You Make Me Feel So Dead

July 22, 2013
Set in 1964, Randisi’s eighth Rat Pack mystery (after 2012’s It Was a Very Bad Year) delivers a tasty slice of nostalgia with a healthy dollop of crime and humor. Elvis Presley has come to Las Vegas to promote his movie Viva Las Vegas, and a worried Colonel Tom Parker wants someone to see that Elvis doesn’t get into trouble. Frank Sinatra nominates his friend Eddie Gianelli, a Sands casino exec, for the job. But Eddie also has to help PI buddy Danny Bardini with a girl problem that takes a serious turn when Danny is framed for a murder. Elvis, Frank, and Dean Martin all assist Eddie in trying to solve Danny’s problem. Randisi paints a sympathetic picture of a polite and intelligent but very vulnerable Elvis, already struggling with fame and hangers-on. Big bruiser Jerry Epstein once again provides invaluable aid in this celebrity-fueled adventure. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary.

August 1, 2013
Elvis is in the housethe Sands, that is, in 1964. In Vegas for the premiere of Viva Las Vegas, the King has become a loose cannon, which is why the Colonel wants Frank Sinatra to keep an eye on the star. Frank, naturally, enlists the aid of Sands' pit boss Eddie Gianelli, who doubles as fixer to the stars. But Eddie has his own mess. His pal, Danny Bardini, is under arrest for murder. In a nifty reversal of the series' premise, Eddie needs help proving Danny's innocence while chaperoning Elvis, so he turns to the Rat Packers to lend a hand. Frank and Dino are game, and even Elvis jumps at the chance to play sleuth, especially if he gets to pack heat (guns, along with peanut butter, being among the King's favorite things). Readers may wish the series wasn't moving away from the Pack's 1950s glory years, but Randisi does well with Elvis, portraying the troubled star as an almost giddy naf, eager to play with the big boys. Great fun, as always, for those who treasure Vegas in all its pretheme-park glory.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)