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Nick Gallow Mystery #1
Hangman's Game
After losing his starting position as a college quarterback to a shoulder injury, Nick Gallow has remade himself as a punter. Now in his fifth year in the pros with the Philadelphia Sentinels, Nick spends most of his time on the sidelines. He no longer makes winning plays, and when the team visits a hospital, the sick kids would rather talk to the players they've actually heard of. But Nick is unexpectedly thrust back into the spotlight when he witnesses the murder of the new all-star draft pick on the eve of the team's summer minicamp.
Nick has no plans to get involved. Despite the murder, his focus is squarely on an uppity rookie player eyeing his roster spot. But after a second attack hits closer to home and the police go after the wrong man, Nick finds himself driven by the chance to be a hero again.
In Hangman's Game, Syken offers a seasoned sportswriter's take on the contemporary culture of football and the will to play on despite the game's toll on the body and mind.
Nick has no plans to get involved. Despite the murder, his focus is squarely on an uppity rookie player eyeing his roster spot. But after a second attack hits closer to home and the police go after the wrong man, Nick finds himself driven by the chance to be a hero again.
In Hangman's Game, Syken offers a seasoned sportswriter's take on the contemporary culture of football and the will to play on despite the game's toll on the body and mind.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 19, 2024
What an interesting surprise this book is. I feel like it had just the right balance of activities for an amateur sucked into trying to solve a crime by circumstance. I think the main character was great, although most of the other characters were a bit thin. I also think the denouement was rushed. The rest of the pacing was believable, and I could really get into the story of a guy trying to hold on to his job while dealing with a bizarre trauma. I think 4 stars is a touch generous, but I will round up for this apparently being Syken’s one and only novel; not bad for a first try at all, and I have to wonder why there isn’t anything else in fiction from him.
September 30, 2015
(Note: I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.)
A mystery novel featuring NFL punter Nick Gallow as first-person narrator, who takes it upon himself to investigate the murder of a teammate. This is the first novel from an author who is a veteran sports writer and editor; his background shows in what the novel does well, and what it does badly.
Sykes does an excellent job depicting the environment of professional football; the mindset of its players, the rivalries. Early on, before the murder, the narrator (actually, this seems like the sportswriter peeking out from behind his character) comments: "I wish I could tell you that I have never seen anything like this, a simple disagreement that quickly escalates into high-grade hostility, but football is populated by thin-skinned competitors who see every conflict as an urgent test of their manhood". Some hot-button issues of modern football also come into play in the narrative, most notably the information that's been coming out in recent years about how much long-term brain damage football players suffer from their sport.
On the downside: although Gallow himself is a fairly nuanced character, many of the supporting characters come across more like exaggerated caricatures than real people (the Egotistical Star, the Lazy Pampered VP Who's Only a VP Because He's the Owner's Son, the Gruff Martinet Coach, and so forth). As for the plot: it's competently put together, with plenty of red herrings to lead astray readers who want to try to guess whodunit; but
Overall, it's an enjoyable read. If you're a fan of American football, you'll like it; if you're a fan of mysteries, it won't stand out.
A mystery novel featuring NFL punter Nick Gallow as first-person narrator, who takes it upon himself to investigate the murder of a teammate. This is the first novel from an author who is a veteran sports writer and editor; his background shows in what the novel does well, and what it does badly.
Sykes does an excellent job depicting the environment of professional football; the mindset of its players, the rivalries. Early on, before the murder, the narrator (actually, this seems like the sportswriter peeking out from behind his character) comments: "I wish I could tell you that I have never seen anything like this, a simple disagreement that quickly escalates into high-grade hostility, but football is populated by thin-skinned competitors who see every conflict as an urgent test of their manhood". Some hot-button issues of modern football also come into play in the narrative, most notably the information that's been coming out in recent years about how much long-term brain damage football players suffer from their sport.
On the downside: although Gallow himself is a fairly nuanced character, many of the supporting characters come across more like exaggerated caricatures than real people (the Egotistical Star, the Lazy Pampered VP Who's Only a VP Because He's the Owner's Son, the Gruff Martinet Coach, and so forth). As for the plot: it's competently put together, with plenty of red herrings to lead astray readers who want to try to guess whodunit; but
Overall, it's an enjoyable read. If you're a fan of American football, you'll like it; if you're a fan of mysteries, it won't stand out.
September 7, 2015
I won this book as part of a good reads giveaway. I enjoyed reading it. It is my first time reading a book by this author. I hope to read more books by this author,for sure.
July 26, 2015
You don't have to be a huge fan of football or sports to enjoy this book. However, it is an added bonus if you do. This is a really good, planned out mystery. Nick Gallow is a punter for the Philadelphia NFL team. He is in jeopardy of losing his spot on the team to a rookie. In the midst of all of this the team's star draft pick is shot and killed. Nick is there to witness it and his agent is shot in the process. Not only does this shooting happen, but one of the Nick's notorious teammates is the suspect. This book takes you through the process as Nick tries to find out who did this and their motivation. Nick uncovers secrets of gambling and maybe an inappropriate relationship or two. Nick is thrown into the middle of it all and suddenly everyone knows who the punter of the team is. This book gives you a look at some typical football characters and some of them are something else! I liked that a few things weren't connected and Nick figures out if he still wants to be a football player. I hope there are more books in this series, because this is a good one!
March 5, 2016
HANGMAN’S GAME is the best sports mystery I’ve read in a long time—maybe ever. Like Dick Francis (when at his best) did with horse racing, Billy Syken interweaves his in-depth knowledge of football into the story in such a way that his characters seem completely real and utterly believable. I especially enjoyed learning the inside story about what it must feel like to be a punter—probably the most under-appreciated position in football.
But you certainly don’t have to be a football fan to love this mystery. It’s an engaging, fast-paced read which anyone who cares about humanity, and justice, and the need to “do the right thing” is sure to enjoy. Syken has created a terrific character in Nick Gallow, one I will definitely want to follow in future books.
But you certainly don’t have to be a football fan to love this mystery. It’s an engaging, fast-paced read which anyone who cares about humanity, and justice, and the need to “do the right thing” is sure to enjoy. Syken has created a terrific character in Nick Gallow, one I will definitely want to follow in future books.
August 17, 2015
Very solid debut novel, though a bit cliche at times.
October 29, 2020
Like punters themselves, HANGMAN'S GAME is forgettable, replaceable but not without its merits as a mystery and as a window into the weird and veiled world of how professional athletes live with their fame and themselves in the spotlight — and in the shadows cast by it.
HANGMAN'S GAME is the story of Philadelphia Sentinels punter Nick Gallow. On the eve of the team's minicamp, Nick is worrying about lower-priced competition that could cost him his job when he goes out to dinner with his agent and the team's top draft pick. Hours later, the draft pick is dead and the agent wounded in a drive-by shooting. The cops seem dialed in on the draft pick's high-priced but aging competition, brash and obnoxious defensive end Jai "JC" Carson, so Nick, driven by loyalty to his agent and a need to figure out if maybe HE was the intended target, pokes about on his own.
The good stuff: HANGMAN'S GAME is fast-paced, and there are some interesting insights into the insecure but high-flying world of pro athletes who could lose their jobs at any time for any reason — or no reason. That reportage is the best stuff in the novel by Bill Syken, a former Sports Illustrated reporter who covered football. It's interesting to see how even the most marginal players in the NFL make ten times as much in a year than you and me — and may make nothing the next year if their performance slips even an infinitesimal bit.
The not-so-good stuff: A lack of page-turning intensity — I read HANGMAN'S GAME dutifully as opposed to ardently. An overpopulated, overplotted story. As I read, I had the sense that the author was determined to stick to his original outline no matter what the characters wanted to do, because often they seemed to subordinate themselves to the requisite twists and reversals in ways that didn't seem true to the way they had been established. The reveal of the killer was unsatisfying — the strength of a story is often dependent on the strength of the evil that opposes the good, and we simply didn't get a solid window into the killer's sense of justification.
On top of that, I felt that the character of Nick Gallow was distractingly unrealistic. A punter who can keep up with the defensive studs in Junction Boys-intensity workouts? A six-four sculpted stud with a Todd Marinovich upbringing? A panty-dropping rake who can juggle two women at once and maintain a conscience? Best friend to the frat-rat team president and therefore quarterback-like proximity to the seat of highest power? Despite the occasional Rodney Dangerfield moments, the author's attempts to paint Gallow as an outsider didn't add up for me.
It seems to me that the point of making a series hero out of an NFL punter — the most vanilla and overlooked position in football — is to paint a powerful portrait of a profoundly aliented outsider who happens to be an insider and therefore chock-full of compelling contradictions. Of a guy who looks like an insurance adjuster but gets to call himself a professional athlete at the pinnacle of professional accomplishment. A guy who makes less money than everybody else on his team. A guy who gets the female leftovers. A guy who's left out of the game's star culture. A guy who's alone and angry and impotent and has everything to prove as much to himself as the world.
HANGMAN'S GAME nominally touches on this but quickly sets them aside to set up the untenable conceit of a punter as Jack Reacher. That may be a higher-concept pitch in book-publishing circles, but it's a less interesting one.
