Triple
Cross
A
Steve Cline Mystery
Kit
Ehrman
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-302-7
(1590583027)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-302-9 (9781590583029)
Publication Date: January 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Although 23-year-old barn manager Steve Cline doesn't
expect to stray far from the horse world, he has enrolled in a private
investigations course and is working on the final project. But when his
father, racehorse trainer Chris Kessler, invites him to Louisville on a
two-week, all-expense-paid vacation that will culminate with the
running of the Kentucky Derby, how can he refuse? Except, it isn't
really a vaction. Kessler has a Derby runner and needs a reliable
fill-in when one of his employees is injured.
With only two horses to care for, the workload is light, and Steve
decides to get that class project out of the way--a simple records
search. But the very act of initiating the project triggers a chance
encounter that plunges Steve into the world of the ultra rich. A world
where greed and revenge and ambition drive some men to commit
unspeakable acts amid the pageantry and glamour of thoroughbred racing.
In quick order, Steve finds himself the prime suspect in a murder
investigation and the target of brutal thugs. From the relative
security of the backside to the Derby festivities that transform
downtown Louisville into Party Central to the opulence of a Lexington
horse farm, Steve deals with his own personal demons and strained
relationships as he attempts to stop a murderer before a power play
culminates in shattered dreams and a bloody triple cross.
Review:
Horseman and amateur sleuth Steve Cline travels to Louisville for the
Kentucky Derby in Kit Ehrman's fourth entry in this series, Triple Cross.
Steve has been asked by his father, trainer of a Kentucky Derby
entrant, to help out in the preparations for the race. He arrives in
Louisville a week prior to the first Saturday in May, splitting his
time working on the track backside and fulfilling an assignment for a
private investigator course he's taking: finding out as much as
possible about a random individual. The person he chooses, a woman
working as a marketing assistant on the frontside, inexplicably
disappears after he meets her and is subsequently found murdered. Since
Steve was investigating her background, he seems a natural suspect for
the police. But when Steve later escapes some close calls himself, he
realizes she may have been involved in something far more dangerous
than he ever imagined.
The first half of Triple Cross,
which proceeds at what might best be considered a leisurely pace, is
largely background material for the plot which itself is fairly
complicated. The title, no doubt a play on racing's Triple Crown,
intimates that a "triple cross" will be revealed at some point
necessitating a complex set of relationships to be set up early in the
book. Horse racing itself has numerous participants: owners, trainers,
jockeys, and other assorted horse men and women. The owners typically
have other business interests as well, offering any number of plot
possibilities. Ehrman initially does a fine job of managing all this
information in Triple Cross,
but seems to falter when attempting to introduce misdirection, red
herrings if you will, into the story. It's a bit confusing at times,
and the plot gets sidetracked for a while but eventually regains its
focus. And, as with a typical horse race, in the end it all comes down
to the stretch run. In this regard, Triple
Cross
is a winner.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Triple Cross for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Triple Cross? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
At
Risk
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), October 2002
ISBN-10: 1-59058-036-2 (1590580362)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-036-3 (9781590580363)
Dead
Man's Touch
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), November 2003
ISBN-10: 1-59058-089-3 (1590580893)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-089-9 (9781590580899)
Cold
Burn
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), February 2005
ISBN-10: 1-59058-143-1 (1590581431)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-143-8 (9781590581438)
Triple Cross
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-302-7 (1590583027)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-302-9 (9781590583029)
Omnimystery
keywords for Triple Cross
...
Location(s) referenced: Louisville,
Kentucky.
