[Heads You Win, Tails I Lose] is capably written, full of clever, often bitter dialogue. But the author has not produced an important or powerful book—as she did with The Man Without a Face. Her new book lacks both the unity of theme and passionate focus of its predecessor. Perhaps she has pulled out too many stops and has diffused her creative energies in an attempt to cope with too many problems; for the life of almost every character has been touched by the wretchedness of drug addiction or alcoholism, divorce or estrangement, loneliness or isolation. (p. 57)