David Dodge - The Last Match (2006)
Reviewed by David J. Montgomery
From David Dodge, the author of To Catch a Thief (famously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly) comes this previously unpublished work, written just before the writer's death in 1974.
The Last Match is the story of a con man on the French Riviera with the unlikely moniker of Curly. He didn't start out trying to be a con man; he just fell into it when it seemed easier than actually working for a living.
Curly gets involved with some rough characters, conning French noblemen and smuggling cigarettes from Morocco, and finds himself throw in the hoosegow a time or two. All the while, he keeps his raffish charm and determined outlook.
Somewhat surprisingly, The Last Match also takes a romantic and sentimental turn, with Curly getting caught up in the affairs of British heiress Regina Forbes-Jones. She despises Curly and is determined to ruin his life -- or so he believes -- but he can't help falling for her anyway.
The book is probably a little longer than it needs to be, and Curly pulls a few more cons than are strictly necessary, but overall it is an entertaining and fun read. This isn't the best we've seen from Hard Case Crime, but The Last Match is still a worthy find.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink
