History Literature / MarginPlay

* NotSoDifferent: Uses twice, once by Amber and once on her. Amber tells [[spoiler: Govrolev that they both feel the same way about their companies]]; [[spoiler:Hastings points out to Amber that she's just as much on the shadowy side of the law as he is]].

''Margin Play'' is the first novel written by Creator/EricPlume, featuring Amber Eckart, a PrivateInvestigator and the owner of a struggling PI firm in Seattle. It was first published in 2013.

!''Margin Play'' contains examples of these tropes:

* BavarianFireDrill: One of these, of the "all you need to do is look like you belong there and know what you're doing" variety is [[spoiler:how Hastings got the Kitsmiller file from the files room at Barton, Cameron, and Clive's.]]

** Later, Amber makes a reference like this to Vadim ...and then Kasey [[CallBack repeats it later,]] just to [[JerkAss be a dick.]]

* EnemyMine [[spoiler:Amber and Kasey, against Hansen, even though they don't trust each other]] and [[spoiler:Amber and Govrolev, against the whole cabal, even though they have nothing in common except the way they feel about their respective businesses.]]

* FormerTeenRebel: Amber references several instances of drug use and excessive drinking from her younger years. She also unnerves Julian by telling him that she knows "exactly what a tongue piercing is for" [[NoodleImplements because she used to have one.]]

* {{Gangbangers}}: The ''gopniki'' the cabal makes use of as muscle. Russian and Eastern European guys in their teens and young twenties. They admire and follow Vadim.

* HeelFaceTurn: Yeah, there's one. [[spoiler:No, we're not going to say who does it. Not even in spoiler tags. It would ruin the whole story.]]

* JurisdictionFriction: The main reason why [[spoiler: Agent Hayes]] needs Amber's firm to help him out.

* NeverMessWithGranny: Mrs Kitsmiller greets Amber at the door with a revolver when Amber goes to her house the first time, because the ''gopniki'' have been harassing her. [[spoiler:Subverted -- It turns out she doesn't know how to use it, and on top of that it's not even loaded, and she ''doesn't know how'' to load it.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Uses twice, once by Amber and once on her. Amber tells [[spoiler: Govrolev that they both feel the same way about their companies]]; [[spoiler:Hastings points out to Amber that she's just as much on the shadowy side of the law as he is.]]

* PragmaticHero: Although Amber is concerned by the suffering the development deal is causing people, her main focus is keeping her business afloat and her employees safe. She also [[spoiler: cheerfully blackmails an FBI agent for over a hundred thousand dollars,]] and[[spoiler: conceals a triple homicide from the police.]]

* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: Justified. Amber's pistol does jam but the model, a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennings_J-22 Jennings J-22]] is infamous in the gun community [[TruthInTelevision for its propensity to malfunction.]] Also, she tries to clear the jam and keep shooting - rather than tossing the pistol aside as is standard for this trope.

* ThrowEmToTheWolves: [[spoiler:What Kasey did to Hansen, when he told the ''gopniki'' that Hansen was responsible for Vadim being killed.]]

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Drake doesn't bother to always get fully dressed. Amber mentions how she [[EatingTheEyeCandy doesn't mind one bit.]]

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Hansen]] has this planned for Kasey. [[spoiler: And Kasey knows it.]]

* TheSouthpaw: Amber is a lefty. It comes in handy...

* WindowsOfTheSoul: Amber comments on this about Kasey, during her meeting with him in the bar.
--> People say that the eyes are the windows to the soul; it's true, but only when the person being viewed opens that window. Charles Kasey chose that moment to, and I knew what I saw behind the black humor and artful apathy; something old and ugly and very human. Something society has always been too frightened to examine but depends on just the same. I wanted to look away but I didn't.

''Margin Play'' is the first novel written by Creator/EricPlume, featuring Amber Eckart, a PrivateInvestigator and the owner of a struggling PI firm in Seattle. When she's hired by a lawyer from the largest, most respected law firm in the area to investigate a dodgy foreclosure, she finds that the situation is far more twisty and complicated that she expected -- and she was expecting it to be twisty and complicated to start with. Assisted by her employees Julian Wu, receptionist and apprentice investigator; and Izzy Alphabet, computer guru, research assistant and journeyman investigator; and by an old friend from college, Drake Albie, she starts trying to untangle the threads and finds a snarl of fraud, extortion, deception and corruption surrounding a multi-million-dollar land development deal. Throw some Russian mobsters, Russian gangs, a freelance enforcer, and a sweet little old lady with a gun into the mix, and stir well.

* [[EvilDetectingDog Evil Detecting Cat]]: Lampshaded when Amber invites Drake in because her cat, Zork, likes him, then subverted by Amber's comment that it wasn't because she thinks Zork is a particularly good judge of character, it's just that she (Amber) considers herself an even worse one.

* HannibalLecture: Amber finds herself on the receiving end of one to the effect of "You're just as much in the shadows as I am."

* NeverMessWithGranny: Mrs Kitsmiller greets Amber at the door with a revolver when Amber goes to her house the first time, because the ''gopniki'' have been harassing her. [[spoiler:Subverted -- It turns out it's not loaded and she not only don't know how to fire it, she doesn't even know ''how'' to load it.]]

