Blinders

Bobby Higdon, a wine kid from Nebraska, gets sucked into the dark world of high-stakes gambling on underground blind-tasting competitions.

Mentored by the charismatic, mysterious and always scheming Trilby, Bobby is plunged into an unfamiliar world of sommeliers, New York money guys, Asian gangsters, mafioso, and Russian oil tycoons - all chasing the big paydays on highly competitive wine competitions. Trilby skillfully trains Bobby and manipulates him into competing at La Paulée, the biggest of all underground blind contests, run by international gangster and professional scumbag Johnny Tan. With millions at stake, Johnny brings Sommurai, the one-eyed former champion out of retirement to fix the competition.

This breakneck plot twists and turns as the players try to out maneuver all the others to grab the big money. Debut novelist Amon has redefined the hustle fiction genre with this groundbreaking and highly entertaining heist novel, where he details the insides of the wine business and blind tasting with sommelier level precision.

Kirkus Reviews called it a "fast paced, entertaining caper...with plenty of Pulp Fiction-style punch" and an "Oceans 11-type tale of an intriguing oenophile underworld".