Review: A Triple Crown Winner
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2012
I must admit my bias up front. I'm a huge fan of Michael Phelps and his writing since readingTHE EXECUTION OF JUSTICE ("The Mike Walsh Detective Novels".), the first of the Mike Walsh detective series. That was a 5-star hit in my opinion by a bright new talent.THE JOCKEY'S JUSTICE is even better -- much better -- and I'd give it 10 stars if possible. Phelps ranks right up there with my hero and mentor Michael Connelly. This is the best thriller I've read so far in 2012 and one of the best I've read in many years. It should be on the New York Times Best Seller list as #1 with a bullet.When pathetic and poorly written novels like THE HUNGER GAMES or TWILIGHT can sell millions of copies and generate big film buzz, it shows there is no accounting for taste in books. But this thriller certainly deserves to be a best seller and to be picked up as a movie.As the promo blurb says: "A winning and respected horse racing jockey is murdered on the last day of the racing season in a small Kentucky town. Eight years later his widow, her nephew and their son-in-law are arrested and charged with the brutal crime. They are held in the Miami-Dade County Jail in Miami, Florida pending extradition to Kentucky. The widow retains high profile criminal defense attorny Frank Pizzo to represent them. Chief Investigator Mike Walsh and his assistant, Rosa Cabio are sent to Hendersonville, Kentucky to investigate the case. They soon discover another jockeys murder, another jockey who vanished, race fixing, ties to the Chicago Mafia, political corruption, inept cops and that's just the beginning."THE JOCKEY'S JUSTICE is a real page-turner, from the opening chapter and I had great difficulty putting it down. It takes you on a roller coaster ride through the sleazy underbelly of the Sport of Kings. I think what makes it even more interesting is that it is based on an actual case Phelps investigated. Phelps, a former cop and investigator for a law firm, like Mike Walsh, writes with authenticity and conviction. This is a police procedural at its finest and the reader gets a real sense of what it is like to be conducting this kind of investigation. The author knows of what he writes.The ending is highly satisfactory and truly brings the Jockeys Justice.If you want a great read, get this book.