HANGMAN'S GAME is the story of Philadelphia Sentinels punter Nick Gallow. On the eve of the team's minicamp, Nick is worrying about lower-priced competition that could cost him his job when he goes out to dinner with his agent and the team's top draft pick. Hours later, the draft pick is dead and the agent wounded in a drive-by shooting. The cops seem dialed in on the draft pick's high-priced but aging competition, brash and obnoxious defensive end Jai "JC" Carson, so Nick, driven by loyalty to his agent and a need to figure out if maybe HE was the intended target, pokes about on his own.
The good stuff: HANGMAN'S GAME is fast-paced, and there are some interesting insights into the insecure but high-flying world of pro athletes who could lose their jobs at any time for any reason — or no reason. That reportage is the best stuff in the novel by Bill Syken, a former Sports Illustrated reporter who covered football. It's interesting to see how even the most marginal players in the NFL make ten times as much in a year than you and me — and may make nothing the next year if their performance slips even an infinitesimal bit.
The not-so-good stuff: A lack of page-turning intensity — I read HANGMAN'S GAME dutifully as opposed to ardently. An overpopulated, overplotted story. As I read, I had the sense that the author was determined to stick to his original outline no matter what the characters wanted to do, because often they seemed to subordinate themselves to the requisite twists and reversals in ways that didn't seem true to the way they had been established. The reveal of the killer was unsatisfying — the strength of a story is often dependent on the strength of the evil that opposes the good, and we simply didn't get a solid window into the killer's sense of justification.
On top of that, I felt that the character of Nick Gallow was distractingly unrealistic. A punter who can keep up with the defensive studs in Junction Boys-intensity workouts? A six-four sculpted stud with a Todd Marinovich upbringing? A panty-dropping rake who can juggle two women at once and maintain a conscience? Best friend to the frat-rat team president and therefore quarterback-like proximity to the seat of highest power? Despite the occasional Rodney Dangerfield moments, the author's attempts to paint Gallow as an outsider didn't add up for me.
It seems to me that the point of making a series hero out of an NFL punter — the most vanilla and overlooked position in football — is to paint a powerful portrait of a profoundly aliented outsider who happens to be an insider and therefore chock-full of compelling contradictions. Of a guy who looks like an insurance adjuster but gets to call himself a professional athlete at the pinnacle of professional accomplishment. A guy who makes less money than everybody else on his team. A guy who gets the female leftovers. A guy who's left out of the game's star culture. A guy who's alone and angry and impotent and has everything to prove as much to himself as the world.
HANGMAN'S GAME nominally touches on this but quickly sets them aside to set up the untenable conceit of a punter as Jack Reacher. That may be a higher-concept pitch in book-publishing circles, but it's a less interesting one.
July 8, 2017
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
After losing his starting position as a college quarterback to a shoulder injury, Nick Gallow has remade himself as a punter. Now in his fifth year in the pros with the Philadelphia Sentinels, Nick spends most of his time on the sidelines. He no longer makes winning plays, and when the team visits a hospital, the sick kids would rather talk to the players they've actually heard of. But Nick is unexpectedly thrust back into the spotlight when he witnesses the murder of the new all-star draft pick on the eve of the team's summer minicamp.
Nick has no plans to get involved. Despite the murder, his focus is squarely on an uppity rookie player eyeing his roster spot. But after a second attack hits closer to home and the police go after the wrong man, Nick finds himself driven by the chance to be a hero again.
I hate to say it but I was disappointed with this book. And I appear to be in the minority on that score...
Why didn't I like it? Well, there are a few thing...
The character of Nick was more than two-dimensional, which was great - but the others were as clichéd as anything. The star of the team being an egotistical jerk; the owner's son have a prime job on the team...and so on...
Secondly, there were times when I wondered if we would get back to the mystery as the football side of things was pretty heavy. Even knowing that it centred on a football team, it still felt like too much of the game and less mystery for me.
Third, what's with that ending? Did we even meet the bad guy through the story? I know he was mentioned but did the reader ever get introduced? Seemed like a cop out, to me...
Paul
After losing his starting position as a college quarterback to a shoulder injury, Nick Gallow has remade himself as a punter. Now in his fifth year in the pros with the Philadelphia Sentinels, Nick spends most of his time on the sidelines. He no longer makes winning plays, and when the team visits a hospital, the sick kids would rather talk to the players they've actually heard of. But Nick is unexpectedly thrust back into the spotlight when he witnesses the murder of the new all-star draft pick on the eve of the team's summer minicamp.
Nick has no plans to get involved. Despite the murder, his focus is squarely on an uppity rookie player eyeing his roster spot. But after a second attack hits closer to home and the police go after the wrong man, Nick finds himself driven by the chance to be a hero again.
