By all accounts, Jimmy Homestead was a loser. In high school Jimmy and his brother Marty were tall, handsome, and popular. Later, Marty was killed in the Gulf war, and Jimmy became known as a partier, heavy drinker, and chronic liar. He also liked to brag about all the women he got together with.

He sold his brother’s car for cash, started dealing drugs, worked menial jobs, but couldn’t hold one for long, and ended up trying to stay one step ahead of a drug dealer who he crossed.

Jimmy raped a woman and ended up in jail. After he got out, he won the California state lottery to the tune of forty-three million dollars. While he was out in the world enjoying his new found wealth, family members, enemies and strangers were looking for ways to get at least some of his money, if not all of it.

Moving between California and Nevada, Jimmy went on a spending spree, not knowing a number of people were plotting how they could get their hands on at least a part of the windfall.

Sheila, Jimmy’s former mother-in-law, hired PI Dan Reno to help her get a part of the money. Although Dan wasn’t sure he wanted to take on the case, he was fighting to save his home from foreclosure. He and his friend Cody Gibbons hit the road in search of the allusive Jimmie Homestead.

Dying for the Highlife by Dave Stanton is the fifth novel featuring private investigator Dan Reno and his friend, ex-cop Cody Gibbons.

Stanton has crafted an intriguing character in Dan Reno, one of the good guys who just wants to make an income that will allow him to live a good life. Unfortunately, many of his clients lead him to the underbelly of society especially since he often works out of Las Vegas.

The author lays the groundwork letting the reader in on what is going on through the many eyes of the various characters. Every once in a while the number of people populating the story can cause a bit of confusion for the reader, every one of them played a role in the overall storyline.

As the story rolls out, the tension increases. Look for constant movement by the individual characters as they try to find Jimmy and strip him of his millions. All in all, this is a book well worth reading, especially if you are into exciting story lines and climatic endings.

If you are interested in any of Dave Stanton’s novels, they are available at Amazon.com.

A special thank you goes to LaSalle Davis Books for providing a complimentary copy of this book.