Hotshoe: A Jason Street Mystery

When motojournalist Jason Street is named in a lawsuit following  the suicide of tire manufacturer Sherman Case, whose products he panned  in print, he's put on leave by his editor at Motorcycle Monthly. But the  dead man's daughter refuses to accept he killed himself, and hires  Street to go on the road with racer Rusty McCann to find out who  murdered her father. 

With his professional life on hold and his home  life crumbling, Street takes the job. Along with Rusty and his mechanic  Ozzie Davidson, Street travels the country, from groomed mile tracks to  bumpy courses in backwater burgs, living out of a van and eating greasy  diner food while Rusty and Ozzie close in on the championship. 

As the  season draws to a climactic close, Street uncovers the plot behind  Case's murder. But will he cross the finish line before he's the  killer's next victim?

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 "If  you like the old gumshoe type novels you will love this one, Jerry  Smith's writing style reminds me of John D. McDonald's Travis McGee  novels. The storyline of the this novel is also helped out by the  authors familiarity with the motorcycle world. Well written, a can't put  it down book. This author has another book, Deadman's Throttle which is  the prequel to this book. This novel can be read without having read  the first novel as Mr. Smith has written both to stand alone without  loss of the story line by not having read the first, again much like the  Travis McGee novels of John D. McDonald."

"This  book takes you inside of the dirt track culture and throws a little  murder mystery into the mix. Nowhere have I found a book this fun to  read while giving the reader insight as to what the dirt track world is  like." 

"Great way to spend winter nights for a motorcyclists that can't get out and ride."

"Jerry  Smith does a wonderful job of conveying the dirt track experience; I  found myself grinning widely at his description of the main character's  first dirt track, and at various other passages as well. The mystery  plot is interesting, and kept me turning pages well after bedtime,  oftentimes grinning or chuckling out loud at a particularly well-crafted  passage. 

Smith's got an easy-going, laid-back sense of humor that waits  quietly until the right moment, and then either speaks up softly for  good chuckles, or bursts forth and brings the house down. I really enjoy  Smith's writing voice - it suits him well, and I can sometimes catch a  glimpse of his grinning face in the background of the pages. His writing  is honest, straight-forward, no-BS, sometimes gritty real life [stuff],  and that's partially why it works for me. 

As an avid motorcyclist  myself, I always enjoy reading about bikes, and it was great to have two  of my favorite genres, murder mystery & motorcycle adventure, put  together. Smith's characters are well-written, and have their own  shortcomings (which of course endears them to us and makes them much  more real.)

I plan to pick up Smith's Dead Man's Throttle soon, to  continue enjoying his work, and really recommend this book to anyone  who's thought "hey, this might be good/fun/interesting," because it  surely won't disappoint." 

Jerry Smith has been a professional freelance writer for more than 40 years. You'd think he'd have found a real job in that much time, but no. Instead, he's written for magazines, websites,  corporations, and—when he can carve out the time—for his own enjoyment.