May 25 - "Double Down"

“Double Down”
by Jason Starr
Sex, Thugs, and Rock & Roll (2009)

* * * (Okay) Noir

Jimmy takes a PI job to see if a woman is cheating on her husband. Needing money to fund his gambling habit, he decides to get paid from both ends, which leads to unexpected consequences.

The tough-guy talk is there, and it’s good. It’s accurate. Only, nothing happens. Jimmy is a degenerate gambler at the start of the story and is still a degenerate gambler at the end. Now, I wasn’t expecting huge life changes to occur in a few pages, but nothing - no change at all – that’s boring. Even his luck doesn’t change. Starts out a loser, ends a loser. At least he talks tough, using those swears like a pro.