The one that will get you hooked
Written: Jan 09 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A solid outing for Mickey Rawlings, baseball player, amateur sleuth!
Cons: Conclusion seemed a little weak in the motive area.
The Bottom Line: A great sophomore outing for Mickey Rawlings. The quick pace and well crafted story line made the other aspects all come together.
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| rob_wagner's Full Review: Murder at Ebbets Field Books |
Troy Soos had what I consider to be a mediocre debut, but "Murder at Ebbets Field" has assuages all my doubts about the future of this series.
The year is 1914. Mickey Rawlings had been released from the Red Sox two years earlier, and now he's been picked up as a utility player by John McGraw and his New York Giants. Watching from the first base line at a game against the Dodgers is famous movie star Florence Hampton. When her director asks for one ball player from each team to feature in her new movie, McGraw sends Rawlings.
Having been invited to the movie company's weekly after hours party, Rawlings discovers the body of Ms. Hampton washed up on the beach the next morning. Together with a young comic actress who was her friend, Rawlings takes on a killer whose motives are unknown, whose weapon of choice is poison, and whose next victim may be Rawlings himself.
Soos has a knack for getting the details all right in his early 20th century baseball world. This novel features a young Casey Stengel, an already puzzling but affable character, John McGraw, the pugnacious manager of the Giants and one of the greatest baseball managers of all time, and a look inside the pre-Hollywood silent movie industry.
Rawlings has already been through a trial by fire in the first book, so the story doesn't waste any time getting the investigation going. And unlike the previous outing, the pace is quick enough to pull you through in one sitting. Rawlings has learned to think about things methodically, instead of all at once at the end, and his determination comes across loud and clear. This book, like the first, features a love interest who is also involved in the investigation. I find it amazing that Soos is able to write these woman characters (and Mickey's relationship with them) so well when he also writes so well about the baseball games, the mystery, and the setting.
There is still room for improvement for young Mickey Rawlings (for instance, I didn't really but into the killer's motive), but Soos is on the right track.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rob_wagner
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Member: Rob Wagner
Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 8 members
About Me:
I'm a freelance web designer with an overactive library card. Visit my website!
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