Riders Down: A Jack Doyle Mystery

by John McEvoy

Book Overview

No one really notices that a fix may be in until Matt O'Connor, a Chicago-based columnist for a national racing newspaper, gets a call from Moe Kellman, a horse-owning acquaintance. Kellmans question for Matt: Was the death of ninety-two-year-old Bernard Glockner, Chicago's oldest active bookmaker, suicide or murder? Glockner was Kellman's late uncle and Kellman, a man not unfamiliar with the Chicago mob, wants Matt to check it out. Matt quickly comes...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590582586
• ISBN13: 9781590582589
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

McEvoy is way out in front.

I sometimes anticipate what's going to happen next, i.e., who's going to get killed and how, but even when I'm fairly close, which is not very often, McEvoy goes way beyond my anticipation. As a bonus, there's a lot about horses, racing, and jockeys that I did not know, but found it was a pleasure to learn.

Great Thriller

In John McEvoy's second novel, also set in the idiosyncratic world of horse racing, you know whodunit and it's still a thriller. The villain, Claude Bledsoe, has to come up with a million dollars in order to inherit his grandmother's money. Since it's too hard to fix horse races the old fashioned way, using his superhuman strength and knowledge of nearly every skill acquirable through literally dozens of undergraduate and master's degree programs, the maniacal Bledsoe starts intimidating, blackmailing and murdering jockeys to throw races. McEvoy limns the life of jockeys and their families, whom he so clearly respects. The percipient protagonist Matt O'Connor (don't we all wish we had a boyfriend like that), a journalist following his hunches, finally catches up with Bledsoe - or the other way around. Think Grace Kelly in Rear Window. For fans of Chicago and Madison, these places are rendered lovingly. Fast paced and funny, Riders Down is satisfying in every way.

Fast Track Tale

John McEvoy's Riders Down is like two books within a single cover---the first full of insights into the world of horse racing which then becomes the backdrop for the second, a fast paced detective drama. McEvoy tells a good story with style, drawing on a closet full of colorful characters reminiscent of a Damon Runyon novel. And by the time the last page is turned, the reader can not help but be infected not only by the author's passion for `the sport of kings' but by his abiding love for the racetrack community that brings it to life.

top notch horse racing mystery

I have worked at race tracks and the writer makes this world within our world come alive--we learn stuff. The characters, from Glockner the bookmaker to Maggie the trainer, are strong. You're easily drawn into them and their lives. The plot is suspenseful and the ending delivers. If you love Chicago, the world of horseracing or just a strong mystery, you'll go for this book. Hope McEvoy's got another one up his sleave.

Riders down scores big.

Here's a fast-paced look at the dark side of racing, written by someone who obviously knows the track inside and out. Peopled with unforgettable characters, the intricate plot moves smoothly towards a truly smashing finish. A wonderful read for mystery fans and/or racing enthusiasts.