Strike Three, You're Dead

Lenny & the Mikes #1

by Josh Berk

An Edgar Award FinalistLenny Norbeck is a die-hard baseball lover. Unfortunately, he's no player himself (according to him, he's "the worst there ever was.") But he'd make a heck of an announcer. He gets a lot of practice sitting with his best friends, Mike and Other Mike, watching Phillies games from their lawn couch—a sweet outdoor TV arrangement Mike's dad hooked them up with. Being a real announcer is his dream, and he gets his chance to prove himself when he enters an "Armchair Announcer" contest and wins. The he gets to be the broadcaster, live, for one inning at a real Phillies game.The game goes very wrong, though. Before Lenny gets to do his inning, a young, promising pitcher fresh out of the minors literally drops dead on the mound. The official verdict is that he died of a heart attack, but Lenny has a hunch there's something more going on. So he and the Mikes set out to investigate. The suspects are many, and though the trio barks up the wrong tree a few times, they are always right on the heels of the real killer. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Sports, Baseball, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin will be released on February 9, 2010.

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Reviews

[Sps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I would read this book around other people, I embarrassed myself by laughing and/or snorting aloud. And then I would have to cop to laughing at farts. E.g. "I was actually behaving like a perfect gentleman. Maybe farting a little."(128)

So yes, there is a generous sprinkling of gas in the book, along with a bumper crop of jokes about sweating, peeing, and getting hit in the groin. And bikinis and mustaches and warlocks. But there are many other kinds of funny too, such as the wonderful musings on life, the name Buck ("What kind of a name is Buck, anyway? Is Buck short for something? What? Buck-athan? Buck-ua? Buck-ard?"p.4) and how to explain that rules are not in fact rules. ("That rules are actually not rules? That they're what, then? Elves?"p.81)

However even if your prospective reader does not go for funny books, Berk has also made this a sneaky mystery complete with clues, aliases, disguises, and a dead guy. I will admit that besides the dead guy it is a fairly tame mystery but that's actually part of what I liked about it. The three boy protagonists are good kids who are pretty uncomfortable disobeying their parents, staying up way past their bedtimes, or in new situations where they don't know how to act. (There's also a girl protagonist. She is less of a wuss.) While the plot twists and resolutions are as farfetched as Hoot or Okay for Now, I liked that the kids' awkwardness, enthusiasm, and basically loving relationships with their parents were grounded in the real and familiar.

In short, I have fallen in love with a mermaid, and that mermaid is the sentence "He probably could literally kick off a guy's butt if he wanted to." (p.9)

[Andrea Solorzano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great book overall!
I definitely recommend this book to absolutely all audiences! It's a great mixture of comedy, sports, and mystery. Best thing: there is a world-changing, mind-blowing, and "no way!" PLOT TWIST at like... the last 3 or 4 pages of the book. Awesome.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenny is a doofus that is easy to love. My favorite scene is when Maria, a girl Lenny has just met, grabs his bike from him when he offers to give her a ride. Maria makes Lenny sit on the handlebars while she pedals like the figurehead of a ship. He is wearing a helmet that matches the Mikes. That's right. He has two best friends named, Mike and Other Mike. A nice play on words for a kid who is terrific at announcing baseball games. In fact, he's so good that he won a contest to announce the 6th inning of a Phillie's game. When a 19-year-old upcoming pitcher drops dead on the mound, Lenny and the Mikes decide to solve the mystery of his death. Lenny's not much of an athletic. When Maria takes off racing the Mikes on their bikes with Lenny on the handlebar she causes Lenny's head to fling back like he's on a roller coaster. Maria keeps smacking the back of his helmet and she wins the race easily. I appreciate authors that upend stereotypes. These quirky characters are guaranteed to make you laugh with their witty descriptions, silly dialogue, and close friendship.

