Double Play

A Cat McDaniel Mystery #3

by Jen Estes

Team reporter Cat finally has her perfect lineup in Double Play. She’s reporting for the playoff-bound Buffalo Soldiers, she’s living large in a two-bedroom loft overlooking the Niagara River, and she’s sporting a diamond on her ring finger—nowhere as big as a baseball diamond, but big enough for her. Just when Cat seems to be on top of her game, life throws her an off-speed pitch. A screwball clad in a leather jacket and biker boots—also known as her half-brother and full-leech, Quinn—shows up on her doorstep, or more accurately, her balcony. Her fiancé, Benji, although shocked to find out he has a future brother-in-law, welcomes the flighty Quinn, little knowing what havoc the man’s boozing and betting ways will wreak on their lives. Soon after Quinn moves in, Cat’s team’s innings become his fat winnings. As the long shots turn into locks and hundreds turn into thousands, Cat’s curiosity steps up to the plate. Between the betting lines, she finds greedy gamesters, desperate ballplayers and an enterprising bookie looking to raise the stakes. Sometimes baseball isn’t just a game, it’s a matter of life or death. Double Play follows Curveball as Book 3 of the Cat McDaniel Mysteries, also known as the Foul Ball series.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Born and raised in the Midwest, Jen had to choose between staring at corn or reading books. Corn husks just didn't have the appeal of the Baby-Sitters Club, and so a bookworm was born. Reading later turned into writing and in 2011, Jen published her first novel with Camel Press. After releasing four books in the mystery genre, Jen finally gave in to the literary demands of her inner teenager with her YA debut, FIFTEEN (The Dreamwalker Diaries).

Jen is an active member of the National Writers Union. As an author, she has been featured in Penthouse Magazine, the State Journal-Register, Mystery Scene Magazine, and more. When she isn't writing, Jen enjoys sci-fi in all its mediums, attempting yoga, using her passport, watching baseball, and reading a good book. She lives in Illinois with her husband Nathan under the tyranny of their three cats: Wrigley, Ivy and Captain Moo. To balance the feline:human ratio, they are expecting their first child this spring. You can find Jen on the web at www.jenestes.com, on Tumblr as AuthorJenEstes, and tweeting under @jenestesdotcom.

Reviews

[Snarky Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an HONEST review. However, please note that since I realized it was third of a series, I did purchase the first two books to read so that I was familiar with the characters.

First of all, don't be afraid to pick this book up -- you don't necessarily need to have read the prior two books in the "Foul Ball" series in order to understand &/or enjoy the book. It can easily be a standalone read. Secondly, don't be put off thinking you need to like/understand baseball in order to read this book. Baseball is more a "setting" for the book - and just as easily gambling could be used as the setting.

Catriona McDaniel is back and working for the Soldiers, once again a team reporter and living with her fiance, Benji. You're introduced to her half-brother, Quinn, who is a shady McDaniel that creates a huge problem for Cat. This book exhibits similiar themes to the prior two -- greed is bad and the rich are overpriveleged. There are rants against ball player salaries; overconsumption by "celebrities" and Benji gets in a few more ecological points. But the basic of the book is a "cozy mystery" of what actually happened on Cat's balcony and how that ripples out into the rest of her life and the baseball playoffs. It's an enjoyable read, with a few cute little twists. I would have enjoyed the story much more if I hadn't thought too much about it (guess that's a downside to knowing you're going to review it -- instead of reading for enjoyment, you're reading it knowing you need to review it). I think the whole relationship with Benji REALLY bothers me. Between her "dalliance" in "Curveball" with Junior and her nightmares about getting married (& more than obvious reluctance to do so) I just couldn't believe the relationship. And what woman really thinks about if her ring is actually real 14K gold (& how in the world does a college professor afford a 2 carat diamond???)? The ending bothered me; she obviously did NOT want to go with him for a year and to end it with her looking longingly at Soldier Field... well, not sure if that is meant to let the reader guess that the engagement is doomed to fail, or if it was more of a "I promise I'll be back" situation.

I did really like the family themes; family sticks together, etc... It was also great that Quinn returned in the end to save her. I thought that I had read this was a three book series, but I think it'd really be interesting to "hear" from Michael McDaniel (the father) if there is a future book...

Overall, about a 3.8 star book (I rounded up) but it's a nice, easy read with some fun characters. Enjoy!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fun book with good dialogue and lively characters. There were some elements that really didn't work for me, such as why anybody would really care if an informal card game was held at someone's home, but overall it was OK and a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book from Jen Estes. Certain parts of the story line were predictable, but the ending was not.