Last year I enjoyed Jana DeLeon’s debut novel, Rumble on the Bayou, very much indeed and considered it the best mystery I read in 2006. So I looked forward very much to reading her second romance/mystery, Unlucky, and I was not disappointed.

Mallory Devereaux from Royal Flush, Louisiana, has been spectacularly unlucky all her life. Professionally she uses this trait to advantage in her position as foreman in a demolition company. However, her private life is in the dumps because no-one dares to date her, and her former boyfriends ran when they started to suffer bodily harm in her vicinity.

Additionally, Mallory sometimes uses her special ability, which she can direct by touching people, to work as a cooler. Her shady uncle owns a casino on a boat, and he likes to use her talent to keep the tables in his favor. Mallory doesn’t particularly want to help him, but right now she’s in a fix: She needs ten thousand dollars real quick because her boss is in dire financial straights, and she wants to buy the company from him. Her uncle offers the ten thousand if she cools for him during a bigwig poker tournament for a whole week and reluctantly, she accepts.

On the boat, she discovers that the “guest of honor” is Silas Hebert, a criminal her uncle detests, and many of the other players are known to be involved in shady dealings as well. So what made her uncle invite these men to the tournament? It quickly becomes clear that Uncle Reginald is under orders, but whose? In addition, Mallory’s best friend Amy has gotten a job as dealer in order to test the mathematical method for poker she as developed as part of her doctoral thesis. And then there is Jack McMillan, the very charming and sexy (if yankee) dealer at Mallory’s table, who is an FBI agent out for Silas Hebert’s hide.

With this setup, the story moves along quickly and with many amusing quirks and developments. Both Mallory and Jack are likable and charming, their instant attraction is both sizzling and heart-warming. But Jana DeLeon’s greatest strength lies in the delightfully funny minor characters. The novel is not all fun and games, though. The author deals compassionately with Mallory’s affliction and the resulting problem that she may never touch any person she loves so as not to cause them harm.

There is a paranormal element to this novel, as Mallory’s ill luck is no accident. This is important to the story, but not overpoweringly so. In my opinion would not detract from the enjoyment for readers who are not usually into paranormal stories.

For all the novel’s charm, fun and intricate plotting, there are a few minor flaws. For one thing, the ending is in two important points too much like the one in Rumble in the Bayou, so it felt less original this time around. In addition, I found the round-up at the end and the way almost all the characters are disposed of just a tad too sweet. Not that I mind happy endings, this one was just too pat. However, these minor niggles aside, Unlucky is a book to enjoy. I smiled a lot while reading it and would especially recommend it for a dark autumn evening.