| Title | : | Flamingo Road (Fia McKee, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 125009691X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781250096913 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 307 |
| Publication | : | First published April 18, 2017 |
Baltimore police officer Fia McKee is put on leave for excessive use of force after interfering in a crime that turns deadly. Given a second chance, she is sent to work undercover for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) at the Gulfstream Park in Florida, where she works as an exercise rider. Her assignment is to watch and report back on two racetrack workers who have been suspected of illegal activities and whose horses continue to outperform all expectations, winning their owners unseemly amounts of money in the races.
To complete her cover story, Fia moves in with her semi-estranged brother, Patrick, who lives near the racetrack. Her investigations are complicated when her niece, Jilly, disappears after a shadow gang takes Jilly's beloved horse. Now Fia must work two angles―first to find out what's really going on with the men who might or might not be gaming the system, and second to bring the men who prey on horses to justice. Along the way, Fia encounters Cuban gangs living off the grid, a (very handsome) do-gooder who's close on their trail, and a cabal of super wealthy gamblers who will stop at nothing to ensure they always win.
Flamingo Road (Fia McKee, #1) Reviews
-
Great mystery involving racehorses by a horsewoman who keeps it real
Nice story with good suspense and wonderful characters who feel like friends. A mystery at a racetrack where longshots are winning and large bets are being cashed. Fia McKee is a police officer, shoots a man roughing up a woman and this gets her suspended by the top boss. Other officers realize that she is being treated unfairly, and find a job offer from the Thoroughbred Protection Society for her. Her father was a trainer, and she galloped the racehorses, so accepts this chance. Good family involvement as she stays with her brother and niece in Florida, and the story keeps you turning the pages quickly. I like how all questions are answered, even the murder of her father, the reason she became a cop in the first place. Now I can't wait for the next book in this series!! -
Like all of Lynda Sasscer Hill’s stories Flamingo Road is set in the dark underbelly of the horse-racing world. I stopped going to the track when I saw a horse break its leg in half from the stress of being run too hard before bones were formed. Sickened by the sight of the animal being put down in front of me, I determined never to return even though I love the pageantry and beauty of fine specimens in their prime. But, we learn it is not always what it seems as Lynda shares the inside dope, [no pun intended] on what goes on behind the scenes in the racing world. Her plotting is fast-paced filled with many head-spinning sucker punches that keep the reader riveted. Protagonist, Fia Mckee, is an under cover agent who exercises thoroughbreds by day and seduces gangsters by night. Both endeavors are worrisome. In between she is trying to work things out with her estranged brother and his horse crazy teenage daughter. They are both trying to deal with the desertion of their mother and the murder of their father. Sasscer Hill ties the story together in a pretty bow in the end that makes you feel satisfied, and yearning for more, which I’m certain is in the offing.
-
What a great book, fast paced, good story line. Loved the main character Fia.
-
“The dark and dirty underbelly of horse racing is exposed when a Baltimore cop goes to visit relatives in Florida.Internal Affairs has been very interested in Fia McKee ever since she shot and killed the man who was choking Shyra Darnell, a hot walker at Pimlico who's so afraid of someone that she refuses to answer any questions. When Fia's beloved father, a racehorse trainer, was murdered five years earlier, Fia joined the police and has never given up on his case, which has now turned very cold. Put on leave, she answers a call for help from her brother, Patrick, whose wife has walked out and left him with a horse-crazy teen. Someone's been slaughtering people's horses for meat, and when Cody, her niece Jilly's gelding, becomes a victim, Fia gets mad and plots to get even. The night of the gelding's death, she meets a man named Zanin who runs the Protect the Animals League and is trying to stop the carnage. Zanin is sure the guilty party is a Cuban-American who lives in the dangerous and lawless area known as the C-Nine Basin, but no one's been able to prove that he's involved. Meantime, Fia learns that her problems back home may go away if she agrees to go undercover for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau at Florida's Gulfstream Park, where horses that shouldn't be winning are suddenly showing amazing talent. Fia eases into a job as an exercise rider for an honest trainer while trying to discover what new, so far undetectable, drug is turning ordinary horses into superstars. Hill (Racing from Evil, 2016, etc.) boasts knowledge of horses and the very real problems in horse racing that fill this sound mystery with thrills and hair-raising action from first to last.”—Kirkus
-
It’s very easy to see why this book was awarded an award in racing literature. Sasscer Hill continues the tradition of Dick Francis in writing thrilling mysteries set in the world of horse racing. Her main character Fia McKee is a heroine girls can aspire to imitate. This is a fast-paced racing mystery with enough twists to challenge your sleuthing skills. This is a must-read Mystery that will delight the fans.
