THE FENS

A third case for blue-blooded, impoverished Suffolk County prosecutor Abigail Endicott takes her out to the ballgame, which is further than the Red Sox catcher gets.

Starting pitcher Francis "Moe" Morrissey is only half a battery without Rudy Maddox, but Rudy’s disappeared just in time to miss opening day at Fenway Park. While Abby and Detective Kevin Farnsworth, the Boston cop her boyfriend, Ty, constantly suspects of getting too close to her, hustle here and there looking for clues to Maddox’s whereabouts, backup catcher Wayne Ellis also vanishes, but less inconclusively: He’s found shot to death in the Fens. Both men left behind improbable stashes of cash and sealed containers holding nothing more valuable than scuffed baseballs. Why would they hold onto treasures like these? More important, who’s going to be Moe Morrissey’s catcher from now on? This last question turns out to be moot when the suspect Abby and Kevin arrest for Ellis’ murder tells them Moe paid him to do the job. Now Abby (The Graves, 2017, etc.), whose parents have cut her off because they disapprove of her work, has to confront not only one of the most popular guys in the city, but every single potential juror who resents the fact that he’s out of the Bosox rotation and wants to get his autograph. With every step Abby takes toward unfolding her case in and out of court, Moe and his wily attorney, Anthony Cashman, spring another nasty surprise that neutralizes her advantage or sends her into a defensive huddle. It’s especially ironic that when one of her key witnesses is accused of racial prejudice, Abby herself has good reason to know how apt that charge is. By the time the trial ends, you can practically hear her counting down the days till football season begins.

Foursquare investigation of the sort prosecuting attorneys do mainly in fiction, followed by a rousing, albeit unsubtle, courtroom battle. Throw the book at him.