The Wager Series

In The Wager Series, Eddie and his uncle, a former Chicago homicide detective, solve murders for the mob's gambling boss. With the assistance of the mob's underworld insight, Eddie and his uncle approach murder from a unique perspective.

In August, 2014, years before the legalization of sports betting in the United States, when a mob-connected bookie named Zany is murdered, Eddie O’Connell is assigned to take over Zany’s operation and find the killer. The trail leads to an exclusive, private gambling club where simulcast wagering on horse racing is used as a front for illegal sports betting. With the assistance of Paula “Rudi” Rudinger, the manager of Zany’s bookie operation and former lover, Eddie meets those who owe gambling debts. Eddie had run up a gambling debt of his own, but now finds himself doing collection.

In November, 2018, with legalization of sports betting on the horizon, WagerEasy, a Euro sports betting conglomerate, has set up shop in the Chicago market looking for shortcuts. Eddie’s old friend, an employee of WagerEasy, has been murdered. The sports gambling market is on a knife’s edge: the illegal black market bookies backed by the mob against the well-funded foreign invader.

In Wager Smart, Eddie and Uncle Mike take on a cold case for Arlene Adams, the wealthy widow of a notorious hitman. The case leads Eddie and his uncle to Vegas, where they meet the hitman’s old partner, the Deacon, a legend in the mob. The cold case quickly spirals into an investigation of a current murder that requires the men to make a dangerous deal with the mob.

Nicole Nicoletti, Eddie’s lover, has set Chicago on fire with her sports betting picks, and needs his help. Her father, a successful trainer, faces a long suspension for drugging his horses, but insists he was framed. When a murder points to Nicole’s father, the investigation ramps up another notch. The mob’s gambling boss is on his deathbed. After years on the Most Wanted List, the kingpin of the mob’s offshore gambling operation is back in town. The track’s top owner has enlisted Eddie’s help to gamble on his horses. A professor’s stolen lab book might hold the secrets everyone wants.