Bet Your Life - Softcover

Dooling, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060505400 ISBN 13: 9780060505400

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2003

Synopsis

A terminally ill man sells his life insurance policy for cheap to an investor who will collect the full amount when the sick man dies.But is the sick man really sick? Does he even exist? In the age of AIDS and no-holds-barred capitalism, the business of betting on how much longer sick people will live is thriving. Is this new market in which life insurance policies are bought and sold a legitimate enterprise, or is it an open invitation to fraud and murder?

Carver Hartnett, Miranda Pryor, and Leonard Stillmach all work for Reliable Allied Trust, in Omaha, where they investigate insurance fraud. Carver -- the narrator of this edgy and surprising novel -- is frustrated. His company would rather raise premiums than prosecute insurance criminals. Miranda, his seductive coworker, leads him on and then puts him off -- she seems to have something monstrous to hide. When their friend, crazy Lenny, a computer gamer and an expert with drug-and-alcohol cocktails, dies in the middle of playing Delta-Strike online, a strange and disturbing narrative unfolds around a possible murder and massive insurance fraud. Carver is drawn deeper into various hearts of darkness, and in his efforts to discover the truth behind his friend's death, he ends up betting his own life.

Filled with memorable characterizations -- Carver's boss, the shrewd Old Man Norton; Dagmar Helveg, Norton's fascist assistant; regional investigator Charlie Becker, a plain-talking, commonsense cop -- Bet Your Life conducts a stealthy philosophical investigation of its own, in which our hero ends up investigating the mysteries of his soul.

About this title

Product Description:

Pub Date: 2003-10-14 Pages: 352 Language: English Publisher: Harper Perennial In response to the horrific national pet food recall. and the subsequent death of beloved dogs and cats all over the country due to tainted commercial food. this book will offer expert advice and easy-to-follow instructions on the best way to keep your pets diet nutritionally sound without relying on mass-produced food. Joan Weiskopf. a noted expert on pet care and a professional dog breeder. trainer and handler. will teach pet owners the most nutritional way to feed their pets for a long. happy. and healthy life. without feeding them from out of a bag or a can. Backed by a solid education in the animal sciences. which includes two years at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Joan will base this highly prescriptive and easy-to-read book on a solid list of Q & As from concerned pet o...

Review:

"Richard Dooling is a maverick talent ... It's Vonnegut by Grisham - and it's more ... shocking and emotionally right."--New York Times Book Review

"Richard Dooling is one of the finest novelists now working in America."--Stephen King

"Enough plot turns to keep your head spinning."--Daily News

"An unusually seductive mystery story."--New York Times

"If you're not hooked, you're one dead mackerel."--Entertainment Weekly

"Vastly entertaining ... tight and fast paced ... a definite winner."--Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0060505400
• ISBN 13: 9780060505400
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352