This is the third instalment of the Cain Casey saga – a series
with New Orleans mobster Derby Cain Casey as the central figure with plots,
schemes and killings galore sprinkled with a seasoning of romance and sex.
In the second part Cain murdered the family controlling
drugs as vendetta for the torture, rape and murder of her mentally-arrested
younger sister. Cain stays away from the drug scene as do her closest
associated, the Jatibons. However, they need to have control of who corners
that niche because unless they do, someone else could get in and grow bigger
than them putting all of them in peril. Remington (Remi) Jatibon is heir apparent
of the gambling empire of the Jatibons. Remi, like Cain before Emma, is an
unapologetic player. As a part of their legitimate business, Cain and Remi
invest in a movie studio and Remi meets and is smitten by Dallas Montgomery, an
actress on the cusp of big time, inexplicably under the control of a boorish
manager. Emma Verde (Mrs. Casey as she calls herself) is still trying to redeem
herself for having left Cain and plotted against her. In building back her
relationship with Cain, Emma wants to have a third child and the couple embarks
on that journey. In the meanwhile, one of the wannabe drug lords is getting
obsessed with Emma and proving dangerous.
The book is non-stop gang-time drama. Somehow, the FBI are
all nincompoops who only sit around in their surveillance vans ineffectively as
Cain runs circles around them. Cain’s cousin, Muriel, and her love interest,
FBI agent Shelby, are two lovely ladies who seem to be getting sacrificed more
and more as this series progresses. Their potentially beautiful relationship is
put in jeopardy all the time. In this one, Muriel is desperate to prove herself
to Cain. So far she was the ‘legal’ face of the Casey empire, but to prove
herself, she asks to get into the illegal aspects too – and instead of taking
care of Muriel in a vulnerable and angry phase, Cain lets that happen. Shelby,
who so far, in all three books has only helped Cain in different ways is also
just not given her due. While Cain’s business ‘partners’ are supposed to be her
equal, somehow Cain is way more omniscient and omnipotent making everyone else (including
Remi) seem to be different levels of lackeys. Remi and Dallas’ relationship is
nice to read though happening at a breakneck speed. The one thing that keeps us
returning to Ms. Vali’s books are excellent sex scenes.
This is a fairly engaging read.
⭐⭐⭐★