Time out. Can I tell you a story? Good. The reason I love this novel's bike scene is that it reminds me of the my first scooter ride with my husband when we moved to Taipei, Taiwan. His midlife crisis was to buy a sporty red scooter. I bought a metallic pink helmet. Very kicky. We'd never owned a scooter and the first ride into the mountains on a summer day was stressful. After starting the engine, he held the scooter while I tried to launch myself behind him. I got half a leg and thigh over before almost topping us to the ground. "Holy Cow!" he yelled barely keeping it upright. By the time I got on the back he took off only to have his Minnesota dairy cow-of-a-wife whack her cute pink helmet against his. I tried to wrap my arms around him, but like two bobble-heads we kept thunking helmets every time he changed speed. Thunk, thunk, thunk went our helmets just getting out of the parking lot. "Man, would you stop hitting me?" My husband said over his shoulder. "Put your visor up!" I'm thinking there is no way in bloody 'ell that I'm gonna put my visor up unless I have a mouth guard. We get into the street and I start to perspire. Not the slight perspiration you get from a brisk walk, but the run-down-the-leg-in-a-stream sweat. Taipei is littered with a bazillion scooters, buses to dodge, cars pulling in and out willy-nilly, and people everywhere. I had visions of us being road kill. "Ugh... you're sweating on me," he muttered. I only slid off the back of the bike once going up a switch back. The scooter has since been sold. But I digress. Honest, this book will have you snorting food out your nose. When Lenny tries to seal a spit-handshake with Maria he can't project enough saliva so he licks his hand. (That reminded me of Junie B. Jones licking her patent leather shoes clean so they'd shine.) The author cleverly uses baseball metaphors and similes throughout the book to strengthen the setting and characters that firmly anchors the baseball plot.

This isn't like a sports novel where the character is playing the game, it is about the character that loves the game. Lenny is an avid fan who loves trivial facts about the game, watching the game, and pretend announcing the game. It is through this skill that the boys are able to solve the mystery of the dead pitcher. Lenny would like to grow up and be a sports announcer. His father and mother are both cardiologists who would like him to go to med school. So often kids are at odds with their parents' vision of a career. The librarian calls Lenny and the Mikes, Cerberus, because they like answer in unison, wear matching bike helmets, and can act like three-headed monsters at times. When Maria joins the trio he changes their name to Brahma, the four-headed god. He mocks, "'Instead of the three of you guys acting as one, now you're a four-headed beast. What dangers hath I wrought?' he said. Then he smiled. Librarians are sort of weird."

The author fleshes out these characters with unique voices. When Lenny makes a video for an announcing contest he paints a mustache on his face with a marker then delivers some witty lines. The author balances wit with silly humor that readers will love, such as "pee" and "fart." This week I had 3rd graders changing the html code from "TAS Lower School Library" to "Poop is Awesome." The "poop" word just tickles their funny fecal bone. They would have liked Lenny's joke about and IP address as an I pee address. Although the Lenny trio doesn't enter the poop joke zone. The great descriptions of characters had me sitting through a faculty meeting thinking, Oh look, those two look like the number 10. "Mrs. Other Mike was always laughing. She was as plump and short as Mr. Other Mike was tall and skinny. Standing next to each other, they looked like the number ten." While describing a ball player's huge hands Lenny says they looked like "five magic wands." Then there is the goofy Other Mike that adores Warlock video games and doesn't really like baseball.

The entire novel has baseball metaphors that enrich the text in serious and humorous ways. When he is laying down in bed trying to sleep he can't because questions are zooming through his head like "fastballs crossing the plate. Zoom! Did R.J. Weathers really have a heart attack? Whoosh! Is that possible for someone so young and so healthy? Whiz! Could it be possible that he was killed? Zip! Was that crazy PhilzFan1 somehow involved?" The plot is stretched in some places but it is so dang funny, I didn't care. The villain could have been fleshed out more and the ending felt a bit rushed too, but there is a sequel, so I went online and ordered it for our library.

