Gambled Lives

Although Gambled Lives opens with the funeral of a beloved twenty-two year old beauty, its story is filled with humor as well as suspense. The narrator, Charlie G., is a diffident, weak willed millennial who sometimes comes across as a latter day Holden Caulfield. Charlie has spent much of his youth enjoying the crumbs left on the table by his best friend Keith, whose intensely hedonistic lifestyle has included a steady diet of drugs, sex, and gambling. But when Keith's girlfriend is found dead in her apartment Charlie is reluctantly drawn into investigating the girl's death. His inquiries bring him a new perspective on the world, and new insights into the complex interplay of forces that govern the course of human relationships; and he comes to understand that he will have to overcome his passivity and trust in his own instincts in order to take control of his life.