When the Fat Man Sings — William Murray

SHIFTY TAKES A BIG GAMBLE ON A FAT MAN
Rotund Fulvio Gasparini is the world's greatest operatic tenor and worst gambler. He is losing at the tables and losing big... until magician Shifty Lou Anderson steps in with his hot hand for dice and recoups the fat man's losses. Loveable, irrepressible Fulvio is overwhelmed, and convinces Shifty to leave Vegas and join his entourage to New York City as his well-paid, personal handicapper. But the stakes get higher when a bash on the head warns Shifty that danger lurks in the wings like opera groupies. From the Met to the racetrack, Shifty suddenly finds himself rubbing elbows with embezzlers, jealous lovers, horsefixers...and a shadowy killer with a particularly nasty way of eliminating his victims. Asking questions quickly lowers Shifty's odds of surviving. Still, it's never over until the fat man sings....