Peter Klein, Punter's Turf

If you like your murder mysteries pacy, your heroes quirky and the plot chock full of cool locales and shady characters, then PUNTER'S LUCK satisfies on all counts. Set in the colourful and often shady world of Australian thoroughbred racing, professional gambler John Punter, the scion of a well-known training family, longs for a quiet life; a few lucky bets at the track, a few surfs at the beach and to get back with Kate, his reporter ex-girlfriend. But when an old racing mate disappears at the same time as two drug pushers are found dead and a car boot full of money goes missing, Punter finds himself in the thick of things. Add a greedy millionaire trainer, gang wars and a crazed hit man on the loose, Punter's racing to save his mate, his girl and his life. Klein, a former strapper and trainer knows the racing world inside out. He has been compared to Dick Francis and there are certainly some similarities; a likeable hero, absolute authenticity with locations, detail and jargon, several plot lines and a satisfactory conclusion. But for my money, Klein's protagonist Punter, reminds me more of Matt Scudder, Lawrence Block's long-time protagonist, the ex-cop now private detective, with his solid 'you're there' story-telling. The second title in the series, PUNTER'S TURF is an excellent read . A friend in publishing tells me that the third book which is due for release in 2010, promises to be just as good. .