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Jack Doyle Mysteries #1
Blind Switch
Desperate Jack Doyle accepts a sketchy job which leads to a deadly game of fixing horse races and murder--of the four-legged kind.... One-time amateur boxer Jack Doyle, an irreverent and rebellious advertising account representative, goes to work one fine Chicago day and finds his desk--and his job--both gone. A two-time loser at the marriage game as well, Doyle, usually ultra-confident, fishes himself out of a bottle to take stock, realizing, ""with a thumping finality, that Life sure as hell did have his number and was crunching it.""~At loose ends, Doyle accepts a most unusual offer from an acquaintance, Moe Kellman, ""furrier to the Mob,"" to fix a horse race. The context of making the deal, a Cubs game at storied Wrigley Field, sets the tone for the drama that follows. Thus begins a chain of events that will lead the FBI to Doyle's door where they ""coopt"" him into a quest after people who are maiming or killing thoroughbred horses for their insurance values. Their number one target is a loathsome media mogul who can't bear to lose at anything.~Built upon recent factual events, spiced with satire and peppered throughout with engaging loonies, Blind Switch is a noteworthy first novel with a hero forced to ask in its ultimate line, ""Where have I gone right?""
278 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2004
53 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
John McEvoy
21 books9 followersJohn McEvoy, former editor and senior correspondent for Daily Racing Form, is the author of five non-fiction books on thorougbred horse racing, including the award-winning Great Horse Racing Mysteries. Photo Finish is his fifth mystery novel and fourth featuring the adventurous Jack Doyle. One of McEvoy's earlier novels, Riders Down, won a Ben Franklin Award. He and his wife Judy live in Evanston, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 25, 2024
Once upon a time, there was a racehorse named Whirlaway. He was one of the fastest horses in the world but had a problem -- he'd zigzag anywhere he wanted to on the track. When a one-eyed blinker was placed on him (on Kentucky Derby day, no less) he was a champion. Blind Switch is a lot like the pre-blinker Whirlaway. It goes in all sorts of directions and exhausts your patience before it finally (mercifully) stops.
There are too many scams and too many characters to keep track of. It's as if McEvoy was trying to cram a whole series into a single book. The story is not told in chronological order, so you also have to try and keep track of what happened when. How confusing did it get? Even McEvoy got confused. One horse, Uncle Francis, is brutally killed in the first 100 pages of the book. However, by the end of the book, he suddenly rose from the dead and was somehow alive again.
My library listed this as a mystery, but there is no mystery involved -- unless you count the mystery of how such a sloppy piece of work got published.
And one more thing, Future Mystery/Thriller Writers of America -- killing a dog for an episode of comic relief is not funny. Not at all.
There are too many scams and too many characters to keep track of. It's as if McEvoy was trying to cram a whole series into a single book. The story is not told in chronological order, so you also have to try and keep track of what happened when. How confusing did it get? Even McEvoy got confused. One horse, Uncle Francis, is brutally killed in the first 100 pages of the book. However, by the end of the book, he suddenly rose from the dead and was somehow alive again.
My library listed this as a mystery, but there is no mystery involved -- unless you count the mystery of how such a sloppy piece of work got published.
And one more thing, Future Mystery/Thriller Writers of America -- killing a dog for an episode of comic relief is not funny. Not at all.
March 7, 2026
John McEvoy's "Blind Switch" is a great story, well told. It's filled with an amazing assortment of characters that range on a spectrum of life from good guys, to pretty good guys, all things considered, to really bad guys. In between are a few people who are sometimes good and sometimes bad, but they're always amusing and entertaining.
Jack Doyle is an advertising man in Chicago who manages to piss off too many people. Ultimately, Jack gets the axe, and he's left wondering what to do with the rest of his life, of which he hopes there's a lot more, as he's only forty years old and in the prime of life. That's when Jack's career turns to horse race fixing.
I won't give the plot away, so you'll have to read it to learn it. Suffice it to say that a strange mixture of people and things he knows lands him as a groom at a racing stable. However, "his real job" is helping Chicago mobsters earn a bundle by betting on a fixed race.
Jack is surprisingly successful, given that he doesn't know anything about horses, and after his success, Jack assumes it was a one-and-done affair. Boy, was he wrong.
What follows is a scheme Jack works with the FBI, not of his choosing, to catch a really big fish who, in addition to being really, really rich, is a really, really bad guy. Along the way, the reader is given a compelling look at more ways to fix a horse race than you ever dreamed.
I loved it and wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that you loved it, too.
Jack Doyle is an advertising man in Chicago who manages to piss off too many people. Ultimately, Jack gets the axe, and he's left wondering what to do with the rest of his life, of which he hopes there's a lot more, as he's only forty years old and in the prime of life. That's when Jack's career turns to horse race fixing.
