Bass has neither sought, nor does he really need the inheritance. He can get by on his open personality, strong work ethic and slightly rusty skills in house construction, but who would be so uncivil as to refuse the old Gettysburg farm house, or the stash of Civil War memorabilia later discovered in a connected root cellar, just because they both need a little work? Not Dock, who has learned to smile back when good fortune smiles upon him.

I'm taking the micky out because it's that kind of book, but readers should not let this keep them from enjoying the novel. Smith surpasses Elmore Leonard in his use of scenes and humourous dialogue to define characters that range from the mildly eccentric to the truly oddball. Plotting is tighter than in a lot of Leonard's recent work too, and there's little overt violence. There is a love interest, and a chintzy femme fatale, but Busted Flush is not noir. In fact, the depiction of crime takes a backseat to descriptions of the history-burdened, Pennsylvania town and those who value it versus those who evaluate its treasures. You'll like this place and these characters too much to think of them as corrupt, though that's exactly what they are. Maybe that's Smith's noir point after all. Oh hell! Forget genre; just categorize Busted Flush under "fun to read."

This is Smith's fourth novel, following the very successful One Eyed Jacks and All Hat. If you've met him, it is hard not to see Smith grinning wildly before his keyboard as he describes the stampede of pushy authorities, phony experts, greedy collectors and two-bit chiselers, not to mention the out-and-out thieves who find their way to Dock's doorstep when news of the historical treasures leaks out. If you haven't met Smith, make a point to catch him on tour across Canada as he promotes Busted Flush this spring. You'll find him amiable enough.