Bridge books reviewed- 4

In 2011 Brian Senior edited a selection of never before published or obscurely published Mollo articles involving the Hideous Hog, Rueful Rabbit, Oscar the owl etc. and produced the book "The Hog Takes To Precision".

"Ace of Spies", more adventures of star bridge pro Jake Winkman solving bridge problems and other mysteries.

"Everything's Jake With Me", an anthology of Jake Winkman adventures.

"A Bestiary of Bridge", by James Kilpatrick, is a wonderful and amusing commentary on the nature of beasts and the best of bridge. The bridge players are introspective and certainly those of us who love the game will find our personality somewhere within the forty short descriptions of beastie bridgers. Examples are the Yakkity Yak (p88) and the Little Old Lady (p39) who's aura of vulnerability is fleeting and whose game is kin to a deadly lion kill. Readers of these short and amusing essays will soon find themselves and their favorite conventions addressed. Bridgers... welcome to Kilpatrick's 'animal kingdom' analogy of the game of bridge and of those with whom you play! This is a collection of 40 hilarious short articles by one of the best bridge writers around and illustrated by Lee Lorenz.

"The Rabbi's Magic Trick: More Kosher Bridge", by David Bird and Ron Klinger, is the third book in the series and continues the stories about a bridge playing rabbi. The book gives an account of him gambling his holiday money in a high stakes rubber game against three wealthy Arabs, and a synagogue team facing a team of Catholic priests and nuns.

"Frank Stewart's Bridge Club" is no ordinary place. It is the regular haunt of a cast of somehow familiar players: Unlucky Louie, against whom no one ever makes a wrong bid or play; Grapefruit, a man with an unnaturally sour disposition; Cy the Cynic, who knows that the Fates will conspire against him whatever he does; Minnie Bottoms, who tends to mix up jacks and kings but always somehow finds the killing play by mistake; Will Rogers, who never met a hand he didn't like; Frank himself, whose dry wit will keep you coming back for more; and many others. Pick up bridge pointers, try the quizzes, and have a great time while you do it.

"Death by Contract" by Shirley Presberg is a fast-paced bridge murder mystery, set at a cash-prize tournament in Virginia Beach. This is a great fun book for anyone who knows the least bit about bridge. The character development is especially well done, and you can truly envision each of the potential suspects. The reader is left in suspense for a long time before the killer is eventully revealed, with many intriguing clues along the way...

"Clubbed to Death" by Shirley Presberg is another fast-paced bridge murder mystery. On the first day of a National bridge tournament in Florida, the body of Holly Harrison, a professional bridge player, is found floating in the hotel pool. Sisters Sharon Price and Eva Kaplan, who recently helped solve another bridge murder, decide to use their bridge expertise and newly developed detective skills to help Detective Whittaker and the local cops solve Holly's murder...

William Cole, the author of "Fishheads" is a teacher of mediaeval literature at Harvard University. He has woven this book into a story that relates the history of bridge through the escapades of the fictional Fishhead family, who were playing bridge at high levels before we even thought it had been invented. With interesting hands and brilliant play and defence it's very entertaining and a good read. The story is often silly, occasionally clever, but generally doesn't get in the way of 31 deals.

"Having Nun, Partner?" by Martin Hoffman and David Bird. Enjoy the hilarious adventures of the bridge playing nuns of St Hilda's Convent. The novices live in constant fear of the 82-year old Mother of Discipline, dreading the appearance of her punishment book. Meanwhile, the Convent first team, captained by Mother Superior, play against a host of colourful opponents.