MURDER ON THE MOUND

In this whodunit, a shortstop-turned-lawyer tries to prove his best friend’s innocence.

Scott Davis, a college baseball star at Stanford, was one of the two best players on the premier team in the country. Drafted by the Boston Red Sox, he becomes their starting shortstop, American League MVP, and a World Series champion. But when Scott blows out his knee, his career is over, and he tries to pivot to a new job as an attorney. The other Stanford star, Doug Simons, is Scott’s best friend. The two of them become brothers-in-law when they marry twin sisters, Debbie and Jackie Gordon. Doug’s pro career gets off to a slower start, as he fails to manage his fast ways and stay faithful to Jackie. One day, a threatening letter arrives for Doug. It contains an ominous promise from an unknown man: “One day you will pay for what you’ve done.” Evidently, Doug got the man’s wife pregnant; a botched abortion nearly killed her. Doug and Scott don’t take the threat seriously. As Scott thinks to himself, “what maniac seeking revenge would ever hint before they strike?” Seven years later, it’s spring training in Peoria, Arizona, and Doug’s showing promise as a San Diego Padres pitcher. Scott has opened a law practice with his father. And Jackie is having an affair with Pete Marcus, Doug’s teammate and mentor. When Pete is brutally murdered, the liaison comes to light and Doug becomes a suspect. Carl Craven, the detective on the case for the much maligned Peoria Police Department, investigates. Feldman is an economical writer with a particular knack for courtroom drama. He ambitiously weaves several strands of plot together and assembles a rich cast of characters in the telling, including Scott and Doug. As a minor league manager reflects about Doug, “the kid was blessed with amazing talent, but he was going to throw it all away over a bottle of booze and an endless string of women.” Though certain storylines don’t deserve the attention they get, in the end, the author brings the tale to a satisfying, tidy conclusion.

An engaging mystery featuring friendship, revenge, and America’s pastime.