Still fun but not as good as the last one. ( )

Le pagan poco, es un poco duro. Le pagan mucho, es muy duro. Le pagan muchísimo, es extremadamente duro. En el Hollywood de 1940 el detective privado Toby Peters vuelve, lamentablemente aquejado de un catarro terrible. Peters está tosiendo y resoplando todo el camino a través de los bajos fondos de Chicago, en un intento desesperado por limpiar el nombre de Chico Marx, quien está acusado de deber a la mafia $ 120.000 en deudas de juego. Además de los gangsters, Peters tiene que lidiar con la familia de Chico. Uno de ellos no habla -es el hermano silencioso- y el otro va por ahí con un bigote negro. Aunque si pudiera elegir, iría por ahí con una rubia. Las cosas pueden parecer difíciles, pero con la ayuda de algunos otros tipos duros que están de su parte -Al Capone, Richard Daley, e Ian Fleming- quizás Peters tenga alguna oportunidad.

Took me a while to get used to the way it was written and things were presented, but I absolutely fell in love with this book and the series, and plan to get the third one whenever I can. A very well-put together fantasy, one that I can revisit time and time again.
The characters were incredibly interesting, the magic sublime, the plot easy to follow and I did want to follow it! Recommend to all who love "smart" epic fantasy novels that aren't just fantastical tales of magic and swordplay. ( )

Re-reading the series.
Toby Peters has to deal with a brain-addled Al Capone, the Marx Brothers, a bad cold and being wanted by both the Chicago Mob and the Chicago PD. Brief appearances by other historical luminaries, including a Brit by the name of Ian Fleming and a certain Doctor Hackenbush.

Fun, exciting adventure and mystery.

I always find that Kaminsky manages to bring me right in to the time. I've noticed at least one reviewer complain about references to products and places and such, but I have found them to be the perfect amount to really create the feel, for me. ( )

You Bet Your Life by Stuart Kaminisky is the third entry in his series featuring Toby Peters, a 1940s private detective who is under contract to MGM studios in Hollywood. Although this one was my least favourite of the three that I have read so far, probably because the setting was 1940s Chicago instead of Hollywood, it was still a fun read.

Toby is instructed to look into payment of gambling debts that the Chicago Mob are demanding from Chico Marx, even though Chico swears that these are not his debts. Even with Toby suffering from the flu throughout most of the book he is able to untwist this mob rip-off story with lots of humor and action. The addition of the Marx Brothers to the story went a long way toward my reader satisfaction, but the appearance of some other famous names of the times – Al Capone, Richard J. Daley and Ian Fleming for example, didn’t particularly ring true.

I will certainly be continuing on with this series as I enjoy these quick moving, clever mysteries set in the 1940s. ( )