Last Bets - by Mary Carroll Moore (Paperback)

About the Book

Escaping tragedy, portraitist Elly Sorensen flees to Caribbean Bonaire, only to be drawn into an unlikely friendship with an Aussie ex-juvie teen and the danger of the island's gambling underworld that taps her dormant paranormal talents.

Book Synopsis

Portrait artist Elly Sorensen leaves her Washington, D.C., life for the Caribbean island of Bonaire, hoping to find refuge from personal tragedy and financial fallout. Instead, she is confronted by old demons, including a gambling underworld that taps paranormal talents she would prefer to leave dormant. On the island she finds an unlikely kindred spirit in teenager Rosie Ryan, an Australian with a gambling father and artistic talents of her own-and a penchant for breaking and entering, particularly into the rooms of other guests. Against a backdrop of a gathering storm, Rosie is blamed for a freak diving accident, and the stakes at the gambling table mount. Nobody is safe, least of all Elly, whose whole life, it seems, hangs on one final game. Underestimated by the men around them, Rosie and Elly must conquer forces they never imagined and fight for a future that promises real freedom.

Review Quotes

"Fresh, imaginative, and gorgeously written. Set on tropical Bonaire as a hurricane threatens, the novel weaves together worlds of art, gambling, and scuba diving into a gripping narrative where alliances constantly shift until suddenly lives are on the line. Moore is a virtuoso storyteller, and this is her best work yet." -Nancy Crochiere, bestselling author of Graceland

"An unlikely friendship is formed when two painters decide to risk everything for their art. That one is a teenaged girl with a history of arson and one a young widow fleeing the complications of her husband's estate heightens the suspense-and the sweetness. Surprising, tender, and wise, this is a book you don't want to miss." -Ginger Eager, author of The Nature of Remains and 2021 Georgia Author of the Year

tripical

"A gorgeous journey about love, loss, and the very literal magic of the artistic eye. Rosie and Elly are exceptionally strong women from very different generations and backgrounds, and yet their paths cross on a small, storm-ridden island where their parallel adventures put their lives and those around them at risk. It's a thrilling, unstoppable read and Mary Carroll Moore's ability to bring this world, with all its perils and victories, to light, is unforgettable." -Rachel Moulton, author of Tinfoil Butterfly and The Insatiable Volt Sisters