Guys Read: Choke: A Short Story from Guys Read: The Sports Pages

By Joseph Bruchac

It takes a big risk in the mixed martial arts arena for 98-pound weakling Johnny to find that real power comes from within.

This short story from the collection Guys Read: The Sports Pages is a winner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Aug 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062243492

Joseph Bruchac

Joseph Bruchac is the author of Skeleton Man, The Return of Skeleton Man, Bearwalker, The Dark Pond, and Whisper in the Dark, as well as numerous other critically acclaimed novels, poems, and stories, many drawing on his Abenaki heritage. Mr. Bruchac and his wife, Carol, live in upstate New York, in the same house where he was raised by his grandparents. You can visit him online at www.josephbruchac.com.

Book preview

CHOKE

BY JOSEPH BRUCHAC

How did I get here? That’s a question most of us have asked ourselves at one time or another. But not about the situation in which I now find myself: standing across the ring from someone who looks twice my width despite us both having weighed in at 165 pounds on the button. Not only that, but as the referee has us touch our gloves at the center of the ring, Tipper Sodaman leans forward with a grin as friendly as a mako shark’s.

This time, fish, I’m going to gut you.

How nice of him to remind me—just in case I could have somehow forgotten having my face pushed down into a pile of dog poop behind the football bleachers—that we had met before. How fun to renew old friendships a year later!

I don’t answer him, of course. That would be bad form according to all of my teachers, men who’ve been in this sort of situation themselves.

Oh really? my inner voice replies.

Shut up, inner voice.

But I do whisper to myself as I go back to my corner, It doesn’t matter if I win or lose. Just as long as I don’t choke.

Oh really?

Inner voice, if you don’t cool it, I

Reviews for Guys Read

[livelylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A tennis pro becomes enmeshed in a murder. This book moved fastf!

[gatorhater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An intriguing deceptive cat and mouse murder mystery of who done it. It begins when Chuck Chandler chokes on the verge of winning The Wimbledon Championship, he realizes his career is over as a touring pro tennis player and take a job as a teaching instructor in Key West Florida. He's introduced to Harry and Clare Carras by his fellow teaching instructor Victor Brennan, Harry is sixtyish and she's thirty years younger and beautiful, Chuck immediately starts having an affair with Clare, things are hot and heavy in the sex department. Clare invites Chuck to go on a scuba dive at a shipwreck with her and her husband, Harry dives first, when Chuck catches up with him, Harry's lying on the deck of the wreck unconscious, mask off his face with blood in it. Chuck immediately starts feeling sick and begins to vomit in his mask and has too surface for air, he deploys his air bag and surfaces. Harry's body is never found, his death is very suspicious and all fingers are pointing towards Chuck as the murderer, now the cat and mouse of whom done it begins. Detective Tommy Sculley arrives after retiring as a homicide detective for the NYPD and takes charge of this investigation, with the help of a 1st day detective, 17 year old Daryl Haynes. They both are constantly evaluating evidense and putting individuals on limpet, trying to solve this bazaar murder mystery. I really enjoy this novel, one of those books you couldn't put down, I kind of wished it wouldn't end, but they all do.

[budbarclay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great stand-alone Woods mystery set in Key West. For new Woods readers, it is important to read this book before reading the latest Woods book in the Stone Barrington series, "Loitering with Intent." Irt is amazing how he can bring old characters back to form after more than decade.

[djupstrom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Murder and tennis...what's not to like?