I hate to say it but I was disappointed with this book. And I appear to be in the minority on that score...
Why didn't I like it? Well, there are a few thing...
The character of Nick was more than two-dimensional, which was great - but the others were as clichéd as anything. The star of the team being an egotistical jerk; the owner's son have a prime job on the team...and so on...
Secondly, there were times when I wondered if we would get back to the mystery as the football side of things was pretty heavy. Even knowing that it centred on a football team, it still felt like too much of the game and less mystery for me.
Third, what's with that ending? Did we even meet the bad guy through the story? I know he was mentioned but did the reader ever get introduced? Seemed like a cop out, to me...
Paul
November 18, 2020
I received this book in a subscription box. I almost DNF'd it during the first chapter, which I found to be tedious. It did pick up rather well after that.
It is the story of Nick Gallow, a punter for the Philadelphia Sentinels football team. He witnesses the shooting of a new teammate and his agent. When suspicion is put on the team's star linebacker, Nick decides to prove him innocent.
The story has some great moments. Some exciting action. It does keep you guessing and is a decent whodunit.
However . . .
This book's editing needs a good once over. I was surprised at how many errors there are for a pretty short book. That kind of thing is my worst pet peeve. More than once dialogue would end with, (insert name) say. Say? Really? How hard is it to catch that and put SAID. Lots of left out prepositions and jumbled words. I stopped counting the errors when they started coming regularly.
If you are a football fan, you might really enjoy this.
It is the story of Nick Gallow, a punter for the Philadelphia Sentinels football team. He witnesses the shooting of a new teammate and his agent. When suspicion is put on the team's star linebacker, Nick decides to prove him innocent.
The story has some great moments. Some exciting action. It does keep you guessing and is a decent whodunit.
However . . .
This book's editing needs a good once over. I was surprised at how many errors there are for a pretty short book. That kind of thing is my worst pet peeve. More than once dialogue would end with, (insert name) say. Say? Really? How hard is it to catch that and put SAID. Lots of left out prepositions and jumbled words. I stopped counting the errors when they started coming regularly.
If you are a football fan, you might really enjoy this.
September 8, 2019
Started out promising and then just died off for me. I noticed this book was written 4 or 5 years ago and is listed as book 1 in the Nick Gallow series but there hasn’t been any more books and assume this didn’t go as well as expected and won’t be. Not sure what more books you good do with the main character being a punter on a football team.
November 28, 2017
Not bad, only downer was too much football talk, which does not necessarily translate outside of the US.
June 25, 2019
Writing was great! Storyline was always keeping me guessing on the direction of the crime and who done it! It ended in a weird way but was a good read! Loved the football storyline
August 10, 2021
Great fun if you love football and murder mysteries. Just wow.
January 5, 2016
Hangman’s Game
Mysterious Book Report No. 223
by John Dwaine McKenna
Kids everywhere dream of playing professional sports and being on a championship team. I remember for example—back in the late ‘50s when we were all playing Little League baseball in the upstate New York hamlet of Grahamsville—that we had regular, and dead serious, discussions about whether we’d rather play for the Yankees or the Brooklyn Dodgers. (The consensus was always the Yankees, by a mile! We’re talkin’ Mickey Mantle, Moose Skowron, Whitey Ford, Gil McDougald, Yogi Berra and the most legendary manager of all time . . . Casey Stengel.) Of course it never happened for any of us. We came of age and that beautiful, magical, golden moment of childhood when we believed—truly believed in our heart of hearts, that we could be anything we imagined—evaporated forever. For some few though, a tiny fraction of less than one percent, the dream becomes a reality. They make it all the way to the top . . . and play on a professional sports team.
Hangman’s Game, (Thomas Donne/Minotaur Books, $25.99, 320 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-06715-9) by Bill Syken is about one of those few; blessed by fortune with the talent, size and strength as well as the determination, perseverance and luck to be able to live the dream and play professional sports. His name is Nick Gallow. He’s twenty-seven years old and he’s the punter for the Philadelphia Sentinels football team. He’s a five year veteran with a modest—by NFL standards—annual salary of $900,000, and he’s under constant pressure to perform, lest some younger, better and cheaper kicker get his job. Nick is so insecure, he’s living in a temporary apartment . . . the kind business travelers stay at when on two or three week assignments. Place kickers and punters after all, are the most easily replaced players on the team, coming and going with such regularity that the marquee athletes often don’t even know their names. It’s a situation that’s especially bad on a losing team—like the Sentinels. Then, hope arrives as the team drafts and signs the number one linebacker prospect in the annual college crop. His name is Samuel Sault and he’s touted as one of the best linebackers to ever play the game. His contract is for $64 million, with $30 million guaranteed. Samuel is however, a small town boy who’s not comfortable with the intense public scrutiny he’s getting, nor the bright lights and big city atmosphere. Because Nick’s agent is also handling Samuel, he arranges a dinner for the three of them, hoping that the veteran kicker can help the rookie superstar adjust to his new glamorous life. The effort is wasted when a confrontation develops and all three of their lives are changed forever.
