Review: A Cheap Racket by Syd McGinley

Kenna’s Thoughts

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by “A Cheap Racket”.  I had just come off of reading something very heavy, and I was in the mood for something light and, hopefully, smutty.  What I got was a book about four well meaning men who are very different from each other (I mean it…VERY), joining together to bring about change in a broken nursing home system.

Sure, the main character, Tim, is a…male escort?  Prostitute?  Hustler?  Whatever.  He has sex with other men for money.  Cal is his roommate who doesn’t exactly approve of Tim’s choice of employment.  He himself has a trust fund that he feels guilty about spending and has dropped out of college.  He’s looking for his calling, but he’s having a tough time finding it.  Ari is a hairy guy who’s into BDSM, piercings, and Tim.  He knows what Tim does for a living, and he’s told him that he’ll wait for him until he retires.  Finally, there’s Mr. Michaels (Otis, to his friends…especially Cal).  He’s a customer of Tim’s who introduces him to some of his friends.  It’s one of those friends who brings causes our guys to spring into action.

The nursing home where Mr. M’s friend was in is terrible.  They treat their residents badly, and it looks like they’re abusing the Medicare/Medicaid system.  Between the four tof them, our men (who even once, jokingly, called themselves “The Gay Avengers”) decide that they want to bring the truth to light and expose the administrator, the mean orderlies, and everyone who is associated with this abuse.  They actually come up with a great plan, and I really enjoyed reading about how they went about implementing it.

“A Cheap Racket” was full of humor, sex (delicious, hot sex), and heart. The characters are well written and fleshed out despite the book’s short length.  They all fit very well together and have a nice chemistry, whether they’re a couple or just friends.  As I said, there was some great humor.  I found myself laughing out loud several times.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It was a very nice way to spend an evening.