-
Very entertaining. believable characters. while solving the crimes in my mind I also learned a little about the horse race industry
-
I bought Flamingo Road a few months past because it looked like an interesting book. I was intrigued that it revolved around crime, horses, and the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. The TRPB is a real agency, which I knew absolutely nothing about before I read this book. If you want to check it out here is a
LINK to the home page of the organization. Pretty cool, right?
Fia McKee as a character is likable. She worked as a Baltimore cop but her background was that she grew up with horses and horse racing until her father was killed. After that she had a burning need to find out what happened and who killed her dad. It also changed her career path and she went into law enforcement.
The start of the story is straight action, and it does not stop. Fia finds herself being implored to come see her niece who is causing trouble, and since she was put on leave for an incident that was pending investigation she figured “why not?” Fia has nothing better to do at the moment. So she heads to Florida to spend time with her brother and niece. While there she comes face to face with the issue of horses being butchered for meat. That was definitely an upsetting element to consider.
Fia does a little investigating with a man she met, Zanin, but before she can really scratch the surface she had to get back to Baltimore where she had to deal with the internal affairs disaster surrounding her excessive use of force. Nearly cut loose, Fia was given a second chance and agreed to work undercover for the TRPB. Given her background around horses and her brother’s proximity to a racetrack that was the focus of the investigation into who is “juicing” horses and how are they doing it, Fia was the ideal candidate for the job.
Although it sounded simple to Fia, work undercover as an exercise rider and see what she can pick-up while at the track, things heated up pretty quickly. Soon, Fia finds herself embroiled in a major scheme that goes beyond the boundaries of what she was expecting when she took this job. As the danger increases so does Fia’s resolve, especially when her family becomes a target. Fia was determined to keep her family safe and make sure that those abusing the horses were stopped, no matter what the costs.
What I felt was a turn off for me in this story was two characters, Zanin & Jilly. Zanin was a real-estate agent turned animal activist and he runs PAL (Protect the Animals League). So he was a gun toting, animal saving, guy with a background in real estate going against some heavy hitters. Nope, not believable to me, and it was hard to get behind his contributions in the story. Jilly was Fia’s niece and she was at the worst stage ever for a teenager and boy did I find her annoying in every way possible.
Flamingo Road is truly non-stop action and the twists and turns of the story were pretty spectacular. As far as Fia’s character went I liked her and I would consider continuing the series because she is a great character. I also liked where this story ended up and I am willing to see where it goes. -
Sasscer Hill likes horses, and not in a “My Little Pony” kind of way. A horsewoman and horse breeder, it’s in her blood. As she explains on her blog:
"I started galloping about the family farm on a stick horse when I was four years old. By the time, I was seven or eight, I was sneaking rides on the Belgian plow horses. I did this because my father didn't like horses and considered ponies dangerous. So instead, I drummed my heels on the sides of a 2,000-pound draft mare, while grasping whatever string or rope I managed to tie to her halter."
Her debut mystery series featured a young female jockey named Nikki Latrelle, and the books were atmospheric tales that brought the racing world to life more authentically than anyone had since Dick Francis died. (On her blog, Sasscer pays tribute to Dick Francis as her favorite author.)
The protagonist in Flamingo Road, the 1st in the Fia McKee series, is a cop whose solitary beat in the crime-ridden streets of Baltimore could not be further from the sunlit racetrack at Florida’s Gulf Stream Park if it was located on the moon. And yet, by saving the life of a terrified woman named Shyra Darnell, who works at Pimlico Race Track as a “hot walker,” Fia is thrown into a mystery that connects her past to her present in a most unexpected way.
Despite being under investigation by Internal Affairs, Fia can’t help but pick at the mystery surrounding Shyra and wonder what (or who) she is so afraid of.
