Murderers' Row: Original Baseball Mysteries: Volume 2

by Otto Penzler (Editor), Lorenzo Lamas, Lawrence Block

A Little League benchwarmer who saw more time in the dugout than in the game suddenly dies of a rattlesnake bite. His team was getting ready for the game that would decide who would go to Williamsport for the Little League World Series. His coaches and managers were fiercely competetive. What happened?

A midget is hired by Bill Beeck as a pinch-hitter for his team. His presence in Major League Baseball becomes a source of confusion eventually leading to his banishment. Then he ends up dead. Who did it? And, why?

The perfect baseball dad ends up in a scrap with an abusive parent. Unfortunately he is in the government witness protection program, and about to testify against a huge mobster. He is warned to keep his nose clean or he will live the life of a pig farmer in Nebraska. Does he? His ruse - pay or take your chances at the plate. Everyone pays. Except one young batter. What happens to him?

A starving sports agent has the chance of a lifetime to sign a big contract for two of his players. Unfortunately, the wife of one player is having an affair with the other. And the betrayed player is no gentleman! The sports agent is desperate! If this affair blows up in everyone's faces, he's out of the money. Then the wife disappears. Where did she go?

The storeis in Murderers' Row are filled with paradoxes, twists and turns. They will keep you riveted to each and every play, and each and every page.

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.

Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.

Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection in 1977, and The Lineup in 2010. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the prestigious Ellery Queen Award in 1994, and the Raven--the group's highest non-writing award--in 2003.

Reviews

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I read Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop
and loved it. And since I’m am and think I have always been a baseball fan, thought I’d love this one as well.

A little history concerning both books: editor Otto Penzler, charges a winning lineup of authors to write unpublished short stories to be included in these books. I enjoyed every story in Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop but in this book, a few of the stories aren’t that great. It seems that a few of the writers don’t know very much, if anything at all, about baseball. Plus, all of the baseball stories aren’t really about a mystery.

That said, I do enjoy the format of these books; different writers, different styles, different ideas. I will step out and say, to enjoy this book, a person needs a working knowledge (at least a little bit of knowledge) about baseball.

[Brandon Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved these stories in this one. Especially Lupica, Paker, and Malone. I believe the first story was my favorite. Each had a little something different and a little twist. Felt like the story about the Coyotes could be a movie. Recommend for a short trip if your a baseball fa.