Maria is a strong character and even Courtney, who appears stereotypical at first, is an atypical babysitter. Different themes add depth to the plot such as inappropriate use of the Internet and untended consequences. Maria is not careful with her wording on a fan site and it is misconstrued getting her in trouble. Another theme involves the difficulties that Cuban players face trying to get into United State's major league baseball. Also, when Mike is told to go out for catcher on the school team, Lenny has to deal with his feelings about why this makes him unhappy. He's rude to Mike until he acts like a true friend that wants what is best for Mike. Josh Berk has great command of his fastball in this "razzle-dazzle" novel. Add it to your book shelves.

[Fern Kuntz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a 12-years-old kid named Leonard Norbeck. He goes by Lenny. He has two best friends. Mike, and Other Mike. They call Other Mike that, because he's not really into the same stuff as them. Other Mike likes warlocks, while Mike and Lenny like baseball. Whenever Other Mike tries to give himself a nickname, it never stays. They are all really good friends.

At the start of the book, Lenny auditions to be the announcer for one baseball game. His friends help him. They do lots of research. Eventually, they find the perfect game to announce for the audition.
They use a baseball match, that went down as the worst match in history. Lenny wins for doing that. He also wins because of his voice. His friends call him "the boy with the golden voice."

When Lenny arrives at the ballpark, he gets to meet the other announcers. He also meets some of the players. They tell him they got an idea to bring back the worst player in history to give him one more chance in baseball.

Everyone is excited for the game, because there is a new player named RJ Weathers. When the game is in progress, everyone figures out that RJ is actually a terrible player. Right before he becomes the most terrible player, he dies. The game is canceled, and Lenny never gets to announce.

Lenny doesn’t think he died randomly. He thinks RJ was murdered. So do his friends. They try and succeed at solving the mystery, while also getting answers to other puzzles in this book.

This story is filled with thrill. I recommend it to people who like interesting baseball stories.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Lenny Norbeck is interested in plenty of things like watching Phillies’ games on TV, announcing Phillies games, and talking about the Phillies with his two best friends Mike and Other Mike. His big dream of announcing an inning in a Phillies game is brought to an end by the death of a much anticipated debut pitcher. When the doctors claim it was a heart attack, Lenny suspects foul play and decides to take matters into his own hands to solve this murder. One prime suspect is the mysterious and mustached Ramon Famosa so Lenny, the Mikes, and Phillies fan Maria, the niece of the librarian, set out on their bikes to unravel this mystery.

Berk builds the suspense by starting the book with the boys being chased by the murderer and the narration then becomes a flashback recounting how the boys get themselves in that situation. While this isn’t an extremely suspenseful or difficult to solve mystery, Berk does throw in enough curve-balls to keep the reader guessing. The characterizations of Lenny and his friends are realistic and endearing and it was refreshing to see that all of the girls in the book are tough and the boys are kind of wimpy. They’re basically dorks who are afraid of breaking rules, aren’t afraid to cry in front of girls, and who definitely like to geek out a lot. In fact, the earnestness of the friendships portrayed in this book is one of its strengths. Strike Three, You’re Dead is also hilarious and would appeal to readers who appreciate clumsy tween boy insults and a well-inserted fart joke.

I learned that “dork,” while not the most elegant and witty of insults, can be very apropos during a trade of verbal barbs.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is perfect for sports fans and mystery lovers alike. This book is flooded with baseball references and puns, the main character takes everyday situations good and bad and relates it with baseball. For example, when the main character is running, he says "running for my life, just like a player sliding to 2nd base before he gets tagged" This book pulls you in from the start. Since the main part of the book is about a baseball player dying on the mound, mystery lovers will be nose deep in the book. While there are some parts that can lose the reader, the majority of the book has content that keeps the reader interested. Also for the readers that like surprises, there is a pretty unexpected plot twist. In the last 4 or 5 pages to be exact. Overall this is a good book that a lot of people will love to read.

[jpnmusings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an interesting combination of good oldfaction mystery and so much HUMOR!!!! Seriously, this book will make you laugh really hard. Don't let the title discourage you, there is pretty much no description of death. So full of heart. I am super exited to read the sequel!!! Recommended for ages 9+

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2. 5 stars

Quick, easy read.
This is meant for the YA readers. It is a little simplistic for the adult audience but they could still read it.

