Dangerous Odds

February 24, 2014
Even without the author’s “disclaimer” that this account of her decade on the wrong side of the law is “recreated,” savvy readers will suspect that a good chunk of the details of this memoir may not be strictly accurate. Lankester used her “memories, journals, photos and extensive research,” but none of those sources are likely to have provided descriptive color such as the name of the song playing at a particular moment 20 years ago. Even less-skeptical readers will find this a bloated account. In 1986, Lankester moved to Los Angeles for work, but the part-time receptionist position she found turned out to be something quite different; and that introduction to the numbers racket snowballed. Lankester ends up marrying her boss, a development that will not surprise after her torrid descriptions of their lovemaking (“As he began to kiss the nape of my neck, his lips slowly traveling down my naked body, I silently thanked every woman Tony had ever made love to.”) She ends up getting more involved in the operation, and becoming a target of law-enforcement herself. In addition to the book’s recreated elements, readers will likely find the sloppy writing problematic. Agent: Adriano Viganò, Werder-Viganò.

June 1, 2014

This thriller-like memoir describes bookmaking for an illegal international sports-betting operation. Canadian Lankester, who has been a bookmaker and a model, fell into bookmaking after arriving in Los Angeles to train for a long-distance driving competition. When the police shut down Lankester and her boyfriend/boss's bookmaking operation, the couple moved to his hometown to start over. They married and had a baby, but owing to continued trouble with the law, moved to the Dominican Republic to set up an offshore office and started taking bets anew. Lankester's experience on the island was tumultuous--she spent time in prison, was raped repeatedly by a corrupt official, evaded the FBI, divorced and reconciled, nursed her ex-husband after a near-fatal accident, and became a popular model. VERDICT This memoir reads like a mystery and keeps readers on the edge of their seats--at one point Lankester must figure out who the mole is inside their organization--and will be popular with fans of true crime and adventure thrillers.--Karen Sandlin Silverman, Scarborough H.S. Lib., ME

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
Lankester, the freewheeling daughter of a diplomat, thought it might be fun to work part-time for a California bookmaker (an illegal operation). She quickly impressed Ron Sacco, the bookmaker, and started climbing the ladder within his organization, winding up near the top. Soon she was the target of FBI investigators, who wanted to nail Sacco for illegal sports gambling, and eventually she wound up in the Dominican Republic, running a legal gambling operation for Sacco. This fascinating memoir approaches the story from two perspectives: there's the behind-the-scenes angle, of course, as Lankester takes us deep inside Sacco's sports-betting operation, but there's also the personal angle: Lankester was a woman in a man's world, the only female to hold a position of authority in a sports-betting organization. Her perspective is unique; you will find other books about sports betting, but it's unlikely you'll find one that tells the story as insightfully and from as fascinating a vantage point as this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)