Customer Reviews

Fire Horse

Bill Shoemaker was one of my heroes years ago. As a child
growing 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".