Erin McCarthy – Sucker Bet

The fourth book in the Vegas Vampires series, published January 2, 2008.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: fun



A night of indulgence…
Gwenna Carrick is a woman with a history - 900 years of it. As the vampiress ex-wife of the notorious vampire Roberto Donatelli, she has to keep a low profile. Not easy when she’s bathed in the neon glow of Las Vegas - especially when there's a whole online group of vampire slayers bent on dealing her her last hand.
can feel like an eternity …
A wild night with a stranger was not in the cards for Gwenna. But that's what happened when she met the ruggedly handsome detective Nate Thomas. Their passion made her feel … well, alive again. But when Donatelli catches wind of the tryst, Nate tops his to-off list. Gwenna knows she hit the jackpot with Nate and won't let her ex stand in the way. But they soon realize they have far more enemies than Donatelli - both on the strip and underground…


The fourth and last book in this series, and again, one I enjoyed. I was very much hoping that Gwenna would not get back with her drugdealing killing criminal of an ex husband, and I am very glad that Erin did not make her.

Gwenna is 900 years old, and she recently moved to Las Vegas, to her brother’s hotel after living alone in a deserted Welsh castle for 300 years since her divorce. She enjoys computers and modern things, but she is still shy, and that will have to change. She is tired of being controlled by men, her brother and her ex-husband, and wants a new life for herself. She has become a member of the Slayers loop on the internet, since her sister in law Alexis told her about it. She still thinks they form a serious treat to the vampires, even though Ethan doesn’t believe that. So she has been trying to find out their real identities, and plans. Meeting up with one of the main players sounds like a good plan, especially as she is hard to kill being a vampire. What she does not count on, is discovering a dead body at the meeting place, and becoming the police’s main suspect. She knows the man has been killed by a vampire, as he is totally drained of blood. But she can’t tell the police detective that, now can she.
When she meets up with him that night in the hospital, they share a connection. Brittany has given birth to a beautiful baby daughter, with a long list of names. But Detective Nate Thomas has just lost his sister to leukemia. He is devastated by the loss, and as his parents are abroad, he will have to take care of all the arrangements. He is not looking forward about. So when he meets his beautiful suspect again, and she asks him for a cup of coffee, he agrees. He does not want to be along or go home just yet. And when she tells him of her own loss, her own daughter, they connect.

Gwenna takes him to the Ava with her, to find a quiet place to talk some more. But soon they end up having sex against the wall, something she has never experienced before, but decides she quite likes it. She likes not being treated as if she was made of porcelain, but someone to be desired. When the guards come upon them, she is mortified, but when Nate does not want to let her leave just jet, they continue their evening together. Until Alexis calls her, needing her help consoling Kelsey. Apparently, she has left her husband for good this time, when he tried to sell her services to other vampires. Gwenna feels horrible leaving Nate behind, but she thinks she will be back before he wakes up.

The only thing that consoles Kelsey is the promise that Alexis and Gwenna will join her tomorrow evening for the concert she is going to. A band pretending to be vampires for their fans, but who are vampires in reality. And Kelsey knows them personally.

Roberto Donatelli wants his ex-wife back, she is his. And Gwenna standing up to him is something he really cannot appreciate. Of course, wanting her back does not give him up other women at all. Nor does he give a thing about her wants or opinions. He needs her on his arm for the next political party. So he really won’t take no for an answer. But Gwenna stands him up, just to be with Nate at his sisters wake. Donatelli is not amused, and has one of his goons follow her around. And when he finds out, she has had sex with Nate, he decides to have him killed. That will teach Gwenna a lesson. If he can’t have her, no one will.
In the meantime, more bodies are found at places that Gwenna has been, and they will have to find this killer fast.


I was totally surprised by the mystery part of this book, and loved it. I enjoyed how Gwenna became her own woman, how she stood up to her ex husband and her brother, and did her own thing. Nate encourages her to get a job, to do something useful with her life, and I liked that about him. He is a cop and sees the world in white and black, and he is good at his job. So finding out that vampires are real, really threw him for a loop. But he is in love with Gwenna, and he knows it. And after a little time of being stupid the way only men can be stupid when in love, he wakes up, and knows what he wants and tells Gwenna that. Lovely scene. And I loved it when Gwenna told him how she felt about it all. Go Gwenna!

I think that from the whole series, this is my favourite book. Now I do wonder, will there ever be a fifth book, where Roberto finds his match and reforms? And what will happen with Ringo and Kelsey, and his dead brother Kyle. Is he really a ghost Kelsey can see? Or did I imagine that part?

9 stars.

© 2013 Reviews by Aurian