Shoot the Moon

Kate Watson, Flux (FEBRUARY) Softcover $14.99 (352pp), 978-1-63583-014-9

Tate Bertram is handsome, smart, rich, and living a privileged life. He is also a gambling addict. After he nearly died while trying to evade a debt collector, his family staged an intervention and put him in rehab. Now he runs an illegal poker game, but resists the urge to play.

When his illegal game is shut down, Tate is forced to take work as an intern for his aunt, who is running for state attorney general. Her opponent, Conner Wolf, is the father of the girl who taught Tate how to play poker. Wolf also might be connected to the mob, and Tate wants to prove it. He starts playing a new and very dangerous game, one that could have a huge payoff or could cost him everything.

Shoot the Moon is an exciting story with a complex, tightly woven plot. It has a little bit of everything: romance, family drama, political intrigue, and a thrilling mystery.

The book delves into the psychology of poker players and the probabilities of different hands. Even those with no frame of reference for the game will come away understanding why it holds so much appeal.

Shoot the Moon is complex, intelligent, and quick-moving. It thoughtfully examines addiction, and the difficult task of overcoming it, through its complicated but appealing teenage leads.