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Rat Pack Mysteries book cover 1
Rat Pack Mysteries book cover 2
Rat Pack Mysteries book cover 3
Rat Pack Mysteries
Series · 10 books · 2006-2018

Books in series

Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime book cover
#1

Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime

2006

Las Vegas, 1960. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford are the Kings of Cool—-the Rat Pack. Ocean's 11 is their first movie together and they have taken Sin City by storm—-filming during the day and cavorting onstage at the Sands Casino at night. It's clear not everyone is charmed, however, when Dean begins receiving anonymous threatening letters. Eddie Gianelli, also called Eddie G., is a pit boss at the Sands. After twelve years, he's got the whole town wired. But he's still surprised when Joey Bishop drops by his table and invites him to meet with Frank in the Rat Pack's private steam room. Frank asks Eddie to find out who's been sending the threats, as a favor to him and Dean. Eddie wants to politely decline, but caught between his boss, Jack Entratter's, not-so-subtle nudging and being utterly starstruck by Dino, he agrees to look into it. He gets help from his P.I. best friend and a Jewish torpedo from Brooklyn. A few dead bodies and bruised ribs later, he remembers why he was reluctant. In a city of gamblers, Eddie has become the highest roller of all. The game is murder, and the stakes just may be his own life. Robert J. Randisi, the man Booklist claims "may be the last of the true pulp writers," takes his readers on a vivid, neon-lit tour of back rooms, bars, and famed gambling dens of the desert mirage that was—-and still is—-Las Vegas. Broads, blackjack, and bourbon flow. Celebrities, from John F. Kennedy to Angie Dickinson, strut in and out of this amazing first in a series that Rat Pack fans and crime fiction lovers will not want to miss.
Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die book cover
#2

Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die

2007

Vegas, 1960. Gamblin’, drinkin’, and everybody’s misbehavin’. Six months ago, while they were filming Ocean’s 11, the Rat Pack needed Eddie Gianelli’s help to track down the mug who was sending threatening letters to Dino. Now they’re back for the premiere and it’s Frank who needs Eddie’s help. Seems a babe he was planning to meet in Sin City took a powder—-leaving behind her luggage and a stiff in the bathtub. She’s on the lam, and it’s up to Eddie to find her and figure out if she’s a victim or a killer. Once again Eddie teams up with his P.I. buddy, Danny Bardini, and the Jewish New York torpedo, Jerry Epstein, who never met a pancake he didn’t like. Together they scour the neon streets, smoke-filled lounges, casinos, and seamy back alleys, dodging bodies and thugs with guns. But when Sam Giancana arrives on the scene, Eddie starts to wonder if he’s going to be able to keep himself out of jail—-and alive. Celebrity cameos spice up the action, and Mo Mo Giancana brings a dark presence to the story. Once again, Randisi, the man Booklist says “may be the last of the pulp writers,” gives readers a tour de force of bright lights, hot dice, and drop-dead-gorgeous dames in this second novel in the exciting, acclaimed series.
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills You book cover
#4

You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills You

2009

Eddie G.?s services have been enlisted again, this time to help Marilyn Monroe, who thinks she?s being followed.
I'm a Fool to Kill You book cover
#5

I'm a Fool to Kill You

2011

A Rat Pack Mystery - When a rumour spreads that Frank Sinatra's ex-wife, Hollywood Goddess Ava Gardner, was seen in the Sands Hotel & Casino in a state of distress, sleuth Eddie G. is asked to check it out. Eddie tracks her down to LA, where he finds out that Ava’s afraid she did something horrible . . . and it falls to Eddie to find out exactly what went down. But someone’s after Ava who means her harm, and soon he’s dodging bullets in Vegas in an attempt to keep Ava – and himself – alive.
Fly Me To the Morgue book cover
#6

Fly Me To the Morgue

2011

The new Rat Pack mystery - Bing Crosby wants to buy a horse to indulge his other passion – when he’s not playing golf with Bob Hope, that is. But when his trainer fails to show up in Vegas, and when he finds the horse’s owner dead, problems begin to mount up. Time for Eddie G and Jerry to come to the rescue, urged on by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, in town to watch the start of Frank Junior’s career. But soon the body count – and temperature – starts to rise . . .
It Was A Very Bad Year book cover
#7

