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Winter Games
The author of the best-selling A Season on the Brink presents his first mystery, involving foul play in the world of basketball recruiting and sports reporter Bobby Kelleher on the trail of a killer. Reprint.
277 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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49 people want to read
About the author
John Feinstein
75 books592 followersJohn Feinstein was an American sportswriter, author, and sports commentator.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 28, 2015
Great book! Absolutely a good book. If you haven't, you should read the Sports Beat series by John Feinstein. It has Bobby and Tamara in it as mentors.
June 9, 2020
John Feinstein spins a good tale. Between his sense of place, in this case Shelter Island and Manhattan, and his knowledge of sports, in this case basketball, he creates the setting for a mystery that will keep you interested to the end. I needed a palate cleanser after my last read about ww2 and this was great. Enjoy!
July 29, 2021
Pretty good story.
February 14, 2014
Just in case it is not clear, this is the sequel to Running Mates. The main character is Bobby Kelleher, a reporter. Or at least, in this book he's a burned-out reporter seeking to escape from the hell he went through in Running Mates.
For myself, I read Running Mates and Winter Games after I started reading Mr. Feinstein's young adult series involving Steve Thomas and Susan-Carol Anderson. If anyone is familiar with those books, Bobby Kelleher becomes a mentor to the two young aspiring reporters. Let me take a moment to say that I'm a big fan of sequels that feature characters from past books. I like Bobby Kelleher, and I like him even better in the Sports Beat series.
Going back to Winter Games, I enjoyed the book. I think what I appreciated the most is that I really like Bobby Kelleher as a character. Mr. Feinstein is, at least to me, trying to create a sort of private eye-type mystery. Only he's using a character whose background is as a reporter, and not necessarily a James Bond-like character. I also appreciate that while Mr. Feinstein makes this book adult in the sense that Bobby falls victim to the lure of a woman, unlike other PI stories, Bobby is not sleeping with every lady he comes across. Call me a prude, but I'm turned off by male (or female) characters that fall into bed with every person they come into contact.
It is true that in Winter Games Bobby falls victim to another beautiful woman. (I say other because of what happened in Running Mates.) However, if anyone reading this has read the YA Sports Beat series, we already know who Bobby winds up marrying. And if I may take a moment to address this, the issue of Bobby's wife is peculiar to me. By that I mean, if you read Running Mates, then Winter Games and then jump to the Sports Beat series, there is a gap. There is no explanation as to how Bobby goes from being a single man and then married. I won't say who he married, but if you've read the books, you'll know what I'm talking about.
I understand that this might not be a big deal to some, but someone like myself, I paused after reading Winter Games and sifted through Mr. Feinstein's books. I found no other books involving Bobby Kelleher. I can only assume that we, as readers, are to use our imagination and fill in what happened. I can live with this. What I'm confused about, and you'll forgive me for the spoiler, but Bobby left the Washington Herald, where he worked. He goes back to Shelter Island, New York. However, in the Sports beat series, Bobby again works for the Washington Herald, and his wife works for the Washington Post. I feel confused as to how Bobby got back with the Herald and his wife with the post. Again, maybe not a big deal to some, but to me I'm a little baffled.
I apologize for the strange review. Overall I enjoyed this book. Bobby was a character that was human. He was not invincible. He was bold enough to seek things out, but he made mistakes and fell prey to dangerous situations. The mystery is twisty enough that I really kept guessing as to what was going on. So to me, this gets a thumbs up. Lastly, as I stated, I like Bobby and I'm thrilled that he is featured in Mr. Feinstein's later books. Mostly because I enjoy the stories involving sports intrigue more than I did political intrigue. So I would say read Running Mates and then Winter Games. I truly believe it's worthy enough to be recommended.
For myself, I read Running Mates and Winter Games after I started reading Mr. Feinstein's young adult series involving Steve Thomas and Susan-Carol Anderson. If anyone is familiar with those books, Bobby Kelleher becomes a mentor to the two young aspiring reporters. Let me take a moment to say that I'm a big fan of sequels that feature characters from past books. I like Bobby Kelleher, and I like him even better in the Sports Beat series.
Going back to Winter Games, I enjoyed the book. I think what I appreciated the most is that I really like Bobby Kelleher as a character. Mr. Feinstein is, at least to me, trying to create a sort of private eye-type mystery. Only he's using a character whose background is as a reporter, and not necessarily a James Bond-like character. I also appreciate that while Mr. Feinstein makes this book adult in the sense that Bobby falls victim to the lure of a woman, unlike other PI stories, Bobby is not sleeping with every lady he comes across. Call me a prude, but I'm turned off by male (or female) characters that fall into bed with every person they come into contact.
It is true that in Winter Games Bobby falls victim to another beautiful woman. (I say other because of what happened in Running Mates.) However, if anyone reading this has read the YA Sports Beat series, we already know who Bobby winds up marrying. And if I may take a moment to address this, the issue of Bobby's wife is peculiar to me. By that I mean, if you read Running Mates, then Winter Games and then jump to the Sports Beat series, there is a gap. There is no explanation as to how Bobby goes from being a single man and then married. I won't say who he married, but if you've read the books, you'll know what I'm talking about.
I understand that this might not be a big deal to some, but someone like myself, I paused after reading Winter Games and sifted through Mr. Feinstein's books. I found no other books involving Bobby Kelleher. I can only assume that we, as readers, are to use our imagination and fill in what happened. I can live with this. What I'm confused about, and you'll forgive me for the spoiler, but Bobby left the Washington Herald, where he worked. He goes back to Shelter Island, New York. However, in the Sports beat series, Bobby again works for the Washington Herald, and his wife works for the Washington Post. I feel confused as to how Bobby got back with the Herald and his wife with the post. Again, maybe not a big deal to some, but to me I'm a little baffled.
I apologize for the strange review. Overall I enjoyed this book. Bobby was a character that was human. He was not invincible. He was bold enough to seek things out, but he made mistakes and fell prey to dangerous situations. The mystery is twisty enough that I really kept guessing as to what was going on. So to me, this gets a thumbs up. Lastly, as I stated, I like Bobby and I'm thrilled that he is featured in Mr. Feinstein's later books. Mostly because I enjoy the stories involving sports intrigue more than I did political intrigue. So I would say read Running Mates and then Winter Games. I truly believe it's worthy enough to be recommended.
November 15, 2010
Bang! Scott Harrison was shot! Dead in his car, Bobby Kellher’s best friend was killed. The book Winter Games by John Feinstein was in my opinion very average. I personally thought the book was confusing, but a real attention grabber towards the end.
The book is located mostly in Shelter Island, NY. Shelter Island is a small island outside of New York. Bobby Kellher’s family owned a house there. It is winter in a present time period. Although it is a small town, excitement of one 5 star recruit fills the city ith joy.
There are many characters thar put an impact on the story. