The Next Sure Thing

by Richard Wagamese

Cree Thunderboy wants nothing less than to be the next great blues man. But, playing to tiny audiences in shabby rooms like Shelly's Crab Shack, his career is stalled. Then at the race track he meets Win Hardy, a seemingly charming rogue who spots Cree's knack for picking winning horses. He offers to record his first CD and send him on tour, as long as Cree can keep coming up with the hot tips at the track.

Things are looking good for Cree until he discovers Win's connections to the mob and his violent response to anything that doesn't go his way. And when things inevitably go bad, Cree discovers that in life and in gambling there is never really the next sure thing.

Genres: Fiction, Indigenous, Short Stories, Canada, Canadian Literature, Horses, Novella

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2011

About the author

Richard Wagamese was one of Canada's foremost Native authors and storytellers. He worked as a professional writer since 1979. He was a newspaper columnist and reporter, radio and television broadcaster and producer, documentary producer and the author of twelve titles from major Canadian publishers.

Reviews

[Lesli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Next Sure Thing is a short but fascinating story and Billy Merasty did a great job as the voice of Cree Thunderboy in this new audiobook edition. Thunderboy is a First Nations blues musician who has a side talent for picking winning racehorses. He meets a man named Win Hardy at the track who offers him a recording contract in exchange for helping him place winning bets.. this all sounds too good to be true, and sure enough, it is. Win turns out to be a mobster and I was wondering how Thunderboy was going to get out of this situation but you can always trust Richard Wagamese to dig into the true human nature and come up with creative results! All his books are beautiful, interesting and educational and this short story is no different. I am truly sorry that he is no longer with us but feel lucky to still be able to enjoy and learn from his writing. Thank you to NetGalley and Bespeak Audio Editions for allowing me to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Wagamese keeps on delighting with his backlist. This rapid read packs adventure and suspense into a gritty lesson about following ones intuition and just when to trust. Written with RG's usual tenderness and flair, when considering his legacy, dont miss this tale of a young man learning to use his gifts wisely.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book to use with my ESL students. This one has some vocabulary that will be difficult for the students from Japan and Korea and some cultural references that they will not recognize, but the story is interesting and I think they will enjoy it. I enjoyed it.

I think we will have to sample Cracker Jack and read about the prizes, listen to some Jazz and talk about New Orleans as we go through the book.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are moments in your life that come to define you. Most times you don't even know that's what they are. They're just moments. Just living. Just what you normally do. It's only later when you look back that you discover how big they were.

The Next Sure Thing is an intelligent, clever, easy read on music aspiration, horse betting and life gambling.

Favorite Passages:
So I know the territory of the blues. I been down so long it looks like up to me. That's how the old song goes, and I truly know how that feels.
______

I'm twenty-three years old. I don't have a girlfriend. I don't own a car. But I can play a guitar that'll shuck the husk right off a cob of corn from fifty feet away. I'm going to be a bluesman.
______

"Nervous to win and nervous to lose. It's your last bottom dollar that'll give you the blues."
______

"Sure things don't come around all that often. Most people think there's one in every box, as if life is like Cracker Jacks. It's not. You got to ride a lot of rail before the train hits the station again."
"You mix your metaphors. But I get you. You're saying, take the money and run. Grin all the way to the bank."
______

"I sometimes have too much of a Humphrey Bogart fixation."
______

"Sounds too easy."
He laughed. "The best things always are. And what you said about sure things? Sometimes they just walk right up and introduce themselves."
______

"I'm your new BFF."
"Best friend forever?" I asked, irritated.
"Best friend with firearms. Just remember that." The phone went dead in my hand.
______

I didn't like owing him. I didn't like feeling kept like a dog on a leash. I didn't like the threat hanging over me.
______

He laughed. "I've never seen anyone lay down a thousand bucks on a bet before. Nor have I watched anyone have to watch their money run around a track."
"Glad I entertain you."
______

"Everyone gets scared, Cree. The trouble is that most people don't move through it. It cripples them. Not you. You push through it. Even if you piss people off. That's moxie, and my friends want it working for them."
"I don't work for anybody."
Hardy spun his wineglass slowly in his fingers. "You work for me."
"I thought we had a deal."
"The deal is you work for me. And you work for my friends. That should be clear by now."
"I think I want out."
Hardy laughed then. It was genuine. As though no one had ever told him quite as big a joke before. He fumbled in his coat for his cell phone and punched in a number on speed dial.
______

"Some things never go out of style," I said.
"Pain and confusion," Ashton said.
"Love and frustration," I said.
"The blues is just a good man feeling bad." We both laughed.
______

"Ain't no percentage in thinking, brother. It's not a poor man's game," Ashton said.
"Good lyric," I said. "Who wrote that?"
"I did," he said and grinned.
It made me feel better.
______

It came to me as all the best things do - unexpectedly and without stress. It just sort of fell from the sky like a great song lyric does or a fragment of melody that you hum and know in your gut that it's awesome and right. When it came to me. I sat up straight in my chair. It was a simple enough idea, but there were a ton of things that could go wrong. Still, it felt good knowing there was a road to take.
"Play both ends against the middle," I told Ashton.
_______

A horse by the numbers is just a shadow. You have to get out in the stink of the barn and the backtrack where they live and work to really see them.
_______

Then we saw him run. It was like watching ribbon unfold time after time.
______

Race day dawned like a minor miracle. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and not even a hint of a breeze. It was warm. The whole day smelled like roses. If there were such a thing as an omen, then I guess the day breaking open like that was it for me.
______

Some people carry the threat of themselves like a cloud . . .

[Fern Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone in my family is reading this author so I decided to try a short one to see if I liked his writing too. And I did! I read it all in one day. I like his characters but I think the strength of this book was the story, all about gambling, with some interesting insights. Kind of a man's book.

[Wayne Inkster · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read that was able to capture my attention and keep it.

[Mila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A "Rapid Read" from a born story teller.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story. It got my attention from the first page and wouldn't let go. I liked the punchy first person narrative and the characters were excellent, if in some way sterotypical, like the mobsters.
Cree Thunderboy, the main character, may seem naive at first, but he is ambitious and clever. He never backs away from his dream of being a blues musician and faces consequences head on, seeing everything as part of becoming a "blues man". He is fortunate to have a loyal friend in Ashton, who also loves music, and sticks by him even when his own life is in danger.
How Cree finds a way out of the choke hold that Hardy, the mobster, has on him is pure genius and as Hardy would say he has a lot of "moxy".
Definitely worth a read.

[Casey Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent novella

[Shannon White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting work by wagamese. Short but immediately interesting. Not as rich or developed as wagamese’s later works but still glad that I’ve read it

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun, fast read by Richard Wagamese. Our hero Cree Thunderboy knows his horses, and loves to play the blues. While hanging out at the track, a man (Win Hardy) approaches him and asks his opinion about the races. Cree helps him pick a winner, a 'sure thing' and a strange association begins. Win wants more winning in exchange for helping Cree realize his musical dreams. Note to self: Never trust anyone you meet at a racetrack!

I love how the author crafts such expressive, fluid sentences with only a few simple words.

"I could hear a thin seam of voice from the phone."

"He smiled, but it was more like just pulling skin up over his teeth."

While watching a horse run: "Then we watched him run. It was like watching ribbon unfold time after time."

[melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

First thing I want to say, is I am in love with these little orca books. This is the second of three that I have read, and have immensely enjoyed them all. They are quick, interesting, intelligent reads, and I would recommend them for reluctant readers of any age, or anyone who wants a fast, entertaining read.
The main character, Cree, was interesting, and smart, but it was his best friend Ashton who really had me hooked. He was the voice of reason, and was there with his friend, through it all, until the end. I think I would have split long before (but then, that is what makes it a good book, as opposed to real life. There is a tension from beginning to end, that kept me coming back throughout my day for 'just a few more pages'. It was something the author did really well. I heard recently that 'bad decisions make good stories', and to me, this felt like a great example of that. It felt like he was making a deal with the devil to me from the beginning, and it got worse as he went, and it made your heart ache for him. I thought the ending was great, and without spoiling anything for anybody, it made the whole book worth reading (I hate a weak ending in books, it feels like a let down after all that 'work'). Great payoff! This is a Canadian publisher, and a Canadian author, but I didn't feel like it had a Canadian feel. (in my opinion, so many Canadians try and write 'literature' and it comes off feeling a little forced, and I struggle with that.) instead, this one felt very natural. It wasn't trying to live up to a standard, or fit in to a box of what someone thought it should be. *please don't read this as I am anti-literature, because I am not, there is a lot of GREAT literature out there, I am just against 'forced literature'.*
This was a sweet story, that came across as smart and entertaining. The down side is at $10 it cost the same as a full length book for 130 pages. But if you have a reluctant reader in your life, it could be worth it. I will definitely search out more of these, but possibly at my library or second hand book store.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this novella, Wagamese introduces us to Cree Thunderboy. Cree is a blues musician with big dreams. He also has a knack of being able to pick a good horse at the racetrack. This does not go unnoticed. He meets Win Hardy who hires him to make him money and in exchange, he'll sponsor his music career. Such are Cree's dreams that he's initially willing to shove the alarms ringing in his and his best friend's head into the cone of silence because he is ambitious and confident in his talent. It's pretty clear soon enough that he's signed a deal with the devil. Hardy is connected to all the wrong people and if Cree steps one foot out of place, he could lose that foot. Quite literally. He needs a plan to find Hardy's achilles heel and bring Hardy down by using it against him. Cree is a gambler. This might not end well but if it pays off, he'll be free of Hardy and he'll live to see another day.

Short but sweet, this story is fast paced and fun. Gambling may be fun and a real rush when you win but when you lose, boy oh boy, you sure can lose everything and then some! Wagamese had a way of bringing his realistic characters leaping off the page. The story might be a bit silly, a bit like a "zany romp", but if you're a fan of Richard Wagamese's work, you'll enjoy it.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cree Thunderboy is a First Nations bluesman who has a knack for picking winning horses. The only thing is, not every race has a sure thing, so he likes to wait it out for one to come along. He soon gets the notice of Win Hardy, a gangster with even more reason to go for the next sure thing. When Cree wins Hardy some easy cash, Hardy offers him a recording contract in exchange for picking more winning horses in the future. Can Cree keep up his winning streak long enough to become a famous blues man and keep his family out of harms way?

A very gripping read about horse racing, greed, and blues music. While the protagonist is First Nations, readers of all backgrounds will be able to relate to Cree’s desire to do anything to fulfill his dreams. Cree’s and his best friend’s characters are very likable, and Win Hardy’s character is very well developed and believable. The reader doesn’t need to have an interest in blues music or horse racing to find this novel gripping from beginning to end. The ending is very satisfying and somewhat surprising.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published by Orca Books, a local BC publisher with a lot of unique lines of books, The Next Sure Thing is part of the Rapid Reads. Rapid Reads are short novels and non-fiction books designed for reluctant or low-literacy adult readers.

Richard Wagamese is an Ojibway author and well-known storyteller, which shows in The Next Sure Thing. The story is fast paced, well-written and engaging. You’ve got the appropriate amount of foreshadow, plot twists, and a strong narrator. It certainly meets the Rapid Reads objective of being accessible both on a literary level and a narrative level.

I would definitely recommend this for reluctant readers and due to the age of Cree, it would even be a suitable book for teens. However, if you’re looking for something that reflects Richard Wagamese’s skills as a writer, you may be better off selecting something else from his wide repertoire.

See my blog post: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/12/next...

[Tina Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I downed this in two days.

It’s a charming, engaging, slightly dark portrait of Cree Thunderboy, a young indigenous man who dreams of playing the blues.

His good sense is occasionally dazzled by the too-good-to-be-true promise of horse-racing. Fortunately, Cree has a talent for choosing winners; unfortunately, it isn’t reliable enough to keep him out of serious trouble with a small-time, but vicious, gangster.

Cree soon finds himself in way, way over his head. But with his best friend Ashton, he comes up with a possible way out of a very dangerous situation.

Not before he gets himself beaten to a pulp, of course.

This sharp little gem of a story is deceptive. It’s very short - a novella, at most - and it feels easy. But any writer knows that brevity is a thousand times harder than exposition. Wagamese is more than capable, though, and this is him at his best.

Read it. And then read everything else that Wagamese wrote.

[Debbie Maskus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting, but short book about gambling and blues music. The main character is Cree Thunderboy a want-to-be blues musician who lives on an Indian reservation. Cree plays a wicked blues guitar and wants to be the next great blues player. On the side, Cree luckily picks winning horses. Unfortunately, a small time gambler who befriends and “buys” Cree notices this winning. Hardy, the small time gambler, threatens Cree when Cree picks a loser, which throws Hardy deeper into debt. Since I have experienced the thrills and disappointments of horse racing, this novel provided fun and insight into betting.

[Lorina Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gritty, crusty, very male-oriented novella from Richard Wagamese, exploring the underbelly of mobsters, playing race track odds, and an Ojibwa man just trying to make his way in the world.

A bit naive in its ending, but given the Rapid Reads series is likely geared toward YA readers, understandable.

As always Wagamese delivers remarkable detail, although in this story I felt his characters were a bit predictable and cardboard.

Still and all, a good read, if not one of Wagamese's best offerings.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Wagamese has a solid and well-known place in the literary landscape of Canada, and for good reason.

The Next Sure Thing is part of a series called "Rapid Reads." These books are meant for either Adult reluctant readers or Young Adults.

This book takes on topics such as gambling and mobsters.

Although I do not consider this to be one of his best books, The Next Sure Thing is still worth reading.

I rate it as 3 Stars out of 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting fella and story. Cree is a blues and jazz singer and guitarist. He also goes to the track and plays horses sometimes. He looks at the horses and finds the one that will win and bets on it in very small amounts. A man notices him at the track and the next thing Cree he knows he is part of the mob and helping with bets. He is not happy and wants out.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Richard Wagamese and his stories never fail me. This novella is a grand little tale, provokes emotion as all of his other writings. A story of chance, greed, luck and consequence. It's theme is a reminder of "what goes around comes around". I love these Rapid Reads, entertainment that packs a punch.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a bit more than Him Standing, which I read right before this. Two in a day, they are quick reads. It helped this one contained horses. And while the baddies felt cliche and paper cut esque, Cree was a solid chacter. There seemed to be more roan throughbreds than I have seen in real life, though.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beloved Author

Richard Wagamese is quite possibly my favorite Indigenous author.

This book was absolutely amazing.

Even though a short book, it was really compelling and interesting.

An excellent read.

Highly recommended.

Another excellent book to read on National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21).

Check it out!

4.8/5

[Noel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a short read, but quite an entertaining read. It wasn't reflective or heavy, but street realism. I read it quick. It was tense, and threatening. I feared for the main character and his friend. However, they used their heads and survived their peril.

[Avra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recommendation for Ragged Company, combined with the release of Indian Horse, got me started on Wagamese. This is an easy way to be introduced to his writing. It’s short but full of interesting characters and a cohesive story. I look forward to reading more!

[Shereena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read (I chose something shorter on purpose), but still fast-paced and addicting.

[Shar Wallis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read that is centered onhorse racing. Good for in between long involved books.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. More like a long short story than a novel.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short book, but a good story.