BLIND SWITCH

Blind Switch
by John McEvoy
290 pages
ISBN: 1-59058-095-8
Poisoned Pen Press
August 2004
$ 24.95

“A blind switch is when a jockey gets himself caught in a pocket during a race, trapped maybe down on the inside, looking for a way out. Jocks just have to keep looking to work their way out when they’re in those spots. Otherwise they lose for sure. Looks like the feds have you boxed in.

A Blind Switch is the situation Jack Doyle finds himself, no way out. By not always be politically correct with his choice of comments, Jack finds himself out of a job.

Jack Doyle is an account administrator with no ambitions. One day he goes to his office and finds that his desk has been cleared out. With no contacts or ambitions, he just mopes around with no future ahead of him.

Through his acquaintances and financial desperation, Doyle becomes employed in an illegal scam with horse racing. He begins to work with a particular horse who is a fairly reliable winner. However, when his boss has him purposely feed the horse a large meal with large amounts of water before the race, Doyle’s involvement then becomes a crime. By doing this, the horse will lose and the odds will change for future races. Better odds mean more money in the final payout.

Somehow the federal government discovers this possibility and forces Doyle into another racing scheme. This is what becomes to Doyle, his blind switch.

Doyle then goes to work, undercover, on a horse racing farm as an assistant to the manager who called the Feds. Aldous Bolger knows something isn’t right about the deaths of some two of his horses and is fearful of future problems with various horses. Minimally, these horses are insured. If the horses die under unusual circumstances which could be from natural causes, the owner receives a tremendous settlement.

The strength of the characters, especially Aldous Bolger, is what makes this book work. Bolger’s values and refusal to compromise them directly affect Doyle and work to his personal redemption. Aldous, being that he is the manager of the horse racing farms, really cares about the deaths of the horses, not just the money issue, was the one who contacted the FBI in an effort to save the horses. The FBI bring in Doyle who has just previously worked in another horse racing scam and been stung by the results of the previous scam.

The flavor of Blind Switch resembles the old private eye novels. McEvoy’s style of writing is crisp, and somewhat crude, which adds to the depth of the characters in the battle of good versus evil. Even a little philosophy about Chicago Cubs’ fans adds to the humor and the warmth in this delightful novel by John McEvoy.

John McEvoy has written other novels and short stories involving horse racing. Whether a racing fan or not, everyone will enjoy this suspenseful, fast-paced novel.