Relentlessly vintage, The Perfect 10 is clearly echoing the thriller formula from a bygone era, by authors such as Ian Fleming or Dick Francis, featuring a handsome, all-capable, womanizing male protagonist, female characters who are conventionally attractive, lusting over the said male lead, and all taking place in ritzy settings such as polo match, grand hotel, and private yacht.

If detailed play-by-play polo matches and white-collar crime interests you, The Perfect 10 is a commendable execution delivering it alongside a decent murder mystery. Objectively speaking, I do find the novel drags (it's absurdly large cast didn't help the matter), weighted down by disposable scenes irrelevant to the primary plot, and the last act closes on unsatisfying note, leaving some threads unresolved. On the other hand, with it being a 2020 release featuring a story sets in current time, I do find its plainly archaic world view slightly disconcerting, I'd wished The Perfect 10 is more self-aware regarding its dated references and the upper class bubble, rather than just being stuck in the mentality of the 70s.

Ultimately, I'm clearly not the target audience for The Perfect 10; the crime feels very 'rich people problem' and unsympathetic, and the characterization painfully old-school (I groan when every female character is written as a willing participant to the male lead's seduction). So perhaps take me rating with a grain of salt.

The Perfect 10 by Eric O’Keefe

A quick entertaining read about the super rich of the polo world set in Palm beach. This book has it all throw in with a colourful list of characters and it is all encompassing can’t put down read. Well done very enjoyable read. 4.5/5

The Perfect 10: A Palm Beach Murder Mystery by Eric O'Keefe is an entertaining and well-crafted mystery novel set in the high-stakes world of Palm Beach. While the book is enjoyable and suspenseful, it falls short of a 5-star rating due to a few weaknesses.

The characters in the book are interesting and well-drawn, particularly the protagonist, Jake Lassiter, who is a likable and flawed hero. However, some of the other characters feel a bit flat and stereotypical, which can be distracting at times. Additionally, the pacing of the book can be slow in parts, which may test the patience of some readers.

That said, the plot of the book is intriguing and keeps the reader engaged throughout. The murder mystery is complex and well-executed, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. O'Keefe also does a great job of capturing the opulence and decadence of Palm Beach society, which adds an interesting layer to the story.

Overall, The Perfect 10 is a solid mystery novel that will appeal to fans of the genre.

In The Perfect 10 the world's most famous polo player has been murdered and special agent Hunt has been given the job of making sure the case gets resolved as fast as possible.

I knew nothing about polo going into this book so it made a refreshing change from the usual murder mystery books I read. It wasn't hard to work out who did it but the story did offer a few twists to point you in other directions.

i really enjoyed reading this book, it was a great mystery and the cover reminded me of old Bond covers. I really enjoyed the characters and this mystery.

Well written, great characters! The Perfect 10 by Eric O’Keefe is an intriguing story of intrigue and power. Wrapping polo in an international plot that is carried home my the lead character. Hope there’s more!!

The characters and story were great but I was not engaging with them in a meaningful way. I think this is more suited to a different type of reader as I just could not buy into the story. I strongly recommend this to anyone interested in a murder mystery! I read some really lovely reviews and was hoping to be able to feel similarly but after a few attempts it just was not the book for me but I do believe it has an audience!

This is the first fiction effort by Texan journalist Eric O'Keefe. It's set in the rarified atmosphere of elite polo, and its cast is pulled from the world's rich and politically connected. It's crime plot is triggered by the murder of a world renowned Argentinian polo player who is found in a Florida hotel room dead from a gun shot. With the President of the United States heading to Argentina the following month, there is pressure on multiple agencies to solve the crime, which has the earmarks of being an international incident.
To this end, the White House calls in Captain Rick Hunt, of the US Army. Not just a military man, but a former high flying polo player and favourite of a powerful senator. Rick Hunt teams up with Secret Service Agent Cris Cortez and together they seek to infiltrate the secrets and lies of the polo-loving, champagne swilling, rich and privleged set, a journey that includes polo playing, hob-nobbing on million-dollar yachts, visits to the White House and swanning around in chinos and chiffon.
Rick Hunt is clearly modelled after James Bond; he's handsome, rich, knows all the moves, and always comes out on top. Men want to be him, women want to bed him. The connection to James Bond is also suggested by the book's cover art by Robert McGinnis, who did a number of movie posters for Bond films, as well as cover art for 50s westerns, crime novels, thrillers and murder mysteries. (Check out the end of the novel for a number of draft illustrations that were done for the cover).
Needless to say, this novel does not offer deep characterisations - characters are drawn with the same supercificality represented by the characters themselves. However, the novel is fun, the characters still engaging, dialogue is snappy and the action is well paced. The resolution was also not predicatable - at least to me O'Keefe is an accomplished writer and the story has verve enough to warrant marking this as one to read.

As I've done with my other books based in Florida, I did one of my Swampy's Florida podcasts:

https://anchor.fm/swampysflorida/epis...

I will add here how much I love that Robert McGinnis did the cover and the feature of other illustrations for the book. THAT gets very high marks!

Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.

This book was read thanks and through NetGalley, it was published on December 8th, 2020.


As usual on this blog, we will talk not about the story but how I felt while read it.

And let me tell you this story is a thriller that starts when someone murders Juancito, the best polo player in the world, and the prime suspect is his trophy wife.
That being said my polo knowledge is zero, and I felt like the Polo was their main character more than the agent in charge to solve the case and the trophy wife, which it cannot be a positive experience if like me you know nothing about the game.