Hangman’s Game is a fun, fast paced sports themed read that’s the next best thing to actually making the team! Syken draws on his years of experience writing and editing for Sports Illustrated magazine and uses his inside knowledge to make this one a debut effort that leaves us looking forward to the next Nick Gallow mystery.
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Mysterious Book Report No. 223
by John Dwaine McKenna
Kids everywhere dream of playing professional sports and being on a championship team. I remember for example—back in the late ‘50s when we were all playing Little League baseball in the upstate New York hamlet of Grahamsville—that we had regular, and dead serious, discussions about whether we’d rather play for the Yankees or the Brooklyn Dodgers. (The consensus was always the Yankees, by a mile! We’re talkin’ Mickey Mantle, Moose Skowron, Whitey Ford, Gil McDougald, Yogi Berra and the most legendary manager of all time . . . Casey Stengel.) Of course it never happened for any of us. We came of age and that beautiful, magical, golden moment of childhood when we believed—truly believed in our heart of hearts, that we could be anything we imagined—evaporated forever. For some few though, a tiny fraction of less than one percent, the dream becomes a reality. They make it all the way to the top . . . and play on a professional sports team.
Hangman’s Game, (Thomas Donne/Minotaur Books, $25.99, 320 pages, ISBN 978-1-250-06715-9) by Bill Syken is about one of those few; blessed by fortune with the talent, size and strength as well as the determination, perseverance and luck to be able to live the dream and play professional sports. His name is Nick Gallow. He’s twenty-seven years old and he’s the punter for the Philadelphia Sentinels football team. He’s a five year veteran with a modest—by NFL standards—annual salary of $900,000, and he’s under constant pressure to perform, lest some younger, better and cheaper kicker get his job. Nick is so insecure, he’s living in a temporary apartment . . . the kind business travelers stay at when on two or three week assignments. Place kickers and punters after all, are the most easily replaced players on the team, coming and going with such regularity that the marquee athletes often don’t even know their names. It’s a situation that’s especially bad on a losing team—like the Sentinels. Then, hope arrives as the team drafts and signs the number one linebacker prospect in the annual college crop. His name is Samuel Sault and he’s touted as one of the best linebackers to ever play the game. His contract is for $64 million, with $30 million guaranteed. Samuel is however, a small town boy who’s not comfortable with the intense public scrutiny he’s getting, nor the bright lights and big city atmosphere. Because Nick’s agent is also handling Samuel, he arranges a dinner for the three of them, hoping that the veteran kicker can help the rookie superstar adjust to his new glamorous life. The effort is wasted when a confrontation develops and all three of their lives are changed forever.
Hangman’s Game is a fun, fast paced sports themed read that’s the next best thing to actually making the team! Syken draws on his years of experience writing and editing for Sports Illustrated magazine and uses his inside knowledge to make this one a debut effort that leaves us looking forward to the next Nick Gallow mystery.
Like the review? The greatest compliment you can give is to like us and share it with others on Facebook, and follow us on Goodreads, Pinterest or LinkedIn.
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December 5, 2016
Goodreads Review Draft
If you like to read about mystery and learning about yourself through adventure, then you would enjoy this book. In the book, Hangman’s Game by Bill Sykens, the story is about a football player named Nick Gallow, who witnessed a murder of his team’s new all-star draft pick named Samuel Sault. Nick didn’t want to get involved in the murder, but all of the interviews and questions came rushing before him, until there was another attack on another team member. It is Nick’s chance to become a hero, but not on the field, but out in the real world. The setting of the story was in Philadelphia in 2009. In Philadelphia of 2009, it was really simple to live in. There was little violence but there was some gun violence, for example, the action of the book. Also, the main character, Nick Gallow, traveled to different places in the story to make it exciting. He traveled to Alabama and to a place called the Jefferson. The speech of the people of the book was just like ours because Philadelphia is in the Northeastern part of America. During the time period, the people were a mix of flashy and regular meaning that flashy people are people who have everything and show it off. The regular people have the same things but don’t show it all, unless at a party. For example, the all-star lineman, Jai Carson, dresses like a rich man, while Nick Gallow dresses like a normal person but has more money.
