Review: An Enjoyable Read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 18, 2013
Author Anthony Venutolo, writing under the genre-appropriate pen name of, "Jack Tunney", has written a compelling fight card. The term, "fight card", gives boxing enthusiasts the expectation that the card will have a warmup, or preliminary match, some exciting matches leading up to the main event, and then the main event itself. This is how I approached the reading of this book, and I was not disappointed.Preliminary: (Quote) " "Hey, you used to write about the fights, right?" All of a sudden he was my best friend. Like I needed more of those. "Man alive, you were really good with those predictions," he went on. "Made me lots of cashola. Next one is on me." I didn't wanna ruin his night and tell him they weren't exactly predictions, but who was I to burst his bubble?" (end of quote)I was hooked. I knew we had a witty, sarcastic reporter, Nick (the protagonist), who had a past history of doing bad things (fixing fights). The question formed in my mind, "Will Nick begin and end this book as someone I would hate to have as a friend, or as someone who finds his way into doing something decent, maybe even heroic? Is this character flat or dynamic?So, with this basic premise, I began to read, and became fascinated by the story Author Anthony Venutolo was telling. Like it or not, this is the fight game, and yes, common sense will tell you that it can't be as corrupt as it reads in this book. Nonetheless, I can not quite give boxing a full acquittal, a definite not-guilty verdict. I reserve judgement on that question. However, if you have your mind up, that's fine also, since this is your book. You have the right to make up your mind about corruption in boxing, especially after reading this book.Anyway, I found the story overall to be a page turner. I found a way into the story, became engaged in it, and did not stop reading until the very surprising end. The story is well-written, fast paced, dialogue and situation driven, and in part, lyrical. An enjoyable read which I highly recommend.Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Reviewed by Thomas Jerome BakerAuthor ofLooking For Catarina: A Love Story From Santiago de Chile to Florence, Italy