Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: A Chip and a Chair 
SERIES: Seven of Spades #5
AUTHOR: Cordelia Kingsbridge
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2019
LENGTH: 382 pages
BLURB:
Detective Levi Abrams and PI Dominic Russo are reunited and more committed to each other than ever, but they can’t truly move forward with their lives until the serial killer who’s been tormenting them is behind bars. When a secret burial site is discovered in the desert with the remains of the Seven of Spades’s earliest victims, that goal finally seems within reach.
But just as the net is tightening, the Neo-Nazi militia Utopia launches their master plan with a devastating act of terror that changes the landscape of Las Vegas forever. As Levi and Dominic scramble to prevent the city’s destruction, they’re opposed by treacherous forces that propel them toward catastrophe. In the end, Levi’s fate may rest in the hands of the very killer he’s been hunting.
The race to save Sin City is on, and these players are going for broke. No matter how hopeless things seem, as long as they’re together and they’ve got a chip to play and a chair to sit in, they’re still in the game .
REVIEW:
Holy smokes, did things ever go boom in this book. And quite literally too. With each book in this series, the stakes have become higher and higher, the hunt more intense and the losses more devastating. A Chip and a Chair held true to form in every way imaginable. And it was worth it. So much.
I’ve loved this series a lot. I’ve had a great time both listening to it and reading it. However I also have to say that as the plots got bigger and bigger, the series lost some of its shine for me. I did prefer it when the Seven of Spades dropped the occasional body, the phone calls, the meddling. But when outside factors as the increasing gang wars got more and more of a presence I longed for the “good old days” in the beginning. And for the last book it was a bit too big for me to swallow, too much and over the top. Creating drama for the sake of things. Not drama in the classical sense, but in the form of never ending attacks, without any real time to catch your breath before the next thing happened. It was full throttle from the first word until the end. If the credibility of the previous books was hard to swallow, this one was even worse. It was too much on all fronts for my liking. But if judged solely on the entertainment factor, it was a big hit.
The identity of Seven of Spades didn’t surprise me – and no, I’m not going to say who because I don’t want to spoil it for you – I called them early on in the first book. So when they finally were revealed I had some mixed feelings. On the one hand I was happy that I was right but on the other I wish it had been a little less obvious, at least for some time.
I loved how Levi and Dominic finally were truly united and together. I don’t mean that their relationship was magically perfect and without any issues. Because that would have been a twist considering how messed up they both were. I meant that they were finally honest with each other, were really trying to make things work and build something. I loved their circle of friends, not to mention Rebel – she was awesome.
After reading all five books in one week I have the mother of all book hangovers and I think I need a vacation somewhere nice and warm to recover.
RATING: 
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