Deal Me In, Week 43 ~ “The Fix”
Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis
“The Fix” by Thomas H. Cook
Card picked: Five of Diamonds
From: Murder on the Ropes, ed. Otto Penzler
Thoughts: When journalist Jack Burke spots Vinnie Teague on a crosstown bus, he decides to find out what happened when the “Shameful Shamrock” Teague took his career-ending dive.
Nearing the end of this anthology, I find that there hasn’t been a wide array of crimes associated with boxing in these stories. The whys and hows of taking a dive have been pretty prominent. This story is one of the shortest in the anthology and it contains one of the best characters. Vinnie Teague isn’t what he seems and neither was his poorly wrought boxing performance. Usually, a dive is meant to look like, well, not a dive. Teague went down after being grazed by washed-up Douggie Burns in a fight that should have been an easy KO. For Burke, it is one of the most perplexing things he’s ever seen in sports.
About the Author: I wasn’t familiar with Thomas H. Cook. It has also become obvious from this anthology how few thrillers I’ve read. If the writing prowess shown in this short story is any indication of his novel writing abilities, I just might become a fan of Thomas H. Cook.