Out of this book, my favorite quote was, “I keep telling Samuel it could be a great ESPN feature, it’s very visual. He pushes a car from one side of a field to another.” In this quote, the all-star draft pick for the Sentinels, Samuel Sault, trains hard because he pushes cars from one end of one field to another. The football player must have gotten this idea from experience because you don’t just come up these ideas in your mind. He done something to receive this idea. Also, he should be very committed to football because he completes this grueling training. My personal connection to this book is that with the quote in mind, I am just like Samuel Sault. I train 6 days a week and go to the gym to workout. I am also very committed to my sport. This book really made me think about how football players train because it seems really intense and complicated when it was explained in the book. I still don’t understand why the murderer killed Samuel Sault because I thought it was a random act of killing. Was it that the murderer hated Samuel Sault or was it different?
If you like to read about mystery and learning about yourself through adventure, then you would enjoy this book. In the book, Hangman’s Game by Bill Sykens, the story is about a football player named Nick Gallow, who witnessed a murder of his team’s new all-star draft pick named Samuel Sault. Nick didn’t want to get involved in the murder, but all of the interviews and questions came rushing before him, until there was another attack on another team member. It is Nick’s chance to become a hero, but not on the field, but out in the real world. The setting of the story was in Philadelphia in 2009. In Philadelphia of 2009, it was really simple to live in. There was little violence but there was some gun violence, for example, the action of the book. Also, the main character, Nick Gallow, traveled to different places in the story to make it exciting. He traveled to Alabama and to a place called the Jefferson. The speech of the people of the book was just like ours because Philadelphia is in the Northeastern part of America. During the time period, the people were a mix of flashy and regular meaning that flashy people are people who have everything and show it off. The regular people have the same things but don’t show it all, unless at a party. For example, the all-star lineman, Jai Carson, dresses like a rich man, while Nick Gallow dresses like a normal person but has more money.
Out of this book, my favorite quote was, “I keep telling Samuel it could be a great ESPN feature, it’s very visual. He pushes a car from one side of a field to another.” In this quote, the all-star draft pick for the Sentinels, Samuel Sault, trains hard because he pushes cars from one end of one field to another. The football player must have gotten this idea from experience because you don’t just come up these ideas in your mind. He done something to receive this idea. Also, he should be very committed to football because he completes this grueling training. My personal connection to this book is that with the quote in mind, I am just like Samuel Sault. I train 6 days a week and go to the gym to workout. I am also very committed to my sport. This book really made me think about how football players train because it seems really intense and complicated when it was explained in the book. I still don’t understand why the murderer killed Samuel Sault because I thought it was a random act of killing. Was it that the murderer hated Samuel Sault or was it different?
December 27, 2015
This was a quick, fun read from what I hope turns out to be the first in a long line of mysteries from long-time sports writer and first-time novelist Bill Syken.
Almost everything I know about football I learned from Friday Night Lights, but I loved the insider's look at this most American of sports, and I suspect if you are football fan, you'll get an even bigger kick out of it - pardon the pun.
I'm more of an expert on my hometown, Philadelphia, and this felt authentic to both the geography and to its long and tortured sports history to me. I loved the slightly-twisted fictional world sprinkled right into the real-world Philly, and I think a lot of people will recognize the details as well.
What I enjoyed the most, however, was being inside the head of the tightly-wound, very observant and not altogether-self-aware Nick Gallow, a punter fighting to keep his spot on the roster while trying to cope with the aftermath of a violent crime he witnessed and barely understands. I loved the way Syken slowly revealed the details of his life and his neurotic, slightly-obsessive personality, and makes it seem perfectly logical that I professional football player would go haring off to investigate a crime.
The minor characters were vivid and distinct and the place settings came deftly to life with a few choice descriptions and set pieces. I wish the women in Nick's life had a little more depth and a lot more to do, but I appreciated that they were also vividly and distinctly drawn, and that a lot of the vagueness of their interior lives had more to do with Nick and his single-minded focus rather than a deliberate attempt to paint them as eye candy.
I'd recommend it to sports lovers and mystery lovers both.
Almost everything I know about football I learned from Friday Night Lights, but I loved the insider's look at this most American of sports, and I suspect if you are football fan, you'll get an even bigger kick out of it - pardon the pun.
I'm more of an expert on my hometown, Philadelphia, and this felt authentic to both the geography and to its long and tortured sports history to me. I loved the slightly-twisted fictional world sprinkled right into the real-world Philly, and I think a lot of people will recognize the details as well.