I liked the characters.

Good sweet story which will appeal to any kids who love baseball & any adults who want to reminisce about their childhood love of the game.

i will read the other book in the series b/c i want to read further adventures of these characters.

[Patti Sabik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great opening but slowed for a bit. Once it picked up about halfway through, I was committed and wanted to finish. I’ll definitely be recommending it to my sports interested ms students along with those who want a good laugh. All in all it was a satisfying mystery with enjoyable baseball trivia.

[Rowen Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Paloma Freundt]

Lenny Norbeck and his 2 best friends the Mikes are all baseball fans and they know everything about the sport (Lenny knows the most). Lenny isn't a good baseball player but he makes a great game announcer. When he finds out that there is contest that if you win you can get to be the armchair announcer at a Phillies game Lenny signs up right away. With the help of the Mikes, Lenny practices by watching games and announcing them as they go. They make an announcement based on a game from the past which includes a baseball player who only played once in his life and did terrible. Lenny wins the contest and the chance to be the armchair announcer at the next Phillies game, he's so excited he can barely hold it in. At the game, Lenny meets with some of the players and the main announcers of he game who he has been listening to his whole life and the people who inspired him to become a great announcer at such a young age. The game starts but not long after the players begin to play..Boom! One of the player dies. The game gets cancelled right away and the very devastated Lenny goes home. He and his friends become determined to figure out what went wrong because although doctors said it was a heart attack, the boys suspect something more dark and murderous is going on. As they set out on their dangerous journey to find the killer. will they be able to solve the player's murder?

I think that this was very interesting book and I liked it. I liked it because it was mysterious and there was always something new coming up so it didn't get boring. Also I think the ending is really interesting because I didn't see it coming. Also I could relate a lot to it because the characters were around my same age so I could identify with them which made the book more interesting to me. I also just thought that the idea of their being a murder at one of the Phillies game and the 3 best friends setting out on this mysterious journey to find out who the killer was was a good idea for a book because it made the book something you wanna keep on reading because you just want to really find out who the murderer was. I think that anyone our age would like the book because it has at least something we can all relate to such as being really passionate about something like Lenny was about baseball. Also if they love baseball this would be a good book for them to enjoy. Overall I think it was a good book.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I finally got around to reading the INTENDED book entitled, Strike Three, You're Dead. This one was much better than the one I read by mistake a few months ago.

This is a short book for kids, kind of on the order of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Berk tells the story of Lenny, a 12-year-old boy who wins a contest to get to announce an inning of a Phillies baseball game. Unfortunately, on the day his big break arrives, before he gets to announce anything, the pitcher dies on the mound. Lenny and his two friends, Mike and Other Mike, decide that it was murder and that they will solve the mystery.

The story was written very well - I couldn't help but smile at the thoughts and conversations of the kids. What a fun read for baseball fans and kids who just want a good, funny story. Good job!

[Koen Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenny is a HUGE Phillies fan, his dream is being an announcer for the Phillies. He knows he's not gonna be a ball player. His friends Mike and "other" Mike convince him to enter a competition to be an announcer for the Phillies, for one game. He was having the time of his life announcing, but then his favorite pitcher drops dead on the mound. Throughout the story, Lenny and his friends investigate the so called coincidence. This is a fast pace, murder mystery. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of sports and likes mysteries. I give this book four and a half stars!!!

[Karen Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud. Berk's narrator describes his family and the action so well. The dialogue between the characters is believable and apt. I really liked this book.

There are enough clues to the mystery to keep the suspense up to the very end - especially since the book starts with the main characters deep in serious danger.

As an adult reader I figured out who the culprit was - and why - pretty early. The how was the real mystery in this book.

[Trevor Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book it was a real mystery all the way to the end. Many people are confronted but are turned out to be friendly. The characters are very funny and sometimes make me laugh. The pitcher died and then every went crazy to find what happened. This one of my favorite and recommend it to baseball players but if you aren't it's still ok.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be a great book for reluctant readers. Sports mystery, humor, suspense, high interest, low vocabulary.

