From Publishers Weekly
This suspenseful third John Deal crime thriller from Standiford finds the Miami building contractor tangling with Chinese gangsters who are trying to move in on a scheme hatched by two Hollywood porno magnates to create X-rated films for the huge mainland Chinese market. Deal already has troubles enough?his wife, Janice, has sunk into a deep depression over the serious burns she suffered in last year's Raw Deal, and a close friend has apparently committed suicide, shortly after she has told her film-star sister, Paige Nobleman, that Paige was adopted. Deal and his tenant/pal, ex-cop Vernon Driscoll, begin investigating Paige's birth and, eventually, the friend's death, following leads that take them directly into the porno scheme and the path of some deadly Chinese gang members. Standiford, an unusually fine thriller writer who has won the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and who directs the creative writing program at Florida International University, is at the top of his game here, displaying excellent pacing and a particular affinity for action scenes. The ongoing saga of John Deal remains especially intriguing above all, however, because its author drenches each volume in the ambiguities?sometimes rewarding, sometimes nightmarish?of real life. $25,000 ad/promo; author tour; U.K. and translation rights: Sobel Weber; first serial and dramatic rights: Nat Sobel. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
John Deal, building contractor turned sleuth from Standiford's Raw Deal (HarperCollins, 1994) and Done Deal (LJ 10/15/93), returns better than ever as he follows up on the horrible murder of his friend Barbara Cooper, who saved John's wife, Janice, in Done Deal. Barbara's estranged sister, fading actress Paige Nobleman, hires Deal and his tenant/sidekick Driscoll to find the people behind Barbara's death. The trail leads Deal and Driscoll to the West Coast, where they discover a growing market for pornographic films. This well-written, well-paced novel has gritty, believable characters and interesting subplots, such as John and Janice Deal's tenuous marriage, that reinforce the book's plausibility. This is a nice buy for public libraries with thriller readerships in need of more Stuart Woods (Dead Eyes, HarperCollins, 1994) and John Saul (Black Lightning, Fawcett, 1995).?Alice DiNizo, Raritan P.L., N.J.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
John Deal thought his life was on the mend. His contracting business was in the black, he had a beautiful daughter, and his wife, Janice, was almost through with the operations she needed after sustaining injuries in a fire a couple of years back. But without warning, Janice slips into post-traumatic stress and has to be hospitalized, and Barbara Cooper, who was Deal's emotional support through Janice's physical recovery, commits suicide. Deal finds the body and also meets Paige Nobleman, Barbara's actress sister. Although Barbara had been distraught over the recent loss of her mother, Deal doesn't buy suicide. With the help of Vernon Driscoll, an ex-cop and a good friend, Deal looks into her death. He eventually learns Barbara died not because of anything she did but because she had inadvertently discovered Paige's unwitting connection to an organization that was producing pornographic movies for export to China. The third John Deal mystery is a jaw dropper. Standiford evokes the sun-drenched South Florida scene as well as John D. and Elmore; his dialogue seems transcribed rather than imagined; and in Deal he has the most emotionally centered protagonist in contemporary crime fiction. Flawless. Wes Lukowsky

From the Publisher
Les Standiford, who has won raves from critics and readers alike for his previous John Deal books--Raw Deal and Done Deal--once again heats up the streets of Miami when our hero coaxes his wife back from depression while battling a Chinese gang bent on making a literal killing in porn films.

ANNOTATION

Small-time building contractor John Deal's life is unraveling faster than a film reel spinning off a projector. His best friend Barbara Cooper takes her own life--but does she? Unconvinced that Barbara's death is a suicide, Deal begins an investigation that pulls him into the vortex of a scheme of ruthless Chinese gangsters looking to make a killing in the movie industry.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

John and Janice Deal seem to have put the horrors of Raw Deal behind them when Janice suddenly slips into a profound depression. As Deal battles to keep her balanced, he must contend with the apparent suicide of his best friend, Barbara Cooper, who was seemingly distraught over the death of her mother. Meanwhile, middling Hollywood agent Stuart Mahler has a bright idea - making porn movies for the burgeoning Chinese market. ("Imagine," he enthuses, "a billion people all getting in touch with their sexuality at the same time!") His idea is too bright, perhaps, because it's attracted the attention of a ruthless Chinese triad that is muscling in on Mahler's venture. What ties all this together, and brings John Deal on the scene, is Paige Nobleman, a struggling Hollywood actress, who is Mahler's client and Barbara Cooper's sister. She hires Deal and his partner, ex-cop Vernon Driscoll, to find out whether her sister really killed herself. The answer to that question only leads to more disturbing questions. Questions that the triad will do anything to stop Deal from asking - "anything" meaning Gabriel Tan, a splendidly chilling behemoth who blends Eastern philosophy and a hard-won knowledge of how to end a life with one hand. Standiford sets himself apart from the crowd by tackling malevolence in its timeliest incarnation and depicting decent, ordinary people wrestling with extraordinary evil.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This suspenseful third John Deal crime thriller from Standiford finds the Miami building contractor tangling with Chinese gangsters who are trying to move in on a scheme hatched by two Hollywood porno magnates to create X-rated films for the huge mainland Chinese market. Deal already has troubles enough-his wife, Janice, has sunk into a deep depression over the serious burns she suffered in last year's Raw Deal, and a close friend has apparently committed suicide, shortly after she has told her film-star sister, Paige Nobleman, that Paige was adopted. Deal and his tenant/pal, ex-cop Vernon Driscoll, begin investigating Paige's birth and, eventually, the friend's death, following leads that take them directly into the porno scheme and the path of some deadly Chinese gang members. Standiford, an unusually fine thriller writer who has won the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and who directs the creative writing program at Florida International University, is at the top of his game here, displaying excellent pacing and a particular affinity for action scenes. The ongoing saga of John Deal remains especially intriguing above all, however, because its author drenches each volume in the ambiguities-sometimes rewarding, sometimes nightmarish-of real life. $25,000 ad/promo; author tour; U.K. and translation rights: Sobel Weber; first serial and dramatic rights: Nat Sobel. (Oct.)

Library Journal