Take Down

By: James Swain

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

Whoever says crime doesn't pay isn't doing it right.

There are hundreds of casinos in Las Vegas, and Billy Cunningham knows how to rip off every one. His scams are a thing of beauty - so perfectly orchestrated that onlookers believe he and his crew are winning fair and square. In a town where bosses will kill to protect their profits, Billy can't afford to make mistakes, but even the best-laid plans can go wrong...

Desperate to keep his team out of jail, Billy agrees to help stop a legendary family of thieves from taking down a casino. But he has no intention of breaking the cheater's code: never rat out your own kind. He's running his own con on the casino's psycho owner and his vicious, violent wife. Throw in a murderous drug dealer, a vengeful gaming agent, and the girl Billy's never forgotten, and this scam artist is playing for sky-high stakes: a cool eight million, and the chance to live long enough to spend it.

©2015 James Swain (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Barely worth finishing

Any additional comments?

A mediocre heist story. The basic outline is interesting enough. But the characters vary between wit and observational skills that require psychic powers on the one hand and near idiocy on the other. The explanations of criminal law and procedure are absurd. The explanations about casino security are not believable or engaging. The characters are shallow. I won't look for anything more from this author.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

A playable hand

Interesting storyline...something a little different. Good array of characters, from villains to main character. Interesting twist at the conclusion... Worth the few dollars on the special of the day but I would not use a credit.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

If the story starts to flop, describe a hot chick.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I think the story had a good premise (although already done by other books) but it falls short. It seemed like when the story was wearing thin, a description of some porn star or account of a sexual encounter would be added in to attempt to regain interest. It was ok as a bargain buy. I would have been annoyed if I had wasted a credit on it or paid more than a few dollars for it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

loved it!

I could not stop listening to this book. The narrator was excellent and the story was quite exciting for me.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Meaningless time-passer

The narration of the book is flawless - no doubt about it. However, there's not much to the book itself. The story could have been told in 50 pages with room to recapitulate WW2.

If daily TV soap operas are your thing this book might suite. Otherwise: these are not the droids you're looking for.

89 of 111 people found this review helpful

Light, fun, silly

Take Down reminds me of the Evanovich - Goldberg Fox and O'Hare series. It's not great literature, but a really fun mystery/thriller like Take down is like the perfect dessert after a wonderful meal. I enjoyed the book!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

best book ever

Great book. The author's immense knowledge about the casino scams is beautifully narrated.

Nick Poehler narration is brilliant and engaging. This is my first book of James Swain. All I can say is I am already a fan and can't wait to read more of the books.

I heard the audio book non stop. So much interesting and engaging.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A Home Run1

What made the experience of listening to Take Down the most enjoyable?

The most enjoyable aspect of this book was my surprise at its quality. I don't have a very good "batting average" when it comes to the "Daily Specials," but this was the best yet. I was not familiar with the author nor the reader---both were superb. I'm quite certain I never would have sampled this book (or author) had it not been for the Daily Special, so many thanks to Audible for this offering. Before I was even half way through, I knew it was a winner and checked to see if he had written any other books. Thankfully, he has and I will certainly be checking out more of his material. Like many of the other reviewers, I could not stop listening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found all of the characters to be well developed and engaging, but I suppose my favorite character had to the lead character.

What does Nick Podehl bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Not sure, but he did an excellent job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Without a doubt.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Loved it.

Any additional comments?

I'm a huge fan of con man stories, whether we are talking gritty cons like The Grifters or fun and silly like The Sting or Ocean's 11, so I was already predisposed to like Take Down, but I didn't like it, I loved it. Great cast of characters and an intriguing plot, not to mention a heck of a con. Already have the 2nd book in the series which I'll be starting soon, and was thrilled when I checked and saw a 3rd book is due in December.

Nick Podehl once again knocks it out of the park with his spectacular narration, totally bringing the characters to life.

One word of warning, if you have an aversion to harsh language than you'll probably want to steer clear of this one, but IMO the language felt completely appropriate for the story and characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

What a change in genres for me

My first trip into this type of novel but I REALLT loved it. I would recommend it to anyone.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

superb

loved this book. totally different and exciting. highly recommended
gripping fast and good. superb book