* TheMafiya: Vadim is unreformed and runs a gang of ''gopniki''. Govrolev may or may not have reformed. There are also a couple dozen ''gopniki'' (GangBangers) who serve as dumb muscle for the bad guys. Izzy knows far more than she's happy with about how the Mafiya works because she grew up surrounded by them.

* EuropeansAreKinky: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by Amber and Candace; Amber points out why Drake is uncomfortable in Candi's apartment (BDSM gear, soft porn on the walls, etc.)and Candi responds with a comment about how she misses Europe because "Americans are such prudes".

* EthicalSlut: Candace Estermont. She expresses concern that her lifestyle may not mesh with the values of a young couple she's interested in sleeping with, and decides to not pursue a sexual relationship with them when Amber points out that doing so might cause them to break up.

* NeverMessWithGranny: Mrs Kitsmiller has a revolver when Amber come to see her the first time, because the ''gopniki'' have been harassing her. [[spoiler:Subverted -- she not only don't know how to fire it, it's not loaded and ''she doesn't even know how to'' load it.]]

** Invoked following the confrontation in the conference room, when Amber explains to Julian that recording the whole conversation was perfectly legal, even though the other party didn't know it was being recorded, because there was a sign (of the legally-required size and shape) posted on the bulletin board among all the other stuff stating that the premises were under audio and video surveillance.

** Invoked following the confrontation in the conference room, when Amber explains to Julian that recording the whole conversation was perfectly legal, even though the other party didn't know it was being recorded, because there was a sign (of the legally-required size and shape) posted on the bulletin board (among all the other stuff) stating that the premises were under audio and video surveillance.

** Invoked following the confrontation in the conference room, when Amber explains to Julian that recording the whole conversation was perfectly legal, even though the other party didn't know it was being recorded, because there was a sign posted on the bulletin board (among all the other stuff) stating that the premises were under audio and video surveillance.

** Later, Amber makes a reference to this to Vadim ...and then Kasey [[CallBack repeats it later,]] just to [[JerkAss be a dick.]]

''Margin Play'' is the first novel written by Creator/EricPlume, featuring Amber Eckart, a PrivateInvestigator and the owner of a struggling PI firm in Seattle. When she's hired by a lawyer from the largest, most respected law firm in the area to investigate a dodgy foreclosure, she finds that the situation is far more twisty and complicated that she expected -- and she was expecting it to be twisty and complicated to start with. Assisted by her employees Julian Wu, receptionist and apprentice investigator; and Izzy Alphabet, computer guru, research assistant and journeyman investigator; and an old friend from college, Drake Albie, she starts trying to untangle the threads and finds a snarl of fraud, extortion, deception and corruption surrounding a multi-million-dollar land development deal. Throw some Russian mobsters, Russian gangs, a freelance enforcer, and a sweet little old lady with a gun into the mix, and stir well.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Amber invokes this when Drake suggests that they break into a house and steal a piece of evidence. She explains that that won't work for three reasons: She doesn't know how, the security system "is probably smarter than we are", and oh, yeah, breaking and entering is a crime and she doesn't want to go to jail. Drake's response is "So, it's not like in the pulp novels, then?"

* The Southpaw: Amber is a lefty. It comes in handy...

* ReliablyUnreliableGuns: Justified. Amber's pistol does jam but the model, a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennings_J-22 Jennings J-22]] is infamous in the gun community [[TruthInTelevision for its propensity to malfunction.]] Also, she clears the jam and keeps shooting - rather than tossing the pistol aside as is standard for this trope.

* BittersweetEnding: The main bad guy loses --big time-- in the end, and there's reason to believe that the rest of the bad guys will also be caught, but Mrs Kitsmiller may still lose her house, and even if she doesn't, her neighborhood is still destroyed and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other people have still lost their homes because of the scheme. Amber gets out from under the loans that were crushing her business, but she also has to face the fact that she did some things that put her into seriously grey territory morally and completely over the line legally; Amber and Drake realize that they care about each other a great deal, but Drake has to leave when Halcourt's PI shows up to serve him with papers for yet another lawsuit (see FrivolousLawsuit).

''Margin Play'' is available for Kindle and in paperback on Amazon.

--> " [[Izzy] grinned and nodded as she quoted me. "In full, on time, without complaint... pick any two." "

''Margin Play'' is the first novel written by Eric Plume, featuring Amber Eckart, a PrivateInvestigator and the owner of a struggling PI firm in Seattle. When she's hired by a lawyer from the largest, most respected law firm in the area to investigate a dodgy foreclosure, she finds that the situation is far more twisty and complicated that she expected -- and she was expecting it to be twisty and complicated to start with. Assisted by her employees Julian Wu, receptionist and apprentice investigator; and Izzy Alphabet, computer guru, research assistant and journeyman investigator; and an old friend from college, Drake Albie, she starts trying to untangle the threads and finds a snarl of fraud, extortion, deception and corruption surrounding a multi-million-dollar land development deal. Throw some Russian mobsters, Russian gangs, a freelance enforcer, and a sweet little old lady with a gun into the mix, and stir well.

* GeniusBonus: Folks who know their guns may catch one late in the book; people who are familiar with Russian slang and the traditions of Russian prison tattoos will know exactly why Vadim got so angry at Amber. There's also one on the cover.