It Was A Very Bad Year

2012

1963 was a very bad year for Frank Sinatra,. but the Rat Pack are always ready to give a helping hand. - Eddie Gianelli is helping a friend’s wife get out from under a blackmailer when news comes through that JFK has been assassinated. Frank Sinatra was a close friend of JFK and the Rat Pack – including Eddie – rally round to give Frank moral support. Then comes the news that Sinatra’s son, Frank Jr, has been kidnapped. Eddie continues to search for the blackmailer while trying to help Frank get through his second – and intensely more personal – traumatic experience, all of which eventually leads to murder.
You Make Me Feel So Dead book cover
#8

You Make Me Feel So Dead

2013

It’s 1964, and Elvis Presley is heading to Vegas for the opening of his latest film, Viva Las Vegas. Although he despises rock & roll, Frank Sinatra has always had time for Elvis. So when Elvis’s manager contacts Frank to explain that Elvis is out of control and to request Frank’s help in safeguarding him while he’s in Vegas, Frank calls on Eddie as being just the man for the job. At the same time, Eddie must find out who put his friend, Vegas PI Danny Bardini, in hospital – and why. In order to get to the bottom of the mystery, while doing his best to keep Elvis out of trouble, Eddie will need to call on his old friends, the Rat Pack, for help.
The Way You Die Tonight book cover
#9

The Way You Die Tonight

2014

Edward G Robinson is in Las Vegas researching his new movie, The Cincinnatti Kid with Steve McQueen. Frank Sinatra puts him in touch with Eddie G., floor manager of the Sands Casino and friend to the Rat Pack who frequent it. But rumour has it that Howard Hughes is also in town looking to buy a casino; and what Hughes wants he usually gets. Jack Entratter, the owner of the Sands tries to fight the takeover and sends Eddie G., to go and convince Howard Hughes not to pursue it. Then, Entratter's secretary goes missing and Eddie G. is entrusted with looking for her, delving into the murky underworld of Las Vegas; a world he knows well . . .
When Somebody Kills You book cover
#10

When Somebody Kills You

2015

Eddie G. must discover why someone wants to kill him. His friends Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland are concerned for him, too. After Dean Martin saves Eddie G. from being hit by a car, Eddie’s torpedo buddy Jerry arrives from Brooklyn with the news: somebody’s put an open contract out on him. As anybody can cash it in, pros and amateurs alike are coming out of the woodwork to have a shot. So when Eddie is asked by Frank Sinatra to go to LA to help his friend, Judy Garland, with a problem she’s having, Eddie and Jerry seize the opportunity to leave Vegas. Unfortunately the contract follows Eddie there. While doing his best to stay alive long enough to find out who hates him so much they want him dead, Eddie must also solve Judy Garland’s problem of a possible stalker and blackmailer.
I Only Have Lies for You book cover
#11

I Only Have Lies for You

2018

By 1965, Eddie Giannelli has a rep as a “go-to” guy in Vegas...but Frank Sinatra takes Eddie away from home on a trip to Miami. When that happens, Eddie G not only pals around with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., but gets the chance to meet “The Great One”, Jackie Gleason. Word of Eddie’s skill for helping people out of tough jams makes the trip to Florida too as he’s asked to help out a woman Gleason’s involved with. Before you can say “And Away We Go!”, Eddie finds himself caught up in a tale of murder, bourbon, and Brooklyn… Take a trip to sunny, deadly Miami in this latest tale of the Rat Pack by Robert J. Randisi, called “the last of the true pulp writers” by Booklist.

Author

Robert J. Randisi
Robert J. Randisi
Author · 61 books

Pseudonyms include W. B. Longley, Robert Lake, Spenser Fortune, Joshua Randall, Tom Cutter, J.R. Roberts, Joseph Meek, Cole Weston, Lew Baines, Paul Ledd and Jon Sharpe Robert J. Randisi is the creator and author of The Gunsmith, the popular Western series with more than 250 novels and more than 5 million books in print, which was written under the pen name J.R. Roberts. Under various pseudonyms, he has created and written the series Tracker, Angel Eyes, The Bounty Hunter, Mountain Jack Pike, and Ryder. Western novels that have appeared under his own name are The Ham Reporter, Targett, The Ghost with Blue Eyes, Legend, and Miracle of the Jackal. He has also edited the Western anthologies White Hats, Black Hats, and Boot Hill.

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