The Jackpot by David Kazzie

The Jackpot Reviews

• 
  Lynnette Phillips

  Jackpot is definitely a different kind of legal thriller. You’ve probably seen David’s You Tube hits So You Want To Go To Law School and So You Want To Write A Novel but until you’ve read his debut novel you can’t fully appreciate his flair for dark humor.
  
  Julius buys the $415 million winning ticket in SuperLotto. He’s so dumbfounded by his good fortune he’s not sure what to do next so he seeks out the advice of attorney Samantha Khouri.
  
  Samantha has had what might be called a bad day; she was passed over for partnership at her law firm, faced dinner at her parents’ where her mother invited the ‘perfect man’ for her and now she is being pursued by a Darwinian psychopath.
  
  What a way to spend the Christmas holiday!
  
  David Kazzie is a lawyer in Virginia where he writes fiction in his spare time. Some of the most absurd stories I’ve ever heard came from law cases…is this how David Kazzie honed his fiction and dialogue skills?
  
  The fast-pace and rich details of this thriller combined with the entertaining and crisp dialogue of Jackpot make this novel and David Kazzie a new favorite.
  
  Review by Lynnette Phillips
• 
  Andrew Fischer

  Very fast read that keeps you turning the pages faster and faster. All of us have dreamed of winning the big lottery, but none of us knows the problems that can occur. Great read!!
• 
  Tucinkata

  3.5
• 
  Darrell Delamaide

  David Kazzie has written a thoroughly entertaining thriller that shares many of the good qualities of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen while introducing a wholly original voice. The story takes off from the first page and hardly lets you put it down.
  
  Kazzie succeeds at many levels. Part of what keeps you reading is the violence, the turns it takes and the suddenness of unexpected death. Part of it is the quirkiness of the characters; Kazzie takes the time to explore each character and endow them with surprising qualities. The concept -- what happens to the winner of a super-jackpot lottery -- is a great one, with lots of natural suspense. The writing, if not exactly scintillating, is much better than just competent.
  
  But one of the main attributes is that from the first page you care about the characters. There is Julius, who is watching the lottery drawing with good-for-nothing cousin and realizes he actually has the winning number. There is Samantha Khouri, the ambitious associate who has just been passed over for partner at her law firm when Julius turns to her for legal advice about his ticket. You're on their side. But even the heavies, like Samantha's stressed-out boss at the firm, or the eccentric bounty hunter sent to find the ticket, draw more sympathy than antipathy from the reader.
  
  The setting in Richmond, Va., is well-drawn without being intrusive. It is a place, a real place, but it is subordinate to the action. The riffs on the legal profession -- Kazzie has made something of a name for himself with his YouTube diatribe on the profession ("So you want to go to law school") -- are entertaining and reined in just enough.
  
  As Samantha wrestles with her conscience to do the right thing by her client with this incredibly valuable lottery ticket, the story rockets to its conclusion with a twist that is a surprise even though Kazzie laid down a couple of clues on the way.
  
  Kazzie is harsh in his description of ghetto life, but he is also harsh and unflinching in his portrayal of the hollowness of the 1 percent. There are attitudes and behavior that remind you this was the capital of the Confederacy, but the author does not club you over the head with it. It all comes across as being honest, and not offensive. It is a bit of a stretch to accept Samantha's naivete regarding her chances at the law firm given the particular history of her family, and this may be the weakest point of the plot. But there is so much else to like, the reader is more than willing to suspend disbelief on this point.
  
• 
  D.G. Sandru

  Excellent book, well written, captivating, comprising of very realistic language appropriate for each character and social environment. The wit is comparable with Dean Koontz, which I enjoyed very much. The end was a semi-shocker, but it solved the moral dilemma would have ended otherwise. Good book to read.
• 
  Laurel Nana

  Fast paced, satirical, and in need of a sequel!
  
  Started reading and couldn't stop. Characters range from the most loathsome and murderous to lawyers who actually care for their clients and parents who want to give their children a good future.
  Can winning a half a billion dollar jackpot be the dream that turned into a nightmare? Yes, yes, yes!
  
• 
  Cadence Potter

  An excellent story
  
  This is an action packed tale of a lottery ticket that millions dream of purchasing, and some would kill for. The Jackpot was well developed and very well written. I believe the author did an excellent job of characterization and story structure. The plot was well designed and believable. I will definitely look into other works by this author.
• 
  Becky

  This book was great! I really had no idea what I was getting into as I had purchased it in 2011 or 2012 and never got around to reading it. I've been trying to update my to-be-read list and started to read the synopsis of books I have listed there. If they don't interest me anymore, off they go.
  
  This was listed on my list of "books to read on Kindle that I own". I went sort of crazy after I got some time in my life to actually do some reading and purchased many titles. It was too easy and I didn't have to find the space for all these books.
  
