“Cold Deck, H. Lee Barnes’ novel driven by a savvy even hell-bent narrator, immediately draws you into the underworld of Las Vegas gambling and won’t let you go until the treachery and intrigue run flat out.” --Darrell Spencer, author of One Mile Past Dangerous Curve
“The world of the Vegas casinos--particularly the less glitzy side--creates a wonderful palette for the novel, and Barnes stamps almost every page of the book with the feel of it. The author, unlike his likeably unlucky main character, is holding a winning hand here.” --Keith Lee Morris, author of The Greyhound God and The Dart League King
"Gritty details and the realistic depiction of casino life demonstrate Barnes' easy familiarity with the terrain of Sin City." -Booklist
"Barnes has crafted a worthy thriller to go along with his sterling short fiction and stellar war memoir." The Veteran (Vietnam Veterans of America), July / August 2013
"Sometimes, as Cold Deck makes clear, the flames that singe us stem from conflagrations of our design. . . . Cold Deck plays it consistently cool, cat-and-mouse. . . . The storytelling is quiet, confident, assured, literary. . . . Cold Deck is seamlessly plotted, the tension subtly ratcheted. . . . If you read one Southwest-set crime fiction this summer, you should hotly consider making it Cold Deck." Tucson Weekly, June 13, 2013
"Finely crafted fiction that's also an authoritative look at how the casino business and cheating scams work." Las Vegas CityLife, May 16, 2013
“If you read one Southwest-set crime fiction this summer, you should hotly consider making it Cold Deck. Barnes deals a winning, if understated, hand.”—Tucson Weekly
~Tucson Weekly
“. . . Barnes has crafted a worthy thriller. . .”—Vietnam Veterans of America, July/August 2013
~Vietnam Veterans of America
“Barnes never fails his readers.”—Las Vegas Citylife
~Las Vegas Citylife
“Barnes’ low key prose rings with well-developed characters and authentic knowledge of the casino life, drawing you in and keeping the pages turning.”—Lahontan Valley News
~Lahontan Valley News
