Jack of Diamonds - Softcover

Courtenay, Bryce

4.03

2,524 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143188194 ISBN 13: 9780143188193

Publisher: Penguin Canada, 2013

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During the Great Depression there was little hope for a boy born into the slums of Cabbagetown, Toronto.

But Jack Spayd is offered a ticket out in the form of a Hohner harmonica, won by his brutal, drunken father in a late-night card game. Jack makes music as a way to escape his surroundings, and his talent leads him to a jazz club and, eventually, to the jazz piano.

Jack is a virtuoso and hits the road, enchanting audiences from Toronto to Moose Jaw, London to Las Vegas, where he is caught up in the world of elite poker and falls under the spell of his boss, the enigmatic Bridgett Fuller.

Vegas is a hard town ruled by the Mafia, but Jack prospers until his luck turns bad and he falls foul of the Mob. Forced to run for his life from Vegas, he must also leave the woman he adores. His adventuring takes him to the copper mines of the Belgian Congo, to a rare and valuable bird that may seal his fate—and to the love of a very different woman.

Jack of Diamonds is the spellbinding final novel of a beloved storyteller, a tale of a young, talented man fighting to achieve his ambitions and using his considerable talents to find his way in a perilous world.

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About the Author:

Bryce Courtenay is the bestselling author of The Power of One, Tandia, April Fool’s Day, The Potato Factory, Tommo & Hawk, Solomon’s Song, Jessica, A Recipe for Dreaming, The Family Frying Pan, The Night Country, Smoky Joe’s Cafe, Four Fires, Matthew Flinders’ Cat, Brother Fish, Whitethorn, Sylvia, The Persimmon Tree, Fishing for Stars, The Story of Danny Dunn, and Fortune Cookie. The Power of One is also available in an edition for younger readers, and Jessica has been made into an award-winning television miniseries.

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