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John McEvoy, a former editor and executive columnist for thoroughbred horse racing's ""Bible,"" Daily Racing Form, is the author of six mystery novels published by Poisoned Pen Press, High Stakes the most recent, as well as four non-fiction books. Two of his books won Ben Franklin Awards from the Independent Publishers' Association. He has been a horse owner and is a widely published poet. He and his wife Judy live in Evanston, IL.
Another ride around the track for Chicagoan Jack Doyle, the horse-racing insider and sometime sleuth. This time Jack is asked by the two FBI agents he has worked with on earlier cases (Photo Finish, 2012) to investigate the mercy killings of retired Thoroughbreds donated to veterinary schools. Notes left at the scene suggest the culprits are animal activists, but who? Meanwhile, Jack has another case on his hands, when a Dublin bookmaker friend asks for help in determining who is trying to kill him. Jumping between Ireland and the midwestern sites of the horse killings, Jack asks the questions that start turning the dominoes that lead to solutions on two continents. The bipolar nature of the tale is a little discombobulating, as if the reader were suffering from jet lag, but the appeal of this amiable series has never been the mysteries--or Jack's romantic life (he has a girlfriend in Ireland, too)--but, rather, his mucking around on the backstretch with trainers, jockeys, grooms, and other racetrack folk. There could have been more of that this time, but the sweet smell of manure is in the air just enough to keep fans happy.--Booklist Jack Doyle has a knack for ferreting out dangerous situations, as shown in McEvoy's appealing fifth mystery featuring the Chicago-based ex-boxer and horse racing enthusiast (after 2012's Photo Finish). Retired race horses are often donated to vet schools for research. When someone starts killing the animals to keep them from being exploited, two FBI agents ask Doyle to use his racing contacts to seek leads. That chore doesn't keep Doyle from jetting to Dublin, Ireland, to see jockey Mickey Sheehan win a major award. In Dublin, Sheila Hanratty asks him to help her bookmaker husband, Niall, who's had several suspicious accidents recently. Doyle also tangles with a wealthy social media entrepreneur who's determined to force an elderly couple to sell him their prized horse. On top of all that, Harvey Rexroth, a crook Doyle help put in prison, is arranging to have him killed. McEvoy deftly manages his busy plot while liberally spicing it with intriguing racing stories.--Publishers Weekly John McEvoy's done it again with this latest intriguing Jack Doyle mystery. Fast plotting, deft prose, and magnificently skewed characters make this one another winner.--Jack Frederickson, author of the Dek Elstrom series John McEvoy's Jack Doyle mysteries usually have the pace of a runaway racehorse, and High Stakes is no different. Just when you think he's about to linger on a piece of lush Irish scenery or gritty Chicago lore, someone does something terrible and the chase is on again. There's nothing left to do but buckle up and enjoy the ride.--Jay Hovdey, Daily Racing Form
