Ever wanted to get revenge against a casino where you lost? Dex did! Revenge - an obsessive all-consuming thirst for revenge - is the theme of Late Bet, set in Las Vegas and London. “Having lived in both these great cities, setting my latest thriller against a background of the shady side of casino life was a no-brainer,” Douglas explains. “Casinos can provide huge enjoyment but suppose you, yes you, were cheated when playing roulette? Suppose too that you lost everything – that you were ruined, totally busted by the casino’s fraud.”

That is what happens to Dex, an impetuous and naïve roulette player when following his supposedly infallible system. Losing he could accept. Being cheated he could not. Ignoring the dangers of taking on such powerful giants, Dex spurns just winning back his fortune. The goal is to destroy Space City, the glitzy mega-resort on the Las Vegas Strip as well as its partner, the discreet Dukes casino in London’s Mayfair.

With his world collapsing around him, Dex needs help and involves Scotty Brannigan, a Las Vegas based Grand Prix racing driver to help him. He though has troubles of his own and in taking on the sinister Audley Shawcross and Carlo Letizione, weak links are a risk. In his complex personal life, Dex meets Tiffany Richmond, a svelte BBC-TV reporter and the outrageous Jude, a nurse from Australia. Completing his team is Mark, a brilliant blackjack card-counter but who abuses cocaine.

With this complex group, Dex races through time zones as the obsessive mission and fast action switches between London and Vegas, Scotland, Washington, the French Riviera, a Caribbean hideaway and Grand Prix races in Monaco, Spa in Belgium and the Brickyard at Indianapolis. Murders, suspense and twists and turns abound with the vile Shawcross fighting dirty to the breathless end.

PREVIEW

Eyes following the ball as it sped rapidly under the rim of the wheel, Dex gripped the edge of the green baize table, his face blanched and his jaw muscles taut.

“No more bets,” said the dealer, a Geordie called Andy.

Without even knowing he had done so, Dex stood up to watch more closely, the vein on his forehead throbbing, his palms now moist. The ball was moving fast, tight beneath the wheel’s rim. Dex could scarcely breathe, his heart pounding, his eyes unflinching. His rollercoaster past flashed through his mind – the tormented childhood, the bankruptcy, the inheritance, the winning roulette system and the cosseted lifestyle that his winnings had brought him. Was it now going to end in disaster?

As the ball slowed, it was torture in slow motion. Like stepping into thin air tied to a bungee. Like free-fall parachuting before the chute opens. The die was cast. No turning back now. No time to say sorry mister I’ve changed my mind. Suddenly the bet seemed crazy, risking everything on a bouncy white ball. In agony, he watched it dance erratically as it hit the strikers.

Reality. The outside world. Everything – all  disappeared. Nothing mattered but a white ball and a red number as it skittered around the wheel.

8 Black.

Bounce on.

30 Red.

Bounce on.

11 Black.

Still got legs.

36 Red.

Teasing me.

13 Black.

Faltering.

Barely moving now.

Stopped.

But no!

There was just enough energy.

The ball trickled over the metal fret.