Prairie Hardball

Kate Henry Mystery #5

by Alison Gordon

A trip home turns deadly as Kate Henry and her boyfriend, homicide detective Andy Munro, travel to Saskatchewan to celebrate her mother’s induction into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame.

All former players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Helen “Wheels” MacLaren Henry and her teammates don’t at first take the threatening letters seriously. But when one of their own turns up dead, they must dig into their collective pasts in order to expose the killer before he�or she�can strike again.

Set in 1990’s Saskatchewan, Prairie Hardball is the fifth and final book in the Kate Henry mystery series.

Genres: Baseball, Mystery, Fiction, Cozy

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 1997

About the author

Alison Gordon was born in New York City. She spent her childhood in New York, Tokyo, Cairo and Rome because of her (Canadian) father's work with the United Nations. She attended Queen's University but left before completing her degree. Alison held various positions in television, radio and newspaper, including five years as a baseball writer for the Toronto Star (1979-1985). Foul Balls, her first book, details her experiences as the first woman to cover major league baseball. She has served on the boards of The Writers' Union, Crime Writers of Canada, PEN Canada, and the International Association of Crime Writers. She received the Citation of Merit for sports writing. She passed away in Toronto in 2015.

Series:
* Kate Henry Mystery

Reviews

[Jack Heath]

5 Stars. My favourite of the series. Alison Gordon and her baseball writer / amateur detective Kate Henry at their best. It's the last volume and I'll miss it. Baseball in Saskatchewan is a celebrated part of Canada's sports history. Kate's roots (and Alison's too) are on the prairies so, what better than to take a holiday trip with boyfriend Andy Munro to meet her parents in Indian Head, a real town on the Trans-Canada Highway 70K east of Regina. Her mother Helen is a former player with the Racine Belles in Wisconsin in the short-lived women's pro league of the 1940s and 50s. She and several other players are going to the Battlefords in western Saskatchewan to be inducted in the provincial Baseball Hall of Fame. What an honour! Kate is proud but Andy misses the big city - Toronto. And then one of the former players, Virna Wilton, a great player and a controversial one too, gets murdered. Is it related to the anonymous letters the inductees have been receiving? A fun read but confusing at times - what with so many Saskatchewan place names and real people plus autobiographical aspects thrown in by the author. But I loved it. (Au2025/Se2025)

[Deanna McFadden]

Alison Gordon's evocative novel, the last in the Kate Henry mystery series, brings the landscape of the prairies alive as the book's protagonist heads home to celebrate her mother's induction into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame. Once a part of the women's professional league around the time of the Second World War, Kate's mother, along with her teammates, are celebrated for their sporting accomplishments ... and everything is rosy until one of the feted players ends up dead. Uncovering the killer means uncovering family secrets, decades-long feuds, and a raw confession that leaves Kate reeling. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

[Erin L]

A book that starts out mentioning my hometown(and it's baseball history) in the prologue? That sucked me in right away.

Not sure if it was the book or my life (likely my life), but I struggled to stay engaged with this one. In the end, I managed to finish and I think the conclusion was worth it, a solid 4 stars on this one.

[Peter]

Alison Gordon knows sports, knows newspapers and knows the Canadian Landscape, big city and Praire and puts them all together with a good novel about sports writer Kate Hammer and the history of women's professional baseball.

[Homerun2]

I am sad to finish the last of this series. Really interesting perspective on being a female sportswriter. This one centers on baseball reporter Kate Henry's mom's time spent playing in the All American Women's baseball league. Intelligent, realistic and readable,

[Cindy]

Loved this! This was my first view of Alison Gordon and I will be reading more....loved the baseball theme and the Canadian Locations.

[Lane]

Another good baseball mystery. Good story with some surprises. Too bad this is the last of the Kate Henry mysteries.

[John Stanley]

A quick, easty, read, ok story, good enough writing, some interesting history - but, all in all, nothing really special.

[Crysana Copland]

"They don't make books like they used to," I say, complete with a finger waggle and old-person croak. It's been a long time since I've read a book with such nuanced and real secondary characters. There's baseball, women in sports, and small-town Canada vibes, all bringing feelings of nostalgia - what's not to love?