Then, a call from her estranged brother summons her to Florida, bringing her into contact with horse-butchering lunatics, cutting-edge performance-enhancing drugs, handsome animal activists, and Cuban gangs. Suddenly, things get very personal when her already troubled niece loses her beloved gelding Cody.
Read the rest of Katherine Tomlinson's review on our blog! -
Flamingo Road
My first encounter with Fia McKee. It will not be my last!!||Action and tension are established in the initial page and a half. Almost brutal immediacy is amplified by some of the best scene-setting I have ever read. You are there, given a sense of place and regional Baltimore economics without that interfering at all with situational development. Not only impressive writing but professionally exceptional.||The second chapter presents personal and professional conflict for Fia, then without pause gives her distant familial problems to add to her burden. Other members of her department are limned clearly whilst the bureaucratic hostility of that organization is made explicit.||In just days Fia is in Florida, and in the first day there the criminal horror of butchery of loved horses in good health strikes her family. This is the same immediate immersion the author subjected us to as she began, equally effective.|| I realized Iwas not going to be able to sleep until I finished this emotional leg trap.||As the protagonist explores the Florida swamp, and her own true calling, sensorial impact and excellent continuity persist. Authorial knowledge of law enforcement and horses shine through and make for entrancing, breathless reading. -
This started off about a Baltimore cop getting a bum rap and I liked it. Then it was about a disgraced cop helping her niece and investigating horse killers and I liked that too. Then it was about a horse race cop(?) investigating performance enhancing drugs and I lost patience. Then it was sorta about all three, then human trafficking and the FBI and horses I guess. Look, it didn't work. That's the bottom line.
-
Excellent debut of a new series by Sasscer Hill, still exploring the dark side of horse racing. Fia McKee is a Baltimore cop undercover at Gulfstream, a Florida racetrack. She's resourceful tracking down potential doping at the track, a vicious horse mutilation ring all while helping with her teenage niece. My only quibble is that I am going to have to wait for the next installment.
-
FLAMINGO ROAD by Sasscer Hill, winner of the 12th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award to recognize the best book-length work of any genre with a Thoroughbred racing backdrop, was like catnip to me.
"Flamingo Road" features a creative and unexpected plot line and well-defined characters with sparky interaction. Sasscer Hill is expert in crafting sinister villains in this fast paced thriller. The book is well-written, tight, highly entertaining with sharp, easy to visualize description.
Fia McKee, law enforcement professional, is a strong female protagonist with a big splash of sexy female energy when necessary, and a complex woman who fills different and sometimes conflicting roles.
Hill takes on some of the more challenging topics in horse racing like doping and betting crimes and the slaughter of horses for meat. In the course of the story she explains some basic betting structures. The book includes many vivid scenes from race track life that only an insider would know. Ms. Hill has lived her life with horses and her handling of the subject matter makes this obvious.
As an interesting aside, Last Call for Love, the filly that is the main horse character in Flamingo Road, is by Not for Love, the Damsire of California Chrome who sired Chrome's much maligned mom, Love the Chase.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/californ...
Pedigree enthusiasts will, of course, know this but it can be a fun foray for new race horse lovers as she does not tell the reader about the connection. The filly's antics make for lively reading.
I wanted an engrossing escape experience and that is exactly what I got.
Five stars I have the next book in the series ready to read. -
I don't know much about horses, but this first entry in a new mystery series was great. Looking forward to more.
-
This is a very good racetrack-themed mystery that's only marred by the main character being attracted to two men at the same time. That's mere personal preference; however, so if you do prefer romantic triangles you'll have even more reason to enjoy Flamingo Road.
Sasscer Hill has created an excellent racetrack setting with doping schemes to improve the horses' performances on the track, gamblers whose greed leads them to form syndicates looking for the next big drug that will escape detection by organizations like the TRPB, and owners who want to turn over a fast buck and refuse to spend time or money on their horses if they don't win races. Racing can be a cutthroat business, and Hill portrays this very well indeed.
She has also created a top notch main character. The murder of her horse trainer father still haunts Fia McKee, but she is one sharp, gutsy person when it comes to working undercover. One of the things I like the most about her is that she doesn't run around taking one unnecessary risk after another-- she uses her head.
I enjoyed this fast-paced mystery that looks deep into the heart of horse racing, and I'm looking forward to Fia's next investigation. -
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-
Fantastic book! Sasscer Hill not only writes a highly suspenseful mystery, but knows her stuff about horse racing. That knowledge shines through this tautly-written crime novel.
