Book description
Ex-amateur boxer and failed advertising account executive Jack Doyle,
hero of Blind Switch, returns to the world of thoroughbred horse racing
at a suburban Chicago track in this new thriller by the author of
award-winning Riders Down. With the help of furrier-to-the-mob Moe
Kellman, Doyle is hired as publicity director at Monee Park, a
struggling suburban Chicago track owned by heiress Celia McCann. Celia
is fighting to keep the business afloat while awaiting passage of a law
allowing the introduction of lucrative video slot machines at Monee
Park. Meanwhile, she is under pressure from her co-heir and cousin,
Niall Hanratty, to close the track and sell the valuable property to
real estate developers. Working hard to convince Celia to sell are a
pair of hired thugs from Chicagoas Canaryville neighborhood. Celia,
whose husband is afflicted with ALS, is determined to maintain the
business inherited from her beloved uncle Jim Joyce. The exploits of
star sprinter Rambling Rosie help Celiaas cause, as do the efforts of
the redoubtable Doyle, again a somewhat reluctant knight errant who
rises to the occasion when needed. Written from an insideras viewpoint,
and featuring a robust cast of offbeat characters, Close Call provides
entertaining insight into the unique world of American horse racing with
a climax as exciting as a Derby photo finish. A fading Chicago
racetrack depends on its new publicity director to ward off the dangers
that beset it -- until a bill legalizing racetrack slots can ride to its
rescue. When Jim Joyce died, he left 51 percent of Monee Park to his
niece Celia McCann and 49 percent to Niall Hanratty, his nephew in
Ireland. It was an intuitively good choice, since Celia is doing
everything she can to keep the track open, while Niall wants to shut it
down, sell the land and plow the quick profits into his bookmaking
operation. Celia's strategies for keeping Monee on life support include
hiring ex-ad exec Jack Doyle (Riders Down, 2006, etc.) to run the
track's publicity; Niall's strategies for hastening its demise include
joining forces with Windy City mouthpiece Arthur P. Riley, who hires a
pair of thugs to insure that Monee tanks. Jack's portfolio rapidly
expands when the strong room is robbed, a power outage disrupts the
track's busiest night in years and someone tries to set fire to the
office where the horses' registration papers are kept. Will Jack be able
to protect the thugs' two prime targets, Celia and a phenomenal filly
that just might put Monee on the map? Routine thrust and parry stuffed
with anecdotes, blarney, recycled jokes and colorful characters with
nothing much to do. John McEvoy, former Midwest editor and senior
correspondent for Daily Racing Form, is the author of five previously
published non-fiction books on thoroughbred horse racing, including the
award-winning Great Horse Racing Mysteries. He has also published a book
of poetry. McEvoy and his wife Judy live in Evanston, IL.