What I enjoyed the most, however, was being inside the head of the tightly-wound, very observant and not altogether-self-aware Nick Gallow, a punter fighting to keep his spot on the roster while trying to cope with the aftermath of a violent crime he witnessed and barely understands. I loved the way Syken slowly revealed the details of his life and his neurotic, slightly-obsessive personality, and makes it seem perfectly logical that I professional football player would go haring off to investigate a crime.
The minor characters were vivid and distinct and the place settings came deftly to life with a few choice descriptions and set pieces. I wish the women in Nick's life had a little more depth and a lot more to do, but I appreciated that they were also vividly and distinctly drawn, and that a lot of the vagueness of their interior lives had more to do with Nick and his single-minded focus rather than a deliberate attempt to paint them as eye candy.
I'd recommend it to sports lovers and mystery lovers both.
January 8, 2016
The debut novel from sportswriter turned novelist Bill Syken presents us with pro football punter Nick Gallow.
Sadly for Gallow, instead of focusing on his latest campaign to make the team, he's thrust into the role of witness/survivor after a drive by murder of the team's new player. On top of which, given how many people end up on the suspect list, he invariably if somewhat reluctantly finds himself investigating the whodunit.
Given Bill Syken's background as a sports writer for a number of newspapers and for Sports Illustrated, the technical details of what goes into the preparation for an athlete and how teams are run, ring true.
Having the punter be the hero of the story makes logical sense given how much downtime they have compared to say a linebacker or quarterback.
The book was effective in creating/casting doubt on the stories of a number of suspects and then skillfully peeling away that list of suspects until you get left with the killer's reveal.
The character of Gallow is pretty interesting. I'm not sure how far to invest in a person, fictional or not, who passes up a chance for some good barbecue, but I guess we can overlook that particular character flaw.
About the only thing that really didn't work for me was the use of an obviously fake stand in name for the team Gallow plays for. I'm sure for copyright/legal reasons, the use of real NFL team names weren't able to be used. However, every time I saw the "Philadelphia Sentinels" used in the book it took me out of the story for a bit.
Otherwise, this was an excellent start for both Syken and Gallow and I hope to read more from the author in the future.
Sadly for Gallow, instead of focusing on his latest campaign to make the team, he's thrust into the role of witness/survivor after a drive by murder of the team's new player. On top of which, given how many people end up on the suspect list, he invariably if somewhat reluctantly finds himself investigating the whodunit.
Given Bill Syken's background as a sports writer for a number of newspapers and for Sports Illustrated, the technical details of what goes into the preparation for an athlete and how teams are run, ring true.
Having the punter be the hero of the story makes logical sense given how much downtime they have compared to say a linebacker or quarterback.
The book was effective in creating/casting doubt on the stories of a number of suspects and then skillfully peeling away that list of suspects until you get left with the killer's reveal.
The character of Gallow is pretty interesting. I'm not sure how far to invest in a person, fictional or not, who passes up a chance for some good barbecue, but I guess we can overlook that particular character flaw.
About the only thing that really didn't work for me was the use of an obviously fake stand in name for the team Gallow plays for. I'm sure for copyright/legal reasons, the use of real NFL team names weren't able to be used. However, every time I saw the "Philadelphia Sentinels" used in the book it took me out of the story for a bit.
Otherwise, this was an excellent start for both Syken and Gallow and I hope to read more from the author in the future.
October 19, 2016
3.5 stars. Nick Gallow, punter for the Philadelphia Sentinels, takes rookie defensive player Samuel Sault and their agent out for dinner. Sault just signed a $64 million dollar contract but will never get to play as both he and the agent are shot during a drive-by shooting right after dinner. Nick is the only witness and he hardly saw anything. The police seem to be concentrating on another Sentinel player who had a confrontation with Sault. Nick has some ideas about who might have reason to kill Sault and he does some investigating of his own.
Note -- lots of football references but I don't think it detracted from the story or that you need to be a fan to like the book. If you are a fan, then the football talk probably adds to the story.
Note -- lots of football references but I don't think it detracted from the story or that you need to be a fan to like the book. If you are a fan, then the football talk probably adds to the story.
October 27, 2015
3 1/2 stars
I won this book in a Criminal Element giveaway and then wondered if I would even finish it as I'm not much of a sports fan. Even when I did watch football it was hardly as a knowledgeable observer. Not to worry. Syken has written an easy and enjoyable read. Yes, there were a couple of workout descriptions that were a bit much, but overall there is a good balance between sport story and mystery. Bill Syken writes very well and the story moves at a good pace with fairly interesting characters. At the very end things get wrapped up too neatly, but that's a minor complaint (and I did learn a few things about football.)