I won't give the plot away, so you'll have to read it to learn it. Suffice it to say that a strange mixture of people and things he knows lands him as a groom at a racing stable. However, "his real job" is helping Chicago mobsters earn a bundle by betting on a fixed race.
Jack is surprisingly successful, given that he doesn't know anything about horses, and after his success, Jack assumes it was a one-and-done affair. Boy, was he wrong.
What follows is a scheme Jack works with the FBI, not of his choosing, to catch a really big fish who, in addition to being really, really rich, is a really, really bad guy. Along the way, the reader is given a compelling look at more ways to fix a horse race than you ever dreamed.
I loved it and wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that you loved it, too.
February 14, 2019
The mystic and allure of horse racing coupled with the arrogance and avarice of the ultra-wealthy come together in this fast paced read set in Chicago and Lexington. The plot line, although somewhat predictable, has sufficient surprises to keep the reader engaged and sympathetic to the protagonist, Jack Doyle, a down on his luck hustler and general "brown eyed" fellow who as he approaches 40 years, realizes that he has not "lived right". Given the chance to change his psychic and financial fortunes, Jack is convinced that he is "doing good", perhaps for the first time in his life. An adult version of good over evil. Good summer reading especially if one likes horses and horse racing.
July 10, 2019
Doggone good run!
Having been a devout follower of Dick Francis's (and now his more than capable author son, Felix) I started this novel with trepidation since I knew it couldn't compare to Mr Francis' works. I was wrong... This was an apt horse racing novel that I found to easily find it's way to bring in the same ballpark as the aforementioned author's work.
I more than enjoyed this novel and plan to go and purchase more of this author's writings.
Mr. McEvoy... Thank you very much for a most satisfying read!!!!
Having been a devout follower of Dick Francis's (and now his more than capable author son, Felix) I started this novel with trepidation since I knew it couldn't compare to Mr Francis' works. I was wrong... This was an apt horse racing novel that I found to easily find it's way to bring in the same ballpark as the aforementioned author's work.
I more than enjoyed this novel and plan to go and purchase more of this author's writings.
Mr. McEvoy... Thank you very much for a most satisfying read!!!!
October 18, 2019
Difficult read for me ....too much animal cruelty ;-(
July 3, 2020
If you like horse racing you will like this book. Cheaters, scammers and balloon races. I rate this a 3.8.
August 6, 2023
DNF Couldn’t read about the intentional horse injuries.
November 13, 2025
nice horse racing tail!
This is a very expanded version of the Dick Francis stories, very intriguing people and circumstances. I’d like to read another.
This is a very expanded version of the Dick Francis stories, very intriguing people and circumstances. I’d like to read another.
August 24, 2021
didn't like the language.
January 25, 2016
In Blind Switch: A Jack Doyle Mystery, Jack Doyle is an independent cuss with a big heart who has independenced himself out of a job. To fluff up his layover fund, he agrees to engineer a high-paying but uncomplicated horse-racing fix. In the process he learns some fundamentals about taking care of Thoroughbreds, so when his dip into crime brings him to the attention of a couple of FBI agents, he's primed to become their spy at the fancy Kentucky breeding and training farm of Harvey Rexroth, Big Blue Meany Extraordinaire. Rexroth is suspected of hiring creeps to off horses that have performed below expectations, among other crimes. Jack confronts the slime bags and ferrets out the truth, though the final blow is delivered literally out of the blue in a very funny twist.
McEvoy clearly enjoys taking us off on tangents with his grotesque villains and with the gently deviant characters who end up playing unexpected roles. Personally, I grew quite fond of Jack, who hates all the right people and forgives the rest. I enjoyed entering his world every day. McEvoy's clean style is full of lovely gems. For example, one of his mentors in crime is Moe Kellman, whose "white, electrified-looking haircut" made Jack think of him as "a tough old dandelion." When I read that great line, I was on board for the ride.
I found myself thinking of this book as Elmore-Leonard-light, with a dash of Carl Hiaasen. McEvoy's villains and their escapades are not quite as bizarre as those of these two authors, but they fall into the same camp camp (not a typo).
This isn't a book you race back to at every break, and the reason is, in fact, McEvoy's pleasure at wandering around showing off his villains. I think one difference between Blind Switch and the best of Hiaasen is that in Hiaasen, we stay close enough to the peril facing the main characters, with enough close calls, that the sense of urgency builds even through the black comedy. McEvoy's tangents took me out of Jack's story, and Jack himself never faced any immediate danger. But McEvoy was having fun, and when I tagged along with him, I did as well.
The horse knowledge is accurate, a great virtue in a book like this. The villains' comeuppances are apt and believable given the world McEvoy has conjured. So if you enjoy a quick, clearly written excursion into some enjoyable bizarre corners of humanity, with an actually original hero and an outrageously imaginative ending, you'll have fun with this book. I did.
