George and Frances Roll the Dice

From the author:

George and Frances Roll the Dice is for everyone who wanted this sleuthing couple to have a honeymoon. I

wanted it too, but one book tends to lead me to the next and none of them allowed Frances and George to get

away on their own. Then while writing book eight, I noticed that they kept referring to a mythical honeymoon

they'd just returned from, and I realized that was my opportunity. The book had to fall between books seven

and eight. And it would have to be short, or I'd never have time to write it. So, it became a novella-a book

seven and a half.

I couldn't think of anything more romantic than a villa on the Normandy Coast, so that's where I sent them. Of

course, I couldn't let them have a quiet, peaceful honeymoon. There had to be some trouble. And a murder. I

knew Trouville and Deauville were famous for beautiful beaches, horseracing, and polo, but I wasn't sure how

to bring that bit of chaos into the mix. I didn't consider a gambling aspect until I learned about Arnold Rothstein,

a racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and above all, a gambler.

Rothstein fixed horseraces, poker games, and possibly the 1919 World Series. (There's evidence both for and

against.) He also inspired several fictional characters, including one of my favorites, Nathan Detroit from the

musical, Guys and Dolls. My bookie/racketeer, Albert Roth, is a little more Nathan Detroit than Arnold Rothstein,

a genial criminal with an innocent air. The timing is twenty years earlier, it's set in France, and the dice game

is hazard rather than craps, but I think it's the perfect honeymoon setting for George and Frances.