  I digress. So once I found this in my pile, I wondered why I had never tried to read it. I downloaded it the device and within a couple of days, it was over. I actually kept thinking throughout, this would make a great movie. Well you'd have to embellish a bit, but what movie doesn't? I hardly ever think that about a book. Maybe it was because I know my husband would like the plot, but he's not read a book since elementary or because the book grabbed me from the first couple of pages.
  
  I will look for more of Kazzie's work as I think he has a new fan.
• 
  Anand

  This novel will not leave you disappointed. As a thriller, it attains the objective of entertaining the reader, with lucid and clean style of narrative, coherent plot development, and a reasonably in depth character development. The protagonist, Samantha Khourie, is relatable. The story is interesting and unique, though at times a bit stretched to be believable (especially the second half, where a dangerous killer is on the loose, chasing Samantha and her friend through the city, and try however hard they might to hide, he still manages to catch up with them! And not to forget the nonchalance and regularity with which people simply keep getting killed.). The final twist in the mystery manages to surprise, and the reader comes out of this novel feeling satisfied. Overall, a good read.
• 
  A Book Vacation

  This is an extremely well written, captivating novel. Kazzie has a superb way with words and is able to keep the reader easily engulfed within this suspenseful tale of deceitand betrayal. Samantha Khouri, an attorney trying to do right by her client, quickly finds herself in the middle of a cat and mouse chase as she attempts to return a lottery ticket, worth $415 million, to the rightful owner. Unbeknownst to Samantha, and those she comes into contact with, her life is in danger simply because she holds the key to a vast fortune...
  
  To read my full review:
  
  
  http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...
• 
  David Berkowitz

  This is a fairly quick read. It's thinly plotted and goes straight at its subject matter - basically a cautionary tale of the risks of winning a huge jackpot.
  
  The people holding the ticket act absurdly when you think about what they go through. So try not to think too hard.
  
  I was bothered by the racist thoughts and dialog attributed to most of the characters. I'm not saying the author is racist, just his characters. The attitudes added nothing to the story and didn't really flesh out the characters. If you get really riled by things like this then skip this title.
  
  I didn't hate this book, but you should be able to find something better to read with little effort.
• 
  Mike

  This has over forty reviews on Amazon so just about everything has been said. The plot idea is not new but that could be said about almost every book recently written. The telling of the tale and the twists and turns of the story keep you reading about the ticket holders' dilemmas. (Even the one star reviewer admits to skimming through it to find out what happens - writer's job done as far as I'm concerned). As a début this is good and bodes well for the writerly future.
• 
  Kristin

  Not bad. Predictable at times as the plot seems to have been told many times under different characters and genres and decades. If you want a no brainer, not much to think about, take you away kinda of read that you know is over the top but could maybe happen ( maybe) but just don't care then read it. If you are looking for something with more depth...then skip it.
• 
  Traci Sherlock

  This is a book I got for free on my Kindle. To be honest, I didn't really have high expectations for it, but from the first few pages, I was hooked. There are so many twists and turns in the plot that you never know what to expect. A great read! Hope the author writes many more!
• 
  Clint

  I really liked this book. There was some strong language, so not for those of you with faint hearts. (mom). I liked how the story line didn't go as I thought it would and there were some pretty cool and interesting twists.
• 
  Richard Philbrick

  What happens when you win the biggest Lotto jackpot in history? Well, everyone wants the ticket and the bodies start to stack up. This was an incredibly fast-paced book and an greatly entertaining read.
• 
  Rebecca

  This was not a pleasant book for me to read. I skimmed most of it just to find out what happened. It seems like characters suddenly appeared for convenience to add to the story. Too much killing.
  I should have just read the epilogue.
• 
  Sue Turner

  Crazy fast action, well written. A plot full of threads that pull the reader forward to the very end. A wild read with understated humor that counteracts the plunder and pillage.
• 
  Kat

  Great to have my heroine be a Lebanese girl. I enjoyed the book and never knew for sure what she was gonna do.
• 
  Shon Hopwood

  A quick read because the action never stops.
• 
  Shirley

  The old adage that money is the root of all evil could be the one liner to describe the theme of this book.
• 
  Michael Twist

  Fantastic effort by debut novelist David Kazzie. The action ramps with each page as Mr. Kazzie demonstrates his acute understanding of the legal profession as well as human nature in general.
• 
  Anne

  Easy read and enjoyed it.
• 
  Delaine

  WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THIS KINDLE BOOK I BOUGHT .
  GREAT THRILLER , SUMMER READ & CAN'T BEAT THE UNDER $6.00 PRICE .
  HOPE TO SEE LOTS MORE FROM THIS WRITER .
  ENJOY !