Center Cut: A Jack Austin Mystery (Hardscrabble Books) [Hardcover]

John R. Corrigan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2004

A new Jack Austin mystery--the exciting follow-up to Snap Hook.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Golf mysteries are like pot bunkers littering the fairways of the crime genre. They don't look particularly intimidating from a distance, but when authors find themselves inside one, they rarely escape without humiliating themselves, either with unbelievable crimes or with utterly uninformed, often ridiculous descriptions of the game itself. Corrigan's Jack Austin series, now in its third installment, has always done well on the course but slipped badly on the mystery side. This time, though, Corrigan's game comes together on all levels. The crime plot, involving the murder of a caddy and the disappearance of a tour player's wife, is just solid enough (a rarity in the subgenre) to keep the reader's mind off the nagging question of when professional golf became so dangerous; the golf action, featuring veteran pro Austin's struggles to win his first tournament, is superb in every way: accurate, dramatic, and above all, realistic. Even a climactic match with Tiger Woods is largely believable. Finally, a golf mystery that golfers will enjoy rather than ridicule. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A great series for sports aficionados. -- Library Journal

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: UPNE (July 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584654058
• ISBN-13: 978-1584654056
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,719,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John R. Corrigan was born in Augusta, Maine, in 1970. Along with his wife and three young daughters, he lives at the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut, where he teaches Advanced Placement English and Mystery Literature, coaches hockey and golf, and may very well be the only mystery writer in America who is also a dorm parent to 15 teenage boys.

John loves teaching and enjoys visiting schools to give readings or run writing workshops. You can reach him at the e-mail address below to schedule a school visit.

A passionate teacher, he understands struggles faced by learning-disabled students. In 1979, prior to many discoveries in the field of learning disabilities, Corrigan was broadly diagnosed as "learning disabled, presumed dyslexic" -- a theme that resonates throughout the Jack Austin series. Corrigan has published poetry, academic papers, feature articles, and more recently short stories (in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine).

The first Jack Austin novel, CUT SHOT (Sleeping Bear Press, 2001), earned excellent reviews. In 2002, Corrigan signed with the University Press of New England, an honor that made him UPNE's first mystery novelist and produced SNAP HOOK (2004), CENTER CUT (2004), BAD LIE (2005), and OUT OF BOUNDS (2006). The Jack Austin series has been praised for accurately portraying the stresses associated with high-pressure athletics.

A former journalist and freelance writer, he earned a master's of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. From 2001-2005, he was a columnist for Golf Today Magazine. Now he writes a weekly blog for Type M For Murder and is currently at work on a new series featuring a female border patrol agent as protagonist.

He is thrilled to be able to offer the Jack Austin series online--all five novels for the price of one hardcover--and always enjoys hearing from readers. You can reach him at [e-mail] or by visiting his Website, JohnRCorrigan.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Corrigan Continues On His Game, October 12, 2004

By 

John R. Linnell (New Gloucester, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Center Cut: A Jack Austin Mystery (Hardscrabble Books) (Hardcover)

For an English teacher from Maine, John Corrigan certainly has a handle on life in the PGA as well as the game of life. Jack Austin is back, with a wife and child now and has started to ramp up his game. Ten years on the Tour and no wins as he readies for The Memorial Tournament in Ohio, hosted by Jack Nicklaus. If only all he had to worry about was the other competitors.

A friend of his on tour, Grant Ashley has married. His wife Lynn acts oddly when being interviewed by Jack's wife for a piece on golf wives and then goes missing. She turns up in the company of Jack's agent, Jim Dempsey. Jim also represents Grant. Grant's new caddy appears stoned during a practice round and later is murdered. Dempsey is leaving his wife and family for Lynn. Nothing seems to make sense. It's the sort of thing which can be very distracting when you are trying to beat Tiger Woods. As Austin summarizes: "A woman in Texas was trying to understand why her husband left her and was desperate enough to ask me, a friend of her husband...one she had met only a handful of times. Grant Ashley was alone. Lynne Ashley had been exploited and very likely had, in turn, exploited Jim Dempsey. Mike Easley had been stabbed in the back." Talk about your distractions.

The nice thing about this book is that while stories such as this which try to live in the present with real people as a part of it, especially which deal with sports, often don't work; this book works very well indeed.

The relationships are believeable, the charactersare well drawn, the dialogue is tightly written, the action both on and off the golf course feels authentic and you are kept happily turning pages until the last page when Austin faces a crucial last putt.

Whether it falls or not, there is surely more to come in the adventures of Jack Austin and that is good news for the fans of his novels. If you haven't found this author yet, this would be a good one to start with.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific golf mystery, April 28, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Center Cut: A Jack Austin Mystery (Hardscrabble Books) (Hardcover)

Since choking at the end of a tournament further placing his PGA card membership in jeopardy, golfer Jack Austin has played poorly as his confidence has tanked. Adding to his woes that his game is imploding, he fears he soon will have to play the satellite tour after ten years in the majors even without a single win.

As he begins to show signs of attaining par and feels ready top go head to head with Tiger or Phil, Jack notices that Lynn Ashley, wife of PGA player friend Grant, is seen in the company of Jack's married agent, Jim Dempsey. Not long afterward, someone kills Grant's caddy in what appears to be a drug deal turned ugly. Just after that Jim and Lynn announce they are leaving their respective families for one another. Nothing seems logical to Jack who is just starting to regain his game and does not need the distraction, but cannot help investigating although that places him in danger of missing the cut on the course and in life.

In his third golf mystery, John R. Corrigan aces the tale with a terrific look at the PGA coupled with an intriguing murder mystery. Jack is at his best as he makes mistakes about life, golf, and the who-done-it. His insight into his rivals, their caddies, and lastly their spouses is worth the price of admission. Because the characters are so fully developed especially Jack, fans of a strong sports mystery, not necessarily golf aficionados, will take the eighteen-hole tour and enjoy every hole.

Harriet Klausner