The Devil's Wind by Richard Rayner

In the fifties Las Vegas was still a small-townA friend gives him a news clipping that reveals
desert resort where Dean, Sammy and FrankMallory is alive and about to be married. The
played and the mob profited. The Hollywoodbride-to-be turns out to be Beth Dyer who's
crowd partied and watched atomic tests in thesomehow mixed up with Vegas mobster Paul
desert. Richard Rayner uses this period as theMantinelli. Valentine's carefully constructed life
setting for "The Devil's Wind," a tale of murderstarts to unravel and he discovers that he's being
and retribution revolving around an ambitiousused in some very nasty ways.
architect and a femme fatale.Rayner skillfully blends Vegas history, politics,
Maurizio Viglioni came home from World War IImobsters and racial prejudice in a plot that's
and changed his name to Maurice Valentine. He'satmospheric and totally engrossing. He gives the
now a highly respected architect and married to astory a genuine fifties feeling and adroitly captures
senator's daughter. They live in Palm Springs buta bygone era. Nevada politics, the jazz scene, Las
Maurice is going places - probably to the SenateVegas glitz and the nuclear tests conducted in the
as Nevada's next U.S. senator.Nevada desert, they're all here. The plot itself is
Then he meets heiress Mallory Walker at aintricate, sometimes confusing and improbable, but
cocktail party. They end up in bed; she tries toit's a fun read and offers a fascinating look back
shoot him and later she's found dead in a carat an interesting time period.
crash. The besotted Valentine thinks she mayCombine action, intrigue and well developed
have been murdered and he tries to find Mallory'sbelievable characters and set them in Sin City and
killers. He also wants to know her motives foryou have the basis for an entertaining mystery.
trying to kill him.