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Duffy House Mystery #5
Tigers Burning
When a dead body is discovered after a fire at Tiger Stadium, the commissioner sends retired sportswriter-turned-detective Duffy House into the clubhouse to save the Tigers. There he turns up Mob connections, an unscrupulous owner, and a secret tryst between the dead woman and an ex-con outfielder.
246 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1994
22 people want to read
About the author
Crabbe Evers
5 books4 followersCrabbe Evers is a pseudonym for the writing team of William Brashler and Reinder Van Til, who wrote the Duffy House mystery series.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2020
Tigers Burning was published in 1995, when Detroit's Tiger Stadium was still standing but home to an over-the-hill crew of former major league stars. It was Sparky Anderson's last season as manager.
The novel's author, Crabbe Evers, is actually the writing team of William Brashler and Reinder Van Til. As I attended college with both of them, I'm naturally drawn to read their stuff. I've also read Murder in Wrigley Field, and will probably get around to reading the other three in the series. It's germane to note that Brashler was a catcher of some note on the Calvin College baseball team.
The novel's main character, Duffy House, is a former sportswriter who's now an investigator for the Commissioner of Baseball. When venerable Tiger Stadium is partially burned by an arsonist, and the body of a woman is found in the ruins, the Commish sends House to investigate. To give a more contemporary air to the proceedings, House takes along his niece-collaborator, Petronella. Duffy brings a sportswriter's turn of phrase and talent for metaphor to the collaboration. Petey brings a great set of legs, a penchant for snappy repartee, and a willingness to court danger that asserts her determination not to play the "I'm a lady" card.
Plot-wise, the story is pretty straightforward. The corpse found in the ashes is that of Kit Gleason, a Gross Pointe matron with a thing for saving Tiger Stadium from the wrecking ball. She's opened a non-profit, Save Our Stadium, to do just that. SOS has an office, a secretary and resources for garnering publicity, printing flyers, holding fund-raisers, and the like. The threat to the stadium is real, since the new owner and new general manager want to tear it down and leverage public funds to build a revenue-enhancing new stadium. Nothing new here. It's been happening in almost all the other major league cities. Clearly, these not-so-ulterior motives point fingers of suspicion at the owner and GM.
But wait. Kit Gleason has leveraged her campaign to save the stadium and her connections with other like-minded rich folks to develop an amorous relationship with the Tigers' star outfielder, Al Shaw. In fact, Kit has a 'love nest' apartment where the police find ample evidence of Al's frequenting the place. Al has other baggage (in addition to a wife and family) - he's a former resident of the Jackson State Prison, where he made numerous connections that could help him, should he choose to do something unlawful.
Another prime suspect is the dame's husband, a well-to-do plastic surgeon. Petey is especially adept at using her wiles to gain his confidence.
Of course, since this caper involves a murder, the local police are front and center. As one who reads private eye fiction might expect, the police are suspicious, resentful and unhelpful - until it becomes apparent that Duffy and Petey's private efforts have yielded information the police would love to have. Thus is born a grudgingly respectful and mutually beneficial relationship.
The most fun in reading this novel, frankly, is that I saw numerous games in Tiger Stadium and have visited Detroit countless times. The locations are described accurately and, with only the occasional aid of a city map, I can trace the characters' movements about town and picture the locations well.
The fun part of reading the book is also the sad part. The Detroit described in Tigers Burning is still the Detroit of drugs and crime, and the scene of so much ruin-porn photography. Sadly, the novel leans into that somewhat cheap and easy characterization of a once-proud city. These characteristics of the novel feel a bit like hitting a guy when he's down, or spiking the runner for good measure after you've already tagged him out. Ancillary to this wallowing in the seedy side of Detroit is the racial essentializing that the novel does, perhaps unwittingly. Al Shaw, the star Tiger, is black - and an ex-con. True, he's trying to make amends by setting up a non-profit to aid ex-cons beginning a new life, and that's laudable. But he doesn't have the organizational skills to carry it off, so he outsources the record-keeping and organizing to SOS. The two black secretaries at Shaw's non-profit personify every stereotype. Their records are a mess, they care more about their appearance than their job, and they arrive late and leave early on the days they show up at work at all. I don't believe that Van Til and Brashler are intentionally racist, but it's probably easier to see in 2020 than it was in 1995.
If you enjoy baseball, know Detroit, like reading private eye stories, appreciate crisp dialogue and inventive description, and can critique the book's participation in racial stereotype without having that ruin the reading experience for you, I recommend Tigers Burning .
