Suicide Squeeze

by R.W. Bennett

Divorced, missing his daughter, with a non-existent love life and on the verge of losing his position on the Boston Red Sox, Mark Mercer thought his life could get no worse.

He was wrong.

When he and Carlos, the rookie he coaches, stumble upon and thwart a hijacking, they find themselves in the middle of a vicious terror plot. Together with a beautiful FBI agent and Carlos, Mark now is in a race against time to save not just himself but tens of thousands of others targeted by the terrorists.

312 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2012

About the author

RW Bennett has transitioned from a long business career to writing. Bennett has been a Sales and Marketing VP, a financial systems consultant, a restaurateur, a day trader and a CPA but has always loved the written, spoken and sung word. Bennett majored in chemistry and business administration at Wartburg College in Iowa where he was a varsity wrestler and rugby player. He earned an MBA from University of Denver. Bennett’s interests in sports – he was a top-flight marathoner – as well as a better than average cyclist, tennis player, golfer and skier show through in his writing. He also has interests in vocal music, cooking, wine and theology. Bennett lives in Denver with his wife Barbara and their Papillon dogs, Doodle and Dandy.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Mercer (Merc), a veteran outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, has been rehabbing a shoulder injury in the offseason. He is an experienced long distance runner and so he has been assigned a young outfielder, Carlos (Cinco), to mentor. Merc's job is to get the guy who is going to replace him in shape, so that on opening day Carlos will be playing his position in the outfield and Merc will be sitting on the bench. This might be a problem for some players, but Merc is a team player and knows that he will have plenty of chances to play, so everything is cool.

Merc is taking Carlos on a morning run in the mountains of West Virginia when they are surprised by an explosion not too far off the trail that they are running on. They take cover and are able to observe a hijacking of a truck carrying explosives to the nearby mine. Carlos tosses a large boulder though the windshield of one of the terrorist's vehicles which then runs off the road and down the mountainside. When the other SUV stops, Merc is able to bean the leader of the group with a rock, but the driver drags his boss back in the truck and they drive off.

From this point, Merc and Cinco have to get ready to play Spring ball and evade the terrorists, who are out for revenge. They also have to deal with the normal demands of Spring Training, while trying to figure out what the terrorists are planning.

This is a fun beginning to a new light-hearted mystery adventure series with a baseball backdrop. The tone and writing style reminds me of a cross between the "Elvis Cole" series by Robert Crais and the "Myron Bolitar" series by Harlan Coben, so if you like either of these, you are certain to enjoy this new series. I am looking forward to reading more about Merc, Cinco and the rest of the characters playing for the Boston Red Sox. I give this book a big thumbs up and 5 stars out of 5.

I received this book from the author. All he asked was that I read it and give it an honest review.

[Stephanie Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love major league baseball, specifically the Boston Red Sox, add in a touch of romance, friendship, murder and a hijacking, then this is for you.

Professional player Mark Mercer was told to take Carlos Chavez under his wing to get him ready for a new career with the Red Sox. Little did they know they would be involved in a murder and hijacking of explosives prior to the start of spring training.

Unfortunately, the murder and hijacking take a back seat in the story. The majority of the book is focused on Mark Mercer and his passion for the Boston Red Sox. Mix in his personal life with a need for speed, no intimate relationships until he meets an FBI Special Agent determined to help solve the terrorist case and protect Mark, and add a budding friendship with his potential replacement on the team, Carlos.

While this is a great read for the love of baseball, starting with spring training in Florida, ending with the start of the regular season at Fenway Park in Boston, it could have had more about the suspense of those looking to silence Mark and Carlos for being a witness to their plot.

Easy to follow as it is written in date order, keeping the sequence of events easy, and a great mix of characters, from the owners to the players to the FBI agents and the others in Mark’s life, it is a good read overall.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recieved this as a gift from the author RW Bennett . Already up to Chapter 15 on the book and only started reading it yesterday Jan 18th, 2013.
Thank you so much for the gift of your book as soon as I finish it I will tell all. This much I will say at the moment everyone must read this book, it is so good you can not put it down once you start reading it.
The book open up with Mercer who is a baseball player training Carlos who just the year before came up from the minors to take his place as he had injuries that put him out. Any rate they are out running when they witness a murder and Carlos throws a ball at the shooter and stops a kill. They see the guys .. Both Merc and Carlos report the murder and injury to the police -the FBI get involved. This is when the story really heats up!!! You wanna know what happens next?? Well I'm not gonna tell ya - you gonna have to read the book!!!
Just like in baseball.You have a suicide squeeze. This book is a GRAND SLAM!!!! YOU HAVE TO READ IT!!! I recommend this book and give it a 10 star rating!!!

[Gregandemy · Rating 2 out of 5]

was given a copy of this by the author. Review to come..

I am grateful to the author for giving me a copy of his new novel to read. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I did enjoy his other novel Love.com. I agree with another reviewer that this is much more of a baseball story then it is a mystery/suspense novel. I'm not a big baseball fan so maybe that is one reason why I didn't connect more to the book. I also did not like the main character and found him to be too perfect (pro athlete, wealthy, amazing marathon runner, good looking, piano savant, ladies man) but then on the other hand he was a mess (alcoholic, cheated on his wife, sleeps around, obsessed with his cars and boats, rarely sees his daughter). I did not care for him and just found the story and the characters unbelievable. Just not my kind of book unfortunately..

[Darla Stumpp · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book to have ready for a winter cold snap (or anytime you want to get lost in a mystery). I curled up on the couch and got lost in the world of baseball, cheering for the good guy and, a terrorist plot. Suicide Squeeze brings forward the inner-workings of professional baseball from a players perspective but you don't have to be a sports fan to connect with the life struggles of Mark Mercer - or the not so everyday struggles of terrorist on home turf. I look forward to becoming good friends with Mark Mercer in the next book in the series; maybe his team will make it to the World Series.

[Herb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received the e-book as a gift from the author.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading future books in the series. It was exciting and moved along at a fast pace, a real page-turner. If you like thrillers with a little sports thrown in, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

[Betty Ann Baer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main story was good of some people on a ball team witnessing a crime. And in the end they help catch the bad guys. But in the middle there is just a lot of fluff. I could read a few words and just turn the pages.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Won a copy & now waiting for it to arrive :)

[Conchie Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read; review to come!!