Hard-Luck Harry

By: Michelle Rabe

Narrated by: Chase Johnson

Las Vegas is a city with a past, a place where visitors dream of hitting it big. A town with a glittering strip just blocks away from its seedy underbelly. A town where those dreams are born, used up and spit out like an over-the-hill showgirl clinging to the tattered remnants of her youth. Harry is one of the dreamers, a cheat at cards who has just gotten out of prison. He's ready to find the big pay off on the strip, with a new fool-proof way to take the whales.

©2013 Michelle Rabe (P)2015 Michelle Rabe

Never Cheat A Vampire

Harry has just been released from prison and can't wait to hit the tables in Vegas. His special gifts will help him make a huge profit playing poker. He should have driven the cab... This book is great, as I've already read the ebook. It was nice to hear Harry as a voice.I won this audiobook in a contest, but I would have bought it anyway. This is the first book I've listened to by this narrator, and he did a good job.

A fun and enjoyable short story!

This was an enjoyable short story! The narrator was incredible and did a fantastic job at portraying each of the characters’ unique voices.

I went into the book blind and I’m glad I did- I liked all the surprises! I’m usually not much of a fantasy reader but I enjoyed this. I only wish there was more!

Entertaining but needed to be longer

Harry recently got out of prison and he has returned to his old haunts on the Las Vegas strip. He’s always been one to look for easy cash and now he’s looking for a larger card game with some whales he can play against. He won’t get what he came to Vegas for, but he might just get something better.

Harry took a knock to the head about three months back and since then there has been this voice. He has learned to listen to the voice, but not his innate common sense. He proceeds with his plan to cheat at cards and win big. He ends up at the elite Coffin Club with a wad of cash to buy in. There, we meet a few more characters. Mr. Cristoff Marchon runs the place. Mandy is his right hand-woman who manages the manager. David is a floor manager and his main job is to keep an eye out for cheats.

Harry is an enigmatic character. We don’t know why he was in prison. The only ‘bad’ thing we witness him doing is cheating at cards. He seems to have at least one friend, Mickey the bartender who we meet at the beginning of the story. Harry is out for the simple, fast solution and isn’t looking to find long term work or turn socially respectable. So, honestly, I’m not sure I liked this main character, but I did find him interesting.

All the other characters are pretty fleeting and by necessity are one dimensional. There’s only 1 female character, Mandy, and most of the time spent with her is discussing her looks and her sashaying hips. With a short story and a small cast, having only 1 female character is not unusual but I would have liked to have the time spent with her on her other attributes, such as her special talents.

The supernatural part of the story comes in really, really late. I had an impression going into this tale that this aspect would permeate it instead of being the final crescendo. Needless to say, the side characters with these special talents soon become interested in Harry because he appears to have his own special talent.

The ending was pretty abrupt, even as I felt it was fitting. My biggest criticism is that this story is too short. The characters needed a little more time to develop, the plot point of these supernatural talents needed more time on the page, and the ending needed more time to be dramatic and satisfying. This story has potential and I hope the author chooses to build upon what she started here.

I won a copy of this book from the author.

Narration: Chase Johnson did a decent job. He had a good voice for Harry that was full of skepticism and a disregard for authority. He made Harry believable. Later in the story, he does a passable French accent for one of the characters, and the same for the one female character.

Hard-Luck Harry

I went into this story without knowing anything about it, and I was entertained. An ex-con with a special gift tries to strike it rich in Vegas. Things do not go as expected.

Michelle Rabe has written a very entertaining short story. Chase Johnson’s narration was well done and added to my enjoyment.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Hard-Luck Harry

This was an entertaining short story with a unique twist. Harry has recently been released from prison, but he still has an unrelenting urge to play the tables in Las Vegas. He seems to have acquired a way to win and can't wait to try it out. But, when he decides to try his new found skill at one particular Casino, little does he know what kind of people he will encounter.

I enjoyed this story with a paranormal twist and found it to be well-written and unique. The narrator did a great job and added a lot to the story. I will definitely be looking for more books by Ms. Rabe!