The novel's author, Crabbe Evers, is actually the writing team of William Brashler and Reinder Van Til. As I attended college with both of them, I'm naturally drawn to read their stuff. I've also read Murder in Wrigley Field, and will probably get around to reading the other three in the series. It's germane to note that Brashler was a catcher of some note on the Calvin College baseball team.
The novel's main character, Duffy House, is a former sportswriter who's now an investigator for the Commissioner of Baseball. When venerable Tiger Stadium is partially burned by an arsonist, and the body of a woman is found in the ruins, the Commish sends House to investigate. To give a more contemporary air to the proceedings, House takes along his niece-collaborator, Petronella. Duffy brings a sportswriter's turn of phrase and talent for metaphor to the collaboration. Petey brings a great set of legs, a penchant for snappy repartee, and a willingness to court danger that asserts her determination not to play the "I'm a lady" card.
Plot-wise, the story is pretty straightforward. The corpse found in the ashes is that of Kit Gleason, a Gross Pointe matron with a thing for saving Tiger Stadium from the wrecking ball. She's opened a non-profit, Save Our Stadium, to do just that. SOS has an office, a secretary and resources for garnering publicity, printing flyers, holding fund-raisers, and the like. The threat to the stadium is real, since the new owner and new general manager want to tear it down and leverage public funds to build a revenue-enhancing new stadium. Nothing new here. It's been happening in almost all the other major league cities. Clearly, these not-so-ulterior motives point fingers of suspicion at the owner and GM.
But wait. Kit Gleason has leveraged her campaign to save the stadium and her connections with other like-minded rich folks to develop an amorous relationship with the Tigers' star outfielder, Al Shaw. In fact, Kit has a 'love nest' apartment where the police find ample evidence of Al's frequenting the place. Al has other baggage (in addition to a wife and family) - he's a former resident of the Jackson State Prison, where he made numerous connections that could help him, should he choose to do something unlawful.
Another prime suspect is the dame's husband, a well-to-do plastic surgeon. Petey is especially adept at using her wiles to gain his confidence.
Of course, since this caper involves a murder, the local police are front and center. As one who reads private eye fiction might expect, the police are suspicious, resentful and unhelpful - until it becomes apparent that Duffy and Petey's private efforts have yielded information the police would love to have. Thus is born a grudgingly respectful and mutually beneficial relationship.
The most fun in reading this novel, frankly, is that I saw numerous games in Tiger Stadium and have visited Detroit countless times. The locations are described accurately and, with only the occasional aid of a city map, I can trace the characters' movements about town and picture the locations well.
The fun part of reading the book is also the sad part. The Detroit described in Tigers Burning is still the Detroit of drugs and crime, and the scene of so much ruin-porn photography. Sadly, the novel leans into that somewhat cheap and easy characterization of a once-proud city. These characteristics of the novel feel a bit like hitting a guy when he's down, or spiking the runner for good measure after you've already tagged him out. Ancillary to this wallowing in the seedy side of Detroit is the racial essentializing that the novel does, perhaps unwittingly. Al Shaw, the star Tiger, is black - and an ex-con. True, he's trying to make amends by setting up a non-profit to aid ex-cons beginning a new life, and that's laudable. But he doesn't have the organizational skills to carry it off, so he outsources the record-keeping and organizing to SOS. The two black secretaries at Shaw's non-profit personify every stereotype. Their records are a mess, they care more about their appearance than their job, and they arrive late and leave early on the days they show up at work at all. I don't believe that Van Til and Brashler are intentionally racist, but it's probably easier to see in 2020 than it was in 1995.
If you enjoy baseball, know Detroit, like reading private eye stories, appreciate crisp dialogue and inventive description, and can critique the book's participation in racial stereotype without having that ruin the reading experience for you, I recommend Tigers Burning .
May 3, 2020
Very Good; Continuing character: Duffy House; House and his niece/sidekick look into a mysterious fire at Tiger Stadium and the murder of a woman trying to save the old ballpark; as a native and baseball fan, much enjoyed the author's use of Detroit and environs and giving an accurate portrayal, as well as the only slightly veiled references to real history - like the firing of a beloved announcer by a GM who used to be a college coach!
September 3, 2018
Another entertaining, essay Duffy BHouse mystery, full of baseball lore and legend (as always.) Nothing real special but still entertaining.
July 23, 2013
Read this series in order, there are spoilers of earlier books.
May 25, 2016
A baseball theme mystery. Fun book to read if you are a baseball fan with all of the names of baseball players used in the story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews