Undercard

By: David Albertyn

Narrated by: Leon Nixon

When Tyron Shaw returns to his hometown of Las Vegas after 11 years in the Marines, he’s surprised to discover that two of his best friends from childhood are all anyone is talking about: Antoine Deco, three years out of prison, hasn’t lost a boxing match since his release and is fighting tonight in the undercard to the fight of the decade; and Keenan Quinn, a police officer who killed an unarmed teenager and escaped punishment from the courts, is the subject of a protest tomorrow morning.

Tyron has trouble reconciling either story with his memory of these men, and the situation escalates when he runs into the love of his life, Naomi Wilks, a retired WNBA player, a basketball coach, and the estranged wife of Keenan. As Tyron reconnects with his old community, he learns over the next 24 hours that much has changed since he left Las Vegas...and there is much more that he never understood.

The Reef, an aquarium-themed casino and the hottest resort on the Strip, is the backdrop for this bullet-paced narrative, where loyalty to one’s friends, one’s family, and one’s community are ever at odds and every choice has deadly repercussions.

©2020 David Albertyn (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Riveting and Fast-paced Thriller

UNDERCARD is a riveting, roller coaster that starts at full throttle on page one and doesn't let up until the last page. Albertyn invokes a 24-esque style by spanning the storyline over a single day, and does it effortlessly. The conflict in the twisting plotlines is rooted deep in his characters' individual pasts and, as each thread unravels, it is apparent to the reader that there is much to still learn on the next page.
 
UNDERCARD stands out as a book that is extraordinarily poignant for current events. The shooting of an unarmed black teenager by Keenan--a white police officer--and the ensuing outrage and protests seem as if they were ripped straight out of yesterday's headlines. Albertyn compels the reader to face the repercussions of such an event on, not only the community, but also the life of a guilt-ridden cop who made the mistake of pulling the trigger. The perspective is one that is rarely seen these days in the news.
 
Albertyn's book is a gritty, fast-paced thriller with Sin City as the perfect backdrop. UNDERCARD is well written, compelling, and is an outstanding debut from an author that is destined to become a shiny star in the crime fiction genre.

A Great Listen

Brilliantly crafted debut novel. Albertyn took a subject I had absolutely no interest in and turned out a novel that captured me from the start and kept me anxiously awaiting the next turn of events. There were so many strands to the story, I couldn’t imagine how he’d wrap them up. He did so masterfully. Bravo!