Review of Decisions by Shaun Priest

Decisions, by first-time author Shaun Priest, isn't necessarily a sports betting novel, but gambling plays an important role in the story, so it's included here.

The story is about Jack Fitzpatrick, a salesman and degenerate gambler, who tries to keep his head above water while dealing with illegal bookies, the FBI, and a possibility of making a huge multi-million dollar sale that will help get his finances back in order.

The novel is centered around Fitzpatrick, a man who on the outside would seem to have everything, but inside is battling his gambling addictions. When a casino sends him a bill for his marker after a large loss, Fitzpatrick decides the best way to get the money to pay off his debt is to win it betting sports.

Priest is a businessman, so naturally there's plenty of business-related material in the book, as well. The business aspect involves Fitzpatrick attempting to land several large software sales, while learning there's something shady taking place at his company.

Overall, the book is a fairly quick and easy read. There are several grammatical errors, which many people will probably not even notice, but after spending years in the newspaper business, you develop a keen eye for the slightest error.

The dialogue is rather stilted at times, which isn't that surprising, as even long-time, best-selling authors have more difficulty with dialogue than any other aspect of writing.

A decent plot makes up for any other shortcomings, however, so there are plenty of worse ways you could spend your time than by reading Decisions.