[Rick G]

This book is called “Strike Three You’re Dead” . It is written by Josh Berk. This book has a lexile level of 590. It all starts where Lenny and the two Mikes were trying to make an announcer video to try to win an inning to announce for the Phillies game, after deciding to announce the famous Blaze O'connell's singular inning giving up seven runs. Lenny ends up winning the inning but when they get to the game, the Phillies star pitcher, RJ Weathers dies randomly, now Lenny is trying to figure out who or why RJ died. One suspect that Lenny has is this PhilliesFan512 they saw commenting on the internet, so they track her down and find out that she is actually in his town, then Lenny and Maria found out that the killer was actually Blaze O’connell, and he only wanted to kill RJ because he didn’t want to live with the feeling that he was the worst pitcher of all of baseball.

I think one of the themes of this book is that the internet can hide anything, like this PhilliesFan512 that was saying things like “Weathers is definitely going to be a bust” and “Tonight's forecast: Bad Weathers” and it ended up being Maria, one of the one of the biggest Phillies fan Lenny will ever meet. Another theme of this book is don’t underestimate yourself, Lenny, The Mikes, and Maria could have given up many times throughout the book, but they kept on pushing and figured out who it could be, failed, but kept on going until they finally figured out that the killer was Blaze O’connell, and figured out that he killed RJ because he didn't want to live with being the worst pitcher in the MLB.

I would recommend this book to anyone, it is a murder mystery but adds in some baseball too. So I would especially recommend it to people that like the game of baseball. I liked this book because it adds to the process of doing everything. Like it pretty much tells you everything important. My favorite part of the book is when they went to Blaze O'connell's house for the first time, because it was a funny but suspenseful scene. I also like how that author includes everything, and the backstory, because then you know who they really are and what they went through to get to the point where they are at. Another reason why I would recommend this book is because the ending was super good. This is why I would recommend this book to people who like murder mysteries and to people who like the game of baseball.

[Leith Fattouh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strike Three You’re Dead by Josh Berk is a mystery book

Strike Three You’re dead, takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The three main characters in the book are Lenny, Mike, and other Mike.
Lenny the main protagonist is a huge Phils fan he loves baseball but isn't very good at it. Mike is selfish and is also a huge baseball fan, but he knows how big of a fan Lenny is. He is always looking out for Lenny. Other Mike is good at computers. He can track people down on the internet. Other Mike is a huge geek about warlocks. These three characters are dynamic because (spoiler alert) they thought someone killed Weathers on purpose but then they figured out that he was murdered intentionally.

The conflict of the story is that they are not able to find out who the killer of Weathers. Lenny wasn't able to commentate an inning. They find many suspects but can't find the killer. The type of conflict that is in this story is person vs person because they are chasing after the murderer who of which is a person.

The author believes that when something bad happens, you are not the only one affected by it.
Text evidence is when Weathers died Lenny was only thinking about the opportunity that was lost to commentate an inning, his father then told him that his family must be sad too and your not the only one affected. Another piece of evidence is the person on the radio that got really mad at people that were making fun of Weathers' death.

Q&A

Q: Did you enjoy the book?

A: It was an okay book, I was hoping for more action in the book other than that it was a good book.

Q: What was your favorite part of the book?

A: My favorite part was when the three boys found out who PhilzFan1 was since they suspected that person was the killer a lot.

Q: Did the book feel complete?

