombardi, the Mafia thug and current owner of the Golden Calf, are portrayed as
a truly slimy bunch. (I could not help but hope that each one, guilty of murder
or not, got his just “comeuppances.”)

In comparison to Deadly
Butterfly (2001) Davidson’s third offering in this series, Deadly Gamble
is by far the better of the two mysteries. I found the characters to be more
interesting. The action was more exciting. Toni was more human and less “Rambo
like”. While neither book is great literary fiction, at least Deadly Gamble does not come across like
a teen horror film rip-off. There is no gratuitous sex or chain saw toting
murderer. Deadly Butterfly is also
more in the line of erotica, while Deadly
Gamble is more a mystery. Of the two, I would recommend Deadly Gamble, however, in the genre of
lesbian mysteries, I might recommend trying Sharon Gilligan or Katherine
Kreuter.

Diane Davidson has written three
books in “Toni Underwood Mystery”
series Deadly Rendezvous (1994) Deadly Gamble (1997) and Deadly Butterfly (2001). Davidson
currently lives in California with two dogs and a cat. (I could find out little
else about the author.)

In conclusion, Deadly Gamble is a light read and cozy mystery. It is not the best
in the genre of lesbian mysteries, but it is also definitely not the worst.

© 2002 Su Terry

Su Terry: Education:
B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from
Southern Connecticut State College, M.R.S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral
Counseling from Fairfield University, a M.Div. in Professional Ministry from
New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a Certificate in Spirituality/Spiritual
Direction from Sacred Heart University. She is a Licensed Minister of the
United Church of Christ and an Assistant Professor in Library Science at
Dowling College, Long Island, NY. Interests in Mental Health: She is interested
in the interplay between psychology, biology, and mysticism. Her current area of
research is in the impact of hormonal fluctuation in female Christian mystics.

Categories: Fiction