Several novels combine baseball and mystery. From historical mysteries set in baseball's early years to a contemporary novel that takes place as the Boston Red Sox are about to win their second 21st-century World Series, these mysteries cover all of the bases. Fans of the Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, New York (now San Francisco) Giants and both the Brooklyn and L.A. Dodgers can find mysteries written with their teams in mind.
Instructions
1. Check out Troy Soos' Mickey Rawlings mysteries. This series features a utility infielder who plays with a number of different ball clubs in the early 20th century. The first book, "Murder at Fenway Park," takes place in WWI, and subsequent books take Mickey into the 1920s and feature cameo appearances by players such as Ty Cobb and Walter "Big Train" Johnson.
2. Read G. S. Rowe's Will Beaman mysteries for old-time baseball, from the late 19th century through the 1918 World Series between the Red Sox and the Cubs. The author is not only a former history professor at the University of Northern Colorado, but is a longtime member of SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research).
3. Try to find baseball historian and novelist Donald Honig's two Joe Tinker mysteries, "The Plot to Kill Jackie Robinson" and "Last Man Standing." These mysteries, published in the early 1990s, are set in post WWII New York and feature a sportswriter as the detective.
4. Look out for Crabbe Evers' Duffy House series. Duffy, also a sportswriter (retired), travels around the country to solve mysteries at different ballparks (Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Tiger Stadium) as a favor to his pal, the baseball commissioner.
5. Hunt for Alison Gordon's Kate Henry books. Kate, a sportswriter, chronicles the life and (murderous) times of the fictitious Toronto Titans--much as her creator did (minus the murder investigation) for the real-life Toronto Blue Jays.
6. Take a look at Richard Rosen's Harvey Blissberg mysteries. Harvey is a former Red Sox outfielder turned private investigator, and his cases seem to involve his extensive knowledge of the sport.
7. Get a copy of "Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery" by mother-son team Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith. This mystery starts off with a baby who is abandoned at Fenway Park (and later given the name of Ted Williams, after the Splendid Splinter), and the story plays out against the drama of the 2007 World Series. It even features a cameo appearance by first bsseman and team leader David Ortiz.
Tags: Fenway Park, World Series, takes place