Close
Call
A Jack Doyle
Mystery
John McEvoy
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-495-3 (1590584953)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-495-8 (9781590584958)
Publication Date: March 2008
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis
(from
the publisher): With the help of furrier-to-the-mob Moe Kellman,
ex-amateur boxer and failed advertising account executive Jack 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 Chicago’s 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 Celia’s
cause, as do the efforts of the redoubtable Doyle, again a somewhat
reluctant knight errant who rises to the occasion when needed.
Review:
John McEvoy's second horse-racing
mystery featuring publicist Jack Doyle, Close Call, charms
the reader with the joys and pitfalls of running a modern race track.
Celia McCann has inherited 51% of a nearly bankrupt track from her
uncle. Her cousin, Niall Hanratty, who lives in Ireland, has inherited
the other 49%. Celia’s uncle raised her from childhood and
taught her all about the track, the horses, their trainers, and the
riders. She loves the life. But the Monee track, about twenty miles
south of Chicago, is suffering. Because of the recent influx of
gambling boats in and around the Chicago area, many of the gamblers
have left the racetrack to seek out the “boats”. A
bill pending in the Illinois Senate to allow video slot machine on the
track premises would increase revenue not only for the track but for
the state as well. But this could take time. An old friend of
Celia’s uncle, “furrier-to-the-mob" Moe
Kellman, comes to Celia’s aid by offering to lend her the
money to “stay alive” and keep the track running
until better days come. He urges Jack Doyle to write the ads and news
briefs for the track. In the meantime, Niall, himself a track owner in
Ireland, has been told that it would be more advantageous for him to
convince Celia to sell the Monee track for future development. Celia
defiantly opposes the idea. It’s a tug-of-war between cousins
that rapidly descends into violence and has Doyle right in the middle.
Close Call
isn't so much a mystery as it is a suspense novel with a light
touch. The plot examines Celia's personal issues as well as her
professional ones: her husband is succumbing to Lou Gehrig's disease
(ALS) and she's not certain where the threats against the track are
coming from, including one to kill a valuable horse that enthralls
crowds and brings them back. Her cousin claims he's not responsible but
if not him, who?
More than the plot itself, the characters in Close Call make it
a winning story about devotion to one's family and dedication to one's
beliefs with gentle wit and undying love. And because it's a mystery
(or suspense novel), there's a bit of crime as well but it's clearly a
secondary element here.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Close Call and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Blind Switch
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), August 2004
ISBN-10: 1-59058-095-8 (1590580958)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-095-0 (9781590580950)
Close Call
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), March 2008
ISBN-10: 1-59058-495-3 (1590584953)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-495-8 (9781590584958)
Omnimystery keywords for Close Call ...
Location(s) referenced: Chicago.