I was first drawn to
The Devil's Ticket not by its nominal subject, bridge, but by its endorsements.
That the book had received such vibrant praise from Erik Larson, the author of
The
Devil in the White City, and
Orchid Thief author Susan Orlean
indicated that this book, like theirs, threaded its narrative through places
we've never been through before. The "devil's tickets" in the title are the
queens and aces of card decks, but in author Gary Pomerantz's hands, they are
also instruments in an early twentieth century Battle of the Sexes and the
calling-cards of self-promoting showmen and politicians. There's an anger
spurred bridge spouse killing in this book, but that's only the first card of
its well-dealt hand.
