Gambled Dreams

IN THE 1980s WEST-TEXAS OIL PATCH, WHEN THE POLICE REFUSE TO GET INVOLVED, A LOW-LEVEL CRIMINAL WITH FAMILY PROBLEMS, COLTON PARKER, AND FELLOW LOW-LIFERS ARE HIRED TO FIND TWO MURDERERS.
Gamblers, cons, and whores inhabit the night-time bar world of the early 1980s Odessa, Texas oil boom. Colton Parker-with a wife, two young boys, and a father-in-law-is a bouncer for a gambler and loan shark in this dark hidden world. Danny Fowler cruises this world looking for gay lovers. When he finds two mean ones, he ends up beaten to death and dumped on the road to an oil rig. Danny's rich mother, Mina, doesn't want Danny's night-time life exposed, so she persuades the police not to investigate. But she hires a reluctant Colton Parker to track down Danny Fowler's killers. Colton teams with Bullet Price, a retired whore, climbing up the bar-world social ladder. With help from a young whore and a gay tool pusher, Colton tracks down the two oil-field welders who killed Danny.

Praise for Gambled Dreams

"A brilliant, intense carefully crafted narrative with no feeling of strain or effort. This is masterwork. The language and vision match, so the world opens for us as readers without any waver of authenticity. We are in it and trust what we are learning. There is always more to understand than we can, at the moment.-Mary Hood, author of How Far She Went and Familiar Heat


"Jim brings a literary and poetic sensibility to his compelling, utterly original crime novel, full of edgy, unique characters, sharp dialogue, and powerful storytelling. Colton Parker, Bullet Price and Way Low will haunt you long after you've turned the final page."-Lee Goldberg, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lost Hills, Bone Canyon, True Fiction, and others.


"Noir-writer Jim Sanderson's tough new novel gives us a two-generation search for belonging and soul set in the boom-bust oil town of Odessa, Texas. Sanderson's tortured characters are unexpectedly loyal, and they carry the weight of their own longings..."-Lisa Sandlin author of Shamus Award winning novels, The Do-Right and The Bird Boys


"Jim Sanderson is a novelist of exceptional scope and depth. The worlds he creates are sometimes cruel, sometimes beautiful, generally gritty, and always engaging. Jim is one of the best novelists writing in Texas today.":-Dan Williams, editor-in-chief TCU Press.