I love Fia McKee and look forward to reading more of this series! -
Great book
Fast paced and great insight into the race track. I can hardly wait for the next book from this author. -
Title: Flamingo Road - Fia McKee Mystery
Author: Sasscer Hill
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Published: 4-18-2017
Pages: 318
Genre: Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense
Sub-Genre: Crime Fiction; Animals; Racing; Murder; Horses; Cozy Mystery
ISBN: 9781250096913
ASIN: B01M09EOD0
Reviewed For NetGalley and St. Martin's Press
Reviewer: DelAnne
Rating: 5 Stars
Hill keeps the suspense level high. The action continues and keeps readers on the alert for what will happen next. Flamingo Road is a fast paced race to the reveal. that you will hope to never end. Pick up a copy of "Flamingo Road" and enjoy an afternoon of intrigue.
Baltimore police officer Fia McKee is put on leave for excessive use of force after interfering in a crime that turns deadly. Given a second chance, she is sent to work undercover for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) at the Gulfstream Park in Florida, where she works as an exercise rider. Her assignment is to watch and report back on two racetrack workers who have been suspected of illegal activities and whose horses continue to outperform all expectations, winning their owners unseemly amounts of money in the races.
To complete her cover story, Fia moves in with her semi-estranged brother, Patrick, who lives near the racetrack. Her investigations are complicated when her niece, Jilly, disappears after a shadow gang takes Jilly’s beloved horse. Now Fia must work two angles—first to find out what’s really going on with the men who might or might not be gaming the system, and second to bring the men who prey on horses to justice. Along the way, Fia encounters Cuban gangs living off the grid, a (very handsome) do-gooder who’s close on their trail, and a cabal of super wealthy gamblers who will stop at nothing to ensure they always win
My rating of "Flamingo Road" is 5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon Link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M09EOD0/...
B&N Link:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flam...
GoodReads Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Reading Room Link:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
Twitter Link:
https://twitter.com/DelAnne531/status... -
Stumbled at the Gate
Page 2
I pulled my service Glock "Police! Let her go. Now!"
He twisted the scarf with such force the woman's shoes lifted away from the pavement.
She was going to die. I aimed for his ear squeezed off a shot. He went down.
This is not excessive force. So why was Fia McKee put on leave?
Flamingo Road took a bad step right out of the gate.
After her suspension Fia is reassigned to TRPB an agency the regulates horse racing. Someone is 'juicing' horses making them run faster and sometimes killing them.
Her job is to uncover who is doing it and how.
This was just an ok read. The simple, straightforward writing made it an easy read but not a very interesting one. Fia was a likable character. Her brother and niece were very annoying and didn't add anything to the book. The investigation into who's drugging horses was ok as was the time spent at the track but her relationship with her brother and niece didn't work. Calixto, and Zanin her suitors were underdeveloped and once again her suspension was nonsense. The scene where Fia turned into She Hulk was laughable.
2 1/2 stars an extra half for horse players only. -
Love, love, love it! Can't wait for Fia's next adventure. Hurry!
-
Flamingo Road was an entertaining mystery centered largely around horseracing. It was my first story about this sport, and I found it very informative while being a suspenseful read with great characterizations, good plot, lots of action, and great description, all together with great writing that made the story come to life. Having said that, I don't care for the profanity in the book and I didn't like some of the characters. Fia, the main character, was likeable, which is a must for me to like a story. Even so, the profanity turned me off. I get enough of that in real life without having to read it in stories, so I doubt I'll be reading anymore from this author. Too bad since she is such a good writer and storyteller, but there's so many great books out there to choose from without such language that I won't be missing out.
-
great read about Fia McKee, Baltimore police woman, who on a visit to her brother and niece, Jilly, in Florida, when she stumbles on a horse-drugging scandal at Gulfstream Park, where horses are being administered a drug derived from frog secretions. This story is fast-moving and riveting as the reader is taken into the backstretch of a race track to get the feel for what goes on behind the scenes. It's a book that will stay with you as the heroine, Fia, has to overcome a lot of obstacles from her past and her present to investigate the deaths of horses on the track. Great writing and characterization. Highly recommend.
