Pocket Kings

Struggling writer Frank Dixon takes to online gambling as a means of supplementing his rather stagnant income, but forgets that in the gaming world he shouldn’t cross the wrong people. Narrator William Roberts delivers a stellar turn as Dixon—a man so easily carried away by the prospect of free money that he loses himself and his life in the process. Roberts all but transforms himself into Dixon in this audio edition, sinking deeper and deeper until the point of no return. The highs are as genuine as the lowest of the lows for Dixon, and Roberts manages to paint a realistic portrayal of a man who stands to lose everything he has—including his life. As Dixon, Roberts’s tone is stern yet frustrated. But as luck abounds, Roberts adjusts accordingly to capture a man on the rebound, who believes his dreams might not be that unattainable after all. Of course, luck has to run out at some point, and when it does, Roberts captures the moment perfectly. An Algonquin paperback. (Mar.)