Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve worked both in politics and as an investigative reporter in print and broadcasting in Chicago, Miami, Key West, San Francisco, and Honolulu. I’ve had an up-close look at how the system doesn’t work and how the wise guys get their share. I find it easy to use fiction to get to the truth.


I wrote

Disappearing Act: A Las Vegas Love Story, Sort of...

By Ray Pace,

Book cover of Disappearing Act: A Las Vegas Love Story, Sort of...

What is my book about?

A Las Vegas magician disappears, two million bucks are missing, Chicago wants its money. What does any of this have…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Wise Guy

Ray Pace Why did I love this book?

This book takes you on Henry Hill’s journey from a streetwise kid to a major mob player. Along the way it hits all the highs and lows without pulling punches. It doesn’t get bogged down in excess rituals found in The Godfather. It lets the reader have it straight, no chaser.

By Nicholas Pileggi,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Wise Guy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A longtime member of organized crime recounts his criminal career, his involvement in the six-million dollar Lufthansa robbery, and his decision to become a federal witness.


Book cover of Get Shorty

Ray Pace Why did I love this book?

Chilli Palmer, the main man in Get Shorty, is an unforgettable character capable of thinking way outside the box and acting on it. The book keeps the reader off balance as Leonard introduces one far-out character after another. The fast-paced novel takes liberal swipes at characters trying to make it in Hollywood.

By Elmore Leonard,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Get Shorty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A thriller filled with Leonard's signatures - scathing wit, crackling dialogue, twisted plot, mad scams - and set in the drug sodden world of Hollywood.


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Book cover of The Road from Belhaven

The Road from Belhaven by Margot Livesey,

The Road from Belhaven is set in 1880s Scotland. Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small girl that she can see the future. But she soon realises that she must keep her gift a secret. While she can sometimes glimpse…

Book cover of The Maltese Falcon

Ray Pace Why did I love this book?

This classic crime story set the pattern for many private eye stories to come. The fast-paced story unfolds as characters try their best to double-cross each other in the space of hours. Noir wasn’t invented in this book, but it sure got a big kick in the right direction by Hammett.

By Dashiell Hammett,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Maltese Falcon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the greatest crime novels of the 20th century.

'His name remains one of the most important and recognisable in the crime fiction genre. Hammett set the standard for much of the work that would follow' Independent

Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and when Spade's partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby's trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, a…


Book cover of Tourist Season

Ray Pace Why did I love this book?

Everybody has a South Florida story they’ll tell about the wilds of Miami. Carl Hiaasen outdoes most of them. Body parts are washing up on the shores of Dade County Is it a hungry crocodile? Maybe not. Some of the body parts are in a suitcase and a lot of the players may not be playing it straight.

By Carl Hiaasen,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Tourist Season as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Take a trip to exotic South Florida with this dark, funny book that established Carl Hiaasen as one of the top mystery writers in the game.

The first sign of trouble is a Shriner's fez washed up on a Miami beach. The next is a suitcase containing the almost-legless body of the local chamber of commerce president found floating in a canal...

The locals are desperate to keep the murders under wraps and the tourist money flowing. But it will take a reporter-turned–private eye to make sense of a caper that mixes football players, politicians, and one very hungry crocodile…


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Book cover of 5 Stars

5 Stars by Louise Blackwick,

Five days before the end of humanity, five unlikely heroes find themselves on an impossible quest to outlive the apocalypse.

5 Stars is the survival story of a mother and her baby facing impossible odds amidst a global apocalypse. Set in a dying world overseen by “The Neon God,” the…

Book cover of Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago

Ray Pace Why did I love this book?

Chicago is where I grew up watching the fascinating interplay between the so-called forces of law and order battle the criminal element. It wasn’t much of a battle unless the law-and-order guys and the crooks found themselves reaching for the same loot. Mike Royko’s book describes very well the interplay. On a personal note, I once worked for one of the Illinois governors who ran as a reform candidate. He ended up going to jail on a fraud scheme.

By Mike Royko,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Boss as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The best book ever written about an American city, by the best journalist of his time."- Jimmy Breslin

New edition of the classic story of the late Richard J. Daley, politician and self-promoter extraordinaire, from his inauspicious youth on Chicago's South Side through his rapid climb to the seat of power as mayor and boss of the Democratic Party machine. A bare-all account of Daley's cardinal sins as well as his milestone achievements, this scathing work by Chicago journalist Mike Royko brings to life the most powerful political figure of his time: his laissez-faire policy toward corruption, his unique brand…


Explore my book 😀

Disappearing Act: A Las Vegas Love Story, Sort of...

By Ray Pace,

Book cover of Disappearing Act: A Las Vegas Love Story, Sort of...

What is my book about?

A Las Vegas magician disappears, two million bucks are missing, Chicago wants its money. What does any of this have to do with Area 51? Or Roswell? Can two wise guys, a hooker and a lesbian softball team save the day?

Book cover of Wise Guy
Book cover of Get Shorty
Book cover of The Maltese Falcon

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