I won this book in a Criminal Element giveaway and then wondered if I would even finish it as I'm not much of a sports fan. Even when I did watch football it was hardly as a knowledgeable observer. Not to worry. Syken has written an easy and enjoyable read. Yes, there were a couple of workout descriptions that were a bit much, but overall there is a good balance between sport story and mystery. Bill Syken writes very well and the story moves at a good pace with fairly interesting characters. At the very end things get wrapped up too neatly, but that's a minor complaint (and I did learn a few things about football.)
September 8, 2015
I won this book as a free giveaway from Goodreads.
I was not expecting much from this book, however when I read it I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. If you are a football fan, there is enough action too keep you interested to go along with the solving of the mystery in front of you. There are twists and turns that keep you focused and left with a pretty solid debut for the author. Who ever though a punter could be so interesting?
I was not expecting much from this book, however when I read it I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it. If you are a football fan, there is enough action too keep you interested to go along with the solving of the mystery in front of you. There are twists and turns that keep you focused and left with a pretty solid debut for the author. Who ever though a punter could be so interesting?
September 15, 2015
If you're a sports fan, this is a good read for you. It includes the mindset of a punter who's trying to beat out a younger, cheaper punter while dealing with the shootings of his agent and his rookie star teammate. The story itself is pretty complex and gives you a lot of different angles, but the ending felt jumbled and rushed. Otherwise it was a good, planned story suited for anybody, especially football fans.
October 12, 2015
When a drive-by shooter kills one Philadelphia "Sentinel's" punter Nick Gallow's teammates and wounds his agent, Nick takes it upon himself to investigate the attack, especially when obnoxious star linebacker Jai Carson is arrested for the crime. For me, the best part of this otherwise pedestrian mystery was the depiction of the off field culture of professional football as observed by a veteran Sports Illustrated reporter.
December 28, 2015
Very well written
But not what I'm used to reading. The setting is very original and the cast of characters is great. I enjoyed reading this and enjoyed the plot and its twists, but couldn't give five stars because it didn't have the depth that I usually enjoy. I'm not a writer and can't imagine what goes into pouring yourself into a book, so I give the author big props for a very well written book.
But not what I'm used to reading. The setting is very original and the cast of characters is great. I enjoyed reading this and enjoyed the plot and its twists, but couldn't give five stars because it didn't have the depth that I usually enjoy. I'm not a writer and can't imagine what goes into pouring yourself into a book, so I give the author big props for a very well written book.
February 1, 2016
It is not necessary to be a football fan. The sports references are explained, but you might enjoy the book more if you do like sports. Nick Gallow is a punter for a fictitious NFL team, hence the name Hangman.
I did like this book, but I was expecting a different ending. I guess it is a good thing to be surprised, but at the same time I felt it fell a little flat. Other then that I rather enjoyed it.
I did like this book, but I was expecting a different ending. I guess it is a good thing to be surprised, but at the same time I felt it fell a little flat. Other then that I rather enjoyed it.
April 25, 2016
Nick Gallow, punter for the Philadelphia Sentinels, is at a club with his agent and the newest star recruit for the team. The bad boy of the team is there with his friends and is visibly upset when the new recruit refuses his dinner invitation. When Nick and his two companions go to the stadium, shots are fired and Nick is thrust into the middle of the investigation. More about football than murder, Nick is a mostly appealing character and seems worth developing into a series star.
November 29, 2015
Great Mystery for Football Fans
As far as cheesy mystery novels go, this one is pretty great. I liked the Nick Gallow character a lot, and all of the backstory about what it's like to be an NFL punter was fascinating. If you're not a football fan, it might not be that fun of a read... But I love football, so all of the football talk added to my enjoyment of the book.
As far as cheesy mystery novels go, this one is pretty great. I liked the Nick Gallow character a lot, and all of the backstory about what it's like to be an NFL punter was fascinating. If you're not a football fan, it might not be that fun of a read... But I love football, so all of the football talk added to my enjoyment of the book.
December 8, 2016
Ok story, horrible ending. There were so many good setups to a potential plot twist, but they all ended abruptly once the 'who dun it' was revealed. The actual reasoning for the murder was one of the dumbest things I've seen in a book. The writing was decent, but the story was not as good as it could've been.
August 18, 2015
I won this book from Goodreads.Nice debut. A little slow to start but picked up and had a good finish. Good read for sports fans. Look forward to more from this author and see if he continues with Nick Gallow (liked this character).
March 17, 2016
Enjoyable book. It pulled together sports and mystery pretty well. Overall I thought the book was good although I felt a bit like the end was a bit rushed, like the book needed to be finished quickly for printing.
September 6, 2015
Excellent. I couldn't leave it for long. Obviously the author loves football and anybody who loves football will want to get this book ASAP.
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