The author does a nice job setting the story and narrative, the story moves quick and keeps emerging you into the story. I highly recommend it to people who loves thrillers with murder, lies, and a high society world, this is the book for you, like I said my recommendation is do a quick investigation about Polo before read it, it will make the story move way faster.


Do I like it? Yes
Do I recommend it? Yes

If this really is the author's debut novel, I have to congratulate, as this is one of the best I have read. The book is very easy to read, with short chapters and excellent descriptions, and there is an amusing tone all the way through. This is mostly due to the fantastic characters, as they are slightly over the top, such that you'll want more and more. The setting also makes this book special, as I knew very little about polo, and the author has made it the basis for every aspect of the story. 5 stars plus.

I don't know about you, but I often choose a book to read based on its cover. That is the case with this book by Eric O'Keefe. I liked the 1960's retro look and the promise of a book set in Palm Beach, Florida. Flurries may be swirling outside my window, but when I open this book I'm transported to palm trees and polo ponies. A perfect escape for late January.

Going into this book I didn't know anything about polo outside vintage Ralph Lauren commercials. Now I have a better understanding of the game and now realize that it has a global fandom. This book is a fast-paced mystery in the style of James Patterson. This book has multiple POV characters and it takes a little while before you, the reader, understand how the different characters fit into the central mystery of who killed Juan Harrington and why. It's like an out of focus picture that slowly becomes sharp.

As the field of suspects narrows, I had a pretty good idea of motive but I wasn't sure who was the killer before it was revealed. If you like reading thrillers and you enjoy sports, add this book to your TBR pile, and get ready for the high stakes world of the Sport of Kings.

Like any book that I read, the covers are always what draws me in. So when I saw this book cover I knew I had to read it especially with it being a mystery book. Plus the plot for the book already drew me because I like Palm Springs and I like polo. Juancito Harrington is found murdered in his hotel room. The primary suspect is Juancito's wife. Rick Hunt is put on the case will he be able to find the killer or will the suspect escape?

Thank you Greenleaf Book Group and NetGalley for an ARC.

When a top-notch polo player is found dead in his hotel room, people are quick to assume that his mistress (the polo team owner's wife) is the culprit. But is she? I haven't read any books that are centered around polo, so that was interesting! This was a pretty fast-paced murder mystery, which is right up my alley as I love to find out whodunit!

The Perfect 10 definitely depicts very realistically the people, the surrounding area, and the event of the US Open Polo Championships very well. The author makes you feel as if you are right there alongside the spectators.

Filled with twists and turns and unexpected results this book kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were well-crafted and the story-line is quite believable.

You can't help but fall in love with the characters and the story.

This book was provided to me in exchange for my honest opinion. I highly recommend The Perfect 10.

Fantastic book. O'Keefe handles the often over-the-top details of The Perfect 10 with consummate professionalism. The high stakes and high society world of professional polo is delineated well here as the background for a murder that appears to be an affair gone wrong. While the swirling currents of the murder investigation are interesting, the real star here is Rick Hunt, West Point grad and former polo player, who takes point on the behind-the-scenes investigation having connections that the Miami PD just can't match. The best scene in the book might be when the President of the US grabs the phone from Rick and riffs with the daughter of one of the polo team owners. Priceless!

Juan Harrington is a famous Argentinian polo player. He always looks forward to playing polo in Palm Beach. On a Tuesday morning he checks into his favorite hotel, Brazilian Court. Later that afternoon, a maid making her rounds finds Juan dead in his bedroom. Enjoyable and compelling read. Would recommend.

Thank you to Eric O’Keefe, NetGalley, and River Grove Books for the ARC of this book.

If you like reading about the super rich and playing polo you will love this story. This story has a murder and lots of polo. I loved all the twists and turns but I really hope that the rich are not getting away with as much as this book says. It is fun to read about people that are that rich though hard to understand them. I received a copy of this book from River Grove Books for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

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•Okay so this book right here was IT! I read it really fast and the more I was nearing to the climax, the harder it was to keep this (e)book down. I read till 4 in the morning and I only do this if a book is really really interesting.

•It covered a lot of subjects-be it the game of kings itself, Palm beach, the White House, the US Secret Service, the media etc. and different POVs as well. The most amazing thing was that none of it creates a distraction from the main plot and makes the story more intriguing and complex( which I really liked!).

•Totally loved the main characters and how clever they were.

•This was the first work of fiction by Eric O'Keefe who is an author and screenplay writer as well and has an extensive knowledge about polo as well as the US media.

•Also the 70's style amazing artwork on the cover is by Robert McGinnis who is known for his posters for classics such as Breakfast At Tiffany's, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die, and many more.

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This book was so much more than I imagined it would be. There was a murder and mystery around it ofcourse, but other than that it was centered around a sport so amazing ( which I almost knew nothing about, I thank God for this book), with a hint of romance as well. What more can you ask for?!
Thank you so much @netgalley #netgalleyarcs for this ebook. This book releases today itself.
I would wholeheartedly give this a 5/5 ⭐ rating.
I will recommend this a 100%.

Keep reading 😊

Palm Beach And Polo....
Palm Beach, Polo players extraordinaire, dirty dealings and murder. When the World’s top Polo player is found dead in a flash Palm Beach hotel chaos ensues. Entertaining fast paced mystery with a colourful cast of characters and an engaging storyline.