Gone to Glory

Moroni Traveler #3

by Robert Irvine

Moroni Traveler takes on the case of Pepper Dalton, a smalltime baseball manager arrested for the murder of his sister, and finds himself confronted with dangerous enemies from a polygamous splinter group of the Mormon Church

Genres: Mystery

231 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1990

About the author

Aka Val Davis, R.R. Irvine, Peter Heath, Peter H. Fine, Peter Heath Fine

Robert Ralstone Irvine studied anthropology and archaeology at the University of California at Berkeley and now lives in Northern California.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baseball made interesting! Hooray! Toss in some murder and questionable dealings and even baseball can be interesting.

While Moroni is running around trying to figure out who killed Pepper's sister, his ex-girlfriend Claire smacks him and his dad with a big surprise - ha! But the guys handle it with humor and keep in mind the best interests of the kid. Claire certainly makes life hard for herself even as she torments others.

Towards the end it looks like the bad guy might evade justice but I like how Moroni manages this situation. This tale does have multiple culprits, but some of them do feel bad about what they have done. The unrepentant thought they were going to be able to walk away unscathed. ha! Not while Moroni and his dad Martin are one watch. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer continues to give us a riveting performance. I liked his ornery old man voice for Hap (a baseball volunteer & Pepper's friend). I also liked his voice for Claire - so wicked and seductive and almost innocent at the same time (capturing her character perfectly). There were no tech issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

[Reader57 · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a clear pattern in these novels. The crime always is connected to The Church in some way and it always involves some polygamist sect. In this one Moroni is taken back to his days as a kid going to the games of the minor league Salt Lake City Bees. One of their players he held in high esteem is now charged with murdering his sister to gain her half of their inheritance. Moroni is hired by one of their old coaches because the player promised him 3rd base coach position when he takes in ownership.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the third installment in the Moroni Traveler series and so far I have enjoyed them all. In this one, Moroni is hired to help clear a former semi-pro baseball player of his sister's murder. Moroni is not able to be paid his usual fee for this case, but takes it for old-times sake as he remembers watching the baseball games of his youth.

The story flows as a typical PI story set in the 80's and early 90's, where the PI doesn't have access to the internet and cell phones and has to use old fashioned methods to track down people and information. In that regard it is similar to the work of Sue Grafton and I seem to really enjoy this style.

Irvine is a good writer, the book is easy to read and the twists and turns keep coming so it's hard to get to the bottom of the case before Moroni does. I also enjoy the Salt Lake setting.

My biggest turn-offs with this book specifically are the baseball references and flashbacks. At one point some type of baseball play is described over multiple pages. I have no interest in baseball, so I basically skimmed that section. The previous books are not like that. This series also sometimes can get convoluted with regard to the Mormon church and things that the average reader might not be familiar with, however, I still highly recommend this series if you can get your hands on it. So far I've been lucky enough to find the them all through my local library system.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the P.I. aspect of these books and I like the MC. I even like the story lines, but I think I am liking them a lot less.