A: Yes it did, because in the end you find out what happened and you won’t have any more questions after finishing the book.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lenny Norbeck is a baseball fan in the original sense, shorthand for fanatic. While he is terrible at the game, he listens to and watches baseball every chance he gets. He is also an avid reader of books based on baseball themes. His two best friends are both named Mike, so to differentiate them, one is referred to as Mike and the other is called Other Mike. While Mike is reasonably good at baseball and is interested in the sport, Other Mike’s passion is the world of magic and warlocks.
Lenny is a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, and he enters a contest called the Armchair Announcer. The winner will be given the opportunity to call an inning of a Phillies game. With the help of Mike and Other Mike, they make a demo tape that is so good that Lenny wins the contest.
However, on the day that Lenny is in the stadium and is scheduled to announce, the rookie starting pitcher that has given up eight runs at the start of the game suddenly falls over dead. There is no immediate explanation and Lenny and his friends decide that they must investigate. For indications are that it was likely a murder. They track down some suspicious online critics of the Phillies but find allies rather than serious suspects. The investigation goes in several directions, always within the bounds of what teenagers not yet of driving age can accomplish.
The story moves very quickly and introduces two strong female characters that do a great deal to buttress the actions of the three boys. There is a resolution where the perpetrator of the murder is unearthed, and the motive was a very obscure negative baseball record. This is a good book of adolescent fiction based on but not reliant on baseball.

[Kadyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ITS LIT!Good advenchers
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[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really like the book it is very cool and amazing because i played baseball and plus i love playing baseball,football,basketball playing it with my friends and playing against other schools i would rate the book out of a 4 out of 5.The book is about a kid that is in love with baseball and likes to go to all of the games.He is a Phillies fan but he doesn’t like to play baseball.he would like to announce the players when they would come out with him saying the names.He also has friends that also like baseball and watching it also going to the games and having fun.He was a little leagues baseball pitcher then.






I don’t like the part when he does like baseball even though he likes watching baseball. I mean you should just try it and if you don’t like just don’t do it again and play something else.”I’m not a baseball player.”I don't like the ending because it was very different for the end of the book even though the kid played baseball but he doesn’t want to play it today or any year in the book or at all.To me the main character does the the games and doesn’t play baseball that makes me very mad because who doesn’t like baseball.Or if you are going to the game know the players names right away.It just didn’t like the way thing ending was he was doing in the ending.






I would recommend this book but if you don’t like baseball i would not read it but if you do like baseball or any other sport you are gooding to love to read this book and going to baseball games or any other games that you like playing in your free time at home or at school.


4 outta 5

[Shaun J]

This book follows a boy named Lenny, Lenny is 12 years old and one day wants to become a philles announcer so when him and his two friends mike and other mike see a add about a announcer competition they tell Lenny to try for it and Lenny ends up Winning! He gets to announce a Inning of the Phillies game but during his inning a 19 year old upcoming pitcher drops dead on the mound. Lenny and the Mikes set out to find the true reason the boy died.
As the boys start to hunt for the killer they slowly start to find details about the killing and how it happend but soon they find themselves in a sticky situation with the killer now being after them because they are getting to close to the truth and they soon find themselves scared of the killer will they make it out without being killer? you will have to read to find out.

The Theme of the book is mystery the story starts off just following how the boys are trying to win a contest but quickly switches to a murder mystery when the pitcher dies on the mound. The setting is based in Philadelphia and the stadium but it switches a lot mostly following the boys. When the boys see the pitcher drop dead they instantly know that something has gone wrong and knows that is has to be a murder.

I really liked this book it mixed a sports type of book and a mystery it really hooks readers when the boys start to get into there contests and then they switch it up with the mystery aspect when the boy dies on the mound causing a mystery of who did it and then the boys hunted the man down and that causes a lot of suspense but overall this was a good book with lots of suspense

[Jorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read any books in a really long time and i didnt know what to read. I was looking around my house and found Strike Three, Your Dead. I didn't know what to expect from this book. I thought i wouldnt be a good book but it actually ended up being really good. This book is mainly about baseball and murder, and i don't really like baseball but i actually liked this book and i thought it was really good and it caught my attention and it was one of the best books ive read in a while. I enjoyed the whole book and i didnt find a part in the book when I was bored. I really like when books have that. If i had to say id say my favorite part in this book would be when they found out who the murder was and it was crazy when they found the proof, the person was throwing bottles and there was a bomb that exploded and i thought these kids were gonna die. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves baseball and likes mystery murder books. Overall I think this book was an amazing book because I like the way that it caught my attention even though I really don't like baseball and I just think it was a good book.

[R. Fulleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading “Strike Three You’re Dead” by Josh Berk. As one who has worked in libraries, I’d say it’s a great book to recommend to those (mostly boys) who don’t particularly like to read, but need to get a book. This sports book/murder mystery is just the ticket. Of course, if you're a die-hard Phillies fan like Lenny, this book will be even better.

Its main character is a boy named Lenny, who with his friends, Mike and the other Mike, solve the death of a young, up and coming baseball player. The player died quite suddenly on the mound. Lenny, who had won the chance to be a guest announcer for an inning at a Phillies game was there. He spoke to the player earlier in the evening. Before he could get a chance to announce anything, the player dropped dead.

Lenny suspects foul play and brings his two best friends, Mike and the other Mike, to help solve the mystery. The mystery of how the planer died isn’t the only mystery that’s revealed.

Join Lenny and his friends in this entertaining story as told by Lenny.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an odd combination in some ways--a humorous children's/young adult novel that has a murdered older teenager in it. Lenny and his two friends, Mike and Other Mike, are big Phillies fans (well, Other Mike is really more interested in his computer and a series of books about warlocks, but he plays along). Lenny enters, and wins, a contest to be a big league announcer for an inning, by resurrecting an old-timer who has the all time worst ERA in baseball. The day of Lenny's award, he's in the press box when a young pitcher dies mysteriously on the mound. Lenny's parents are cardiologists, and his father gets him information on the death. The fearless trio, plus a girl they've met in the library who's also a huge Phillies fan, investigate a number of people, including their favorite player, before landing on the real culprit.

[Corene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous middle grade novel about a trio of friends who hope to prove that the sudden death of a young pitcher during a Phillies game was murder.

The dialogue and general silliness of the 12 year old boys was a lot of fun. The book was a bit sexist, (references to crying like a girl, and the ultimate humiliation of being beaten by a girl seem dated,) but does introduce a strong and outspoken girl to this goofy gang. There is an authenticity to the amusing main character’s voice, and a sense of freedom as the group rides their bicycles around town and hangs out on summer days. A recommended read for the targeted age group.

[Dan Shonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a baseball fan, and that's what drew me to the book. I liked the premise, but I didn't ever really connect with the characters. The book moves along well, but there's too many things that are such a stretch as to be unbelievable. I understand it's a work of fiction, but I also think the incredible aspects may have something to do the lack of connection to the characters. There are some well-written lines, and some well-constructed moments. However, I can't say it's a favorite of mine.

[Mrs. Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lenny Norbeck is a die-hard baseball lover. Unfortunately, he's no player himself (according to him, he's "the worst there ever was.") But he'd make a heck of an announcer. He gets a lot of practice sitting with his best friends, Mike and Other Mike, watching Phillies games from their lawn couch—a sweet outdoor TV arrangement Mike's dad hooked them up with. Being a real announcer is his dream, and he gets his chance to prove himself when he enters an "Armchair Announcer" contest and wins. The prize: he gets to be the broadcaster, live, for one inning at a real Phillies game.

The game goes very wrong, though. Before Lenny gets to do his inning, a young, promising pitcher fresh out of the minors literally drops dead on the mound. The official verdict is that he died of a heart attack, but Lenny has a hunch there's something more going on. So he and the Mikes set out to investigate. The suspects are many, and though the trio barks up the wrong tree a few times, they are always right on the heels of the real killer.

[Missy Camilleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny story by a local author (Bethlehem, PA) featuring the Phillies and other local things. It is set in Schwenkfelder, PA, which from what I can tell is not a real town, but there are Schwenkfelder things locally (church, library, etc.). I think my elementary baseball/mystery/humor readers would enjoy this.

[Charlie Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very good and funny book, but it's pretty clear who the murderer is and you're just waiting for the kids to find out. Still a great book I would definitely recommend.