Author Topic: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May  (Read 29192 times)

JRob

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #30 on: May 13, 2020, 07:51:06 am »

I came across several books by John Feinstein while I was searching for sports-related mysteries. Have you reviewed any of his books?

No, I've never reviewed any of his books. He writes books about sports AND he wrote some fiction as well. So if you decide to check out anything be careful to get his fiction, not the non-fiction stuff. I did read a non-fiction book he wrote about tennis that was pretty good though.

Becke Davis

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #31 on: May 14, 2020, 12:54:14 am »
Thanks, Jay - I'll remember to check for that.

Hannah Adams

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #32 on: May 18, 2020, 10:10:43 pm »
I went through some boxes of old paperbacks and found Going for the Gold by Emma Lathen. I was nervous to read it again in case it felt really dated, but I still liked it. Of course there were no cell phones (not as we know them) when this was written in 1981, and being a travel agent was considered a nice, safe career in those pre-internet times but I still found it an entertaining read.

The book is about a couple mysteries at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York and the chaos that ensues when a massive blizzard engulfs the area in several feet of snow. We meet several of the Olympic athletes. The book mentions ski-jumps, luge, ice skating and a couple that I'm forgetting.

In addition to the Olympic games and the blizzard, there are all kinds of things going on, from murder to counterfeiting and bank fraud. I read this book when it first came out but I had forgotten who did it. I don't know if I have any other Emma Lathen books around, but now I'd like to reread some of her others.

JRob

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #33 on: May 19, 2020, 05:56:31 am »
I went through some boxes of old paperbacks and found Going for the Gold by Emma Lathen. I was nervous to read it again in case it felt really dated, but I still liked it. Of course there were no cell phones (not as we know them) when this was written in 1981, and being a travel agent was considered a nice, safe career in those pre-internet times but I still found it an entertaining read.

The book is about a couple mysteries at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York and the chaos that ensues when a massive blizzard engulfs the area in several feet of snow. We meet several of the Olympic athletes. The book mentions ski-jumps, luge, ice skating and a couple that I'm forgetting.

In addition to the Olympic games and the blizzard, there are all kinds of things going on, from murder to counterfeiting and bank fraud. I read this book when it first came out but I had forgotten who did it. I don't know if I have any other Emma Lathen books around, but now I'd like to reread some of her others.

I'm glad to see the book held up for you Hannah. Did the author mention the US Hockey Team in the book? It would seem strange that the biggest story to come out of that particular Olympiad didn't rate a mention.

Hannah Adams

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #34 on: May 19, 2020, 05:35:03 pm »
I went through some boxes of old paperbacks and found Going for the Gold by Emma Lathen. I was nervous to read it again in case it felt really dated, but I still liked it. Of course there were no cell phones (not as we know them) when this was written in 1981, and being a travel agent was considered a nice, safe career in those pre-internet times but I still found it an entertaining read.

The book is about a couple mysteries at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York and the chaos that ensues when a massive blizzard engulfs the area in several feet of snow. We meet several of the Olympic athletes. The book mentions ski-jumps, luge, ice skating and a couple that I'm forgetting.

In addition to the Olympic games and the blizzard, there are all kinds of things going on, from murder to counterfeiting and bank fraud. I read this book when it first came out but I had forgotten who did it. I don't know if I have any other Emma Lathen books around, but now I'd like to reread some of her others.

I'm glad to see the book held up for you Hannah. Did the author mention the US Hockey Team in the book? It would seem strange that the biggest story to come out of that particular Olympiad didn't rate a mention.

I think that there was a mention of the U.S. Hockey Team but it was brief. If I had an ereader I could search for it, but I just have an old paperback. I'm curious now, so maybe I'll search for it later.

Hannah Adams

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #35 on: May 19, 2020, 05:42:04 pm »
I had fun going through the same box of old paperbacks where I found the Emma Lathen book. There are a couple more of her books, plus a Doris Miles Disney book I want to read again. But, considering this month's feature, I'm excited about a book I found in the box that I don't even remember reading. It's called Strike Three, You're Dead by R.D. Rosen. The cover says, Edgar Award Winner, Best First Mystery. And Major League Murder, "The Dick Francis of Baseball, and more" from the Philadelphia Enquirer.

