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Roger Laffite, a direct descendent of the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, is a commodities man. He’s talented at his job and has made 100’s of millions of dollars. When a client loses a huge amount of money, she offers Laffite a joint. He’s never smoked before, but she persuades him to partake; and that’s when he has a revelation. He might be great at his job, he may have made more than enough money, but he hates it. He wants to do something different, something a bit more exciting. Something risky. Something like the substance he’s just imbued.
From there, The Mary Jane Gambit descends into a bit of a numbers game. Lots of jargon, lots of talk about crypto currency and stock markets; much of which went directly over my head, and at times, I found myself reading the same line several times over in an effort to understand what was going. However, Waite managed to hold my attention with his witty rapport between the characters, sharp back and forth’s and jokes which would make me snort.
I kind of envisioned Laffite as a slick, fast talking, slightly sleazy business man. Hair perfectly coiffed at all times, and wearing only the most expensive, sharp designer suits, ties, socks and shoes that money can buy. The other characters (of which there were many) kind of slipped into the background, with Laffite being larger than life, even on the page. It’s why I’ve only afforded a rating of three moons, as, if one was to ask me about the other characters in this witty book, I would draw a blank. Even moments after reading it.
So, if you understand the minutia of the world’s stock exchange, the legal and numerical jargon that goes with it, and larger than life lead characters – this is the book for you.
S. A
This review was originally published on Reedsy Discovery as part of their Reviewer Program. You can read the original review here.
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