Synopsis
Corralled into entering a handicapping contest at a seedy New Jersey racetrack by one of his dubious pals, New York private eye Mark Renzler is on hand when master handicapper Longshot Sam Natoli catches a sniper's bullet. Natoli was the odds-on favorite to win the $50,000 Super-Pick prize, and now the contest – and the murder investigation – is wide open. The field of suspects includes nasty ex-cons, sexy ex-wives, jealous rival handicappers, heavily armed security guards, and crooked local politicians. With Richard Nixon's final days unfolding in the background, it's up to Renzler -- abetted by his avant-garde artist pal Nate Moore and his teenaged seminary student nephew Herbie – to solve the puzzle of Who Shot Longshot Sam? Praise for Paul Engleman and Who Shot Longshot Sam? "A raffish, fast-moving tale, spun by a deft storyteller." -- Studs Terkel "A slick, wise mystery that starts at a clip and never falters. Engleman has a winning series in the Renzler chronicles." -- Chicago Magazine "The wisecracks are funny and the allusions clever. Engleman, like Chandler, doesn't take himself too seriously." -- Publishers Weekly "Renzler's easygoing, sardonic narration keeps things moving along on a jaunty, not-too-serious level." -- Kirkus Reviews "Crisply written, highly entertaining. Breezy and irreverent, Engleman works in 70s touches without wallowing in nostalgia." -- Chicago Sun-Times "Damon Runyon couldn't have created a more entertaining and colorful collection of characters." -- Playboy "An expert whodunit." -- Chicago Tribune
Reviews
New York detective and inveterate betting man Mark Renzler, last seen in Murder-in-Law , is between jobs when his old friend Al Phillips calls him and makes an offer he can't refuse. It seems this seedy little racetrack, Garden State Downs out in New Jersey, is running a pro-am harness race handicapping contest. Would Mark like to pick up some easy money (maybe the $50,000 prize) ok? too many -- this sent. as Al's silent partner in the contest--given that Al is the harness-racing correspondent for the Chicago Tribune ? Somewhat against his better judgment, Mark agrees, and thereby lands himself in the middle of a murder case after somebody shoots handicapper Long Shot Natoli at the climax of a race. As Mark nears a solution to the crime, he himself becomes a target, but with the aid of his teenaged nephew, a weight-lifting seminarian named Herbert Richard Derkovitch, he foils a gang of thugs and unveils an unexpected assassin. Populated by a cast of characters traveling under such Runyonesque monikers as Track Jack Jones, Sulky Sol Epstein, not to mention Serendipity Red McColl (otherwise known as The Daily Double for her mammary splendors), this is another amusing mystery for PI Renzler fans.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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