On the back cover there's a comment from Robert B. Parker, who wrote the Spenser mysteries. "If you love good writing and baseball, Strike Three, You're Dead will take you to paradise."

I think I'll read this next.

Becke Davis

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #36 on: May 19, 2020, 06:13:44 pm »
I dug out a couple old Dick Francis paperbacks. I've read them all before, but this one is at least 25 years old. I think rereading it will be fun, AND in keeping with this months' feature.

KiwiCraig

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #37 on: May 20, 2020, 03:09:20 pm »
I dug out a couple old Dick Francis paperbacks. I've read them all before, but this one is at least 25 years old. I think rereading it will be fun, AND in keeping with this months' feature.

Only author in history, I believe, to have won three Edgar Awards for Best Novel (the likes of James Lee Burke and John Hart have won two each - in fairness Burke probably should have won more but you get the feeling there's a bit of a 'they've had their turn' that goes on nowadays, not like in Francis's time)

Becke Davis

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #38 on: May 22, 2020, 09:22:07 pm »
I just read WILD HORSES by Dick Francis, first published in September 1994. I thought I'd read all of his books but, much to my surprise, I hadn't read this one! It's not your typical Dick Francis fare. Horse racing and jockeys only play a small part in the overall plot. The story is told from the point of view of a young movie director working with a Hollywood studio and LA producer, and a big Hollywood movie star to tell the story of a 26-year-old murder.

Even though this was probably the least sports-related Dick Francis books I've ever read, I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.

Hannah Adams

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #39 on: May 24, 2020, 12:01:31 am »
I had fun going through the same box of old paperbacks where I found the Emma Lathen book. There are a couple more of her books, plus a Doris Miles Disney book I want to read again. But, considering this month's feature, I'm excited about a book I found in the box that I don't even remember reading. It's called Strike Three, You're Dead by R.D. Rosen. The cover says, Edgar Award Winner, Best First Mystery. And Major League Murder, "The Dick Francis of Baseball, and more" from the Philadelphia Enquirer.

On the back cover there's a comment from Robert B. Parker, who wrote the Spenser mysteries. "If you love good writing and baseball, Strike Three, You're Dead will take you to paradise."

I think I'll read this next.

I just finished Strike Three, You're Dead by R. D. Rosen. It was in a box of old paperbacks but I don't remember it at all. Maybe I picked up a used copy and never got around to reading it. At first I thought it was going to be too try for me, since there are a lot of statistics and a lot of technical details about baseball. But I remembered it won an Edgar so I kept going. After awhile I got used to all the statistics, and it turned out they provided some important clues so I'm glad I stuck with it.

I like baseball but I'm just a normal fan. I think this book would be a hit with die-hard fans, since the author goes into so much detail. I liked the main character enough that I looked up the author. It turns out he went on to write a lot of other books, and seven or eight books with the same main character that starred in this book. I liked this one and might try to find other books by R.D. Rosen. A couple of these titles sound familiar. Maybe I've already read other ones! Here's his website: http://rdrosen.com/mysteries/

Becke Davis

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Re: Sports-Related Mystery Novels - Feature for May
« Reply #40 on: May 24, 2020, 05:43:54 pm »
I dug out a couple old Dick Francis paperbacks. I've read them all before, but this one is at least 25 years old. I think rereading it will be fun, AND in keeping with this months' feature.

Only author in history, I believe, to have won three Edgar Awards for Best Novel (the likes of James Lee Burke and John Hart have won two each - in fairness Burke probably should have won more but you get the feeling there's a bit of a 'they've had their turn' that goes on nowadays, not like in Francis's time)

I'm a big fan of Dick Francis - oddly, I only started reading his books when my father-in-law was in the hospital and asked for some reading material. He mentioned he liked Dick Francis - we bought him a couple of books, and I started looking for them at the library. And then I couldn't stop until I'd read them all!

My dad was a huge fan of James Lee Burke. I like his books, too. I've read a lot of them, but not all. I've read more books by his daughter, Alafair Burke. Both of the Burkes are brilliant writers.