BE THE ONE

The author of North of Montana (1994) uses the world of baseball, as seen through the eyes of a female scout whose career depends on finding hidden talent for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, as the backdrop for this mystery thriller.

Cassidy Sanderson is a rarity: a female talent scout in a world predominantly populated by men. An ex-ballplayer herself—with the Colorado Silver Bullets, an all-women’s professional team—the blond stunner receives a call one day from “Uncle Pedro,” a friend of her late father’s, who has spotted a can’t-miss prospect in that hotbed of talent, the Dominican Republic. In the competitive world of sports, Cassidy must act quickly, and so she makes an unauthorized trip south, where, in the midst of a devastating hurricane, she signs the 18-year-old Alberto Cruz, then brings him back to L.A. She also brings back a lover, a particularly appealing albeit mysterious developer by the name of Joe Galinis. And, unfortunately, along with the whiz-bang ballplayer and the lover, she’s bringing back something else: death threats, aimed first at Cruz, then at Galinis. Who’s behind them? Why are they being made? Will they destroy Cruz’s shot at becoming a big league star? While Cassidy tries to find the answers to these questions, and herself becomes the target of the blackmailers, she struggles with coming to grips with the death of her brother, as well as with being a single young woman in her 30s who’s trying to carve out a place for herself in the macho world of sports.

Smith certainly knows baseball, and she’s created a full-dimensioned, interesting character in Cassidy. In the end, though, despite her breezy, almost screenplay-like style, the story falls disappointingly flat.