High Stakes

Someone is carrying out “mercy killings” of retired thoroughbred racehorses that have been donated to Midwest veterinarian schools for research purposes. Taking credit for these horse deaths is a previously obscure “animal rights” organization (ALWD) which stands for “Animal Life With
Dignity.”  Thousands of miles away, Irish bookmaker Niall Hanratty’s life is under threat from an unknown person or persons.
Called upon to find the culprits in each case is former ad executive, amateur boxer, and jockey agent Jack Doyle, his usual irreverent, opinionated  and sharp-eyed self in this, the fifth horse racing mystery of the series featuring him as an intriguing amateur sleuth.
Unbeknownst to Doyle, he himself is the target for murder financed by Harvey Rexroth, the wealthy media mogul now imprisoned as a result of Doyle’s earlier efforts. Rexroth has hired the memorably frightening and efficient young villain W. D. Wiems for this revengeful assignment.
Reappearing in this fourth Jack Doyle novel are furrier-to-the-Mob Moe Kellman, Chicago Mob chief Fifi Bonadio, horse trainer Ralph Tenuta,  beautiful horse communicator Ingrid McGuire, and ambitious Irish journalist Nora Sheehan.
As usual, this McEvoy novel features lively dialogue and several uniquely colorful characters, including an Irish hit man with hands “so powerful strong he could pop a man’s brains right up out of his skull”, and former Chicago Blackstone Rangers gang officer Dujuan Coleman.

The rapid action moves from Chicago to Kansas City to a Wisconsin federal prison to Ireland as Doyle deals with this three-tiered challenge of finding a secret horse killer, an Irish villain, and attempting to elude the hired assassin who has dead aim on him.