Fire Horse

Rating:
Summary: A different take on the genre created by Dick Frances
Review:

Bill Shoemaker was one of my heroes years ago. As a childgrowing up in Northern California and a lover of horses, I naturally followed the exploits of "The Shoe", arguably the best jockey of all time. Well, I can't yet claim that Shoemaker is the best mystery author, but he does a good job in his second novel, "Fire Horse".

Corey Killebrew is a retired jockey who left the track after a suspicious loss in an important race. He's now a restauranteur in "Bay City", partnered with a love-struck Las Vegas casino owner who asks him, as a "favor", to keep an eye on his latest flame; the spoiled daughter of a despised (or beloved, depending on your politics) radio and TV pundit. This seemingly innnocent request draws Killebrew into a complex game of horse racing, blackmail, fraud and, of course, murder.

The plotting is effective, although it stretches a bit thin in a few places. The charcters are interesting and generally well-drawn but at times stereotypical. The dialog needs work in a few places (in others, though, it crackles). But, Shoemaker's knowledge of racing and horses shines without being obtrusive or pedantic -- it makes "Fire Horse" believable and a real page-turner!

I'm a big fan of Dick Frances; Bill Shoemaker isn't quite up to his level, but he's not too far away, either. If you enjoy a good action mystery (that favors the action side), you'll like "Fire Horse".