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SAFE AT HOME by Alison Gordon

SAFE AT HOME

by Alison Gordon

Pub Date: May 27th, 1991
ISBN: 0-312-05959-0
Publisher: St. Martin's

Gordon follows up The Dead Pull Hitter (1989) with a thin baseball story interrupted, occasionally, by a search for the rapist/murderer of young schoolboys, the so-called Daylight Stalker. Toronto Planet sportswriter Kate Henry is approached by Titan outfielder-slugger Joe Kelsey to tell his story: he's gay and wants to go public with it, but with dignity. Later, amid the media blitz, plus fan and player support/backlash, Kate's lover, Andy, a homicide cop, begins receiving messages from the Daylight Stalker. Then the Stalker starts in on Kate, who almost—but not quite- -recognizes his voice on her answering machine. When Kate's neighbor and best friend Sandy's son, the all-American T.C., goes missing, it'll be Kate, Kelsey, and his lover to the rescue for a corny, uplifting end. Gordon, unfortunately, telegraphs most of her pitches (the heroic gay, for instance, and the hero-worshipping kid), and the murderer is easy to spot early on. Consider this strike two—and counting.