McEvoy clearly enjoys taking us off on tangents with his grotesque villains and with the gently deviant characters who end up playing unexpected roles. Personally, I grew quite fond of Jack, who hates all the right people and forgives the rest. I enjoyed entering his world every day. McEvoy's clean style is full of lovely gems. For example, one of his mentors in crime is Moe Kellman, whose "white, electrified-looking haircut" made Jack think of him as "a tough old dandelion." When I read that great line, I was on board for the ride.
I found myself thinking of this book as Elmore-Leonard-light, with a dash of Carl Hiaasen. McEvoy's villains and their escapades are not quite as bizarre as those of these two authors, but they fall into the same camp camp (not a typo).
This isn't a book you race back to at every break, and the reason is, in fact, McEvoy's pleasure at wandering around showing off his villains. I think one difference between Blind Switch and the best of Hiaasen is that in Hiaasen, we stay close enough to the peril facing the main characters, with enough close calls, that the sense of urgency builds even through the black comedy. McEvoy's tangents took me out of Jack's story, and Jack himself never faced any immediate danger. But McEvoy was having fun, and when I tagged along with him, I did as well.
The horse knowledge is accurate, a great virtue in a book like this. The villains' comeuppances are apt and believable given the world McEvoy has conjured. So if you enjoy a quick, clearly written excursion into some enjoyable bizarre corners of humanity, with an actually original hero and an outrageously imaginative ending, you'll have fun with this book. I did.
September 16, 2013
This novel suffers from a cast of scores of players, many of whom are separately indistinguishable. And, in the end, I no longer cared very much about the hapless protagonist, Jack Doyle, never more than a flawed and at times incompetent human being. I thought the principal FBI duo who twisted Doyle’s arms to get him to be their undercover agent showed remarkable lack of skill in manipulating their prey.
That is not to say there aren’t several redeeming features of this novel. It is very clear the author knows the horse breeding and racing world down to its most routine aspects. I found several of the long expositions about the business of horse breeding to be very interesting. Unfortunately, there were times when the dialogue continued in that vein, sounding more like reports than discussion or conversation between characters in the novel.
Essentially, former boxer Doyle finds himself on the wrong end of the law after a badly designed racing scam goes into the dumper. What’s more, without taking even elementary precautions, Doyle loses his share of the take. Were I the FBI man, looking for someone to go undercover, Doyle’s overt missteps would give me great pause. Nonetheless, the plot revolves around Doyle’s insertion into a multimillionaire media mogul’s horse farm where he is to gather evidence of corruption and other illegal activities.
We are introduced to several incredible and bizarre characters, clearly the product of a dangerously inventive mind. They engage in a number of increasingly bizarre activities which serve to give the novel pace and excitement. In addition, throughout the novel, author McEvoy comments in wry and acerbic manner on all kind of social foibles, and it’s a lot of fun reading these passages. There is undeniable talent here. I just wish the author had put more effort into making Doyle more likeable and less of a bumbler. In my view the novel relies too much on the bizarre elements and not enough on solid plotting and story telling.
May 2, 2010
Blind Switch (Poisoned Pen 2004) introduces Jack Doyle, an ad-man in Chicago, Illinois, who arrives at work one day to discover that his desk and his job are gone. While sharing his tale of woe with Moe Kellman, an acquaintance at the gym, Doyle is amazed to find himself offered $25,000 to help fix a horse race. Doyle finds that working for a trainer is not as bad as he feared, and actually becomes quite fond of the horses. A month later, the fix completed, Doyle is robbed of both the race-fixing payoff and his betting wins on his way home from the racetrack. Again unemployed, broke, and feeling soiled by his experience, Doyle receives a visit from two FBI agents, who offer to forget about his crime if he helps them identify those responsible for maiming and killing racehorses for their insurance value. Realizing he has no choice, Doyle takes a job on the estate of Harvey Rexroth, an eccentric and ruthless media mogul who has entered the world of horse racing. Doyle is an appealing protagonist as he struggles with his own less-than-perfect nature in order to protect the horses in his charge and the fellow workers he comes to respect.
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July 13, 2012Barely started this one. After reading the blurb in the dust cover, decided I would not be able to read it. Anything having to do with harming animals is not for me!
September 9, 2013
This wasn't bad. The subject matter was different and enjoyable, but I was never quite able to get lost in the plot. Might have been better if it were a little shorter. The ending was great.
January 8, 2015
Reluctant Hero but not too hard to figure out the ending... Still fun (except for some of the horse issues).
September 21, 2017
The storyline isn't bad. Maybe it's just not my preferred writing style, but it seems to jump back and forth a lot between viewpoints which can make it difficult to keep up with.
January 24, 2017
An ok story, but spoiled for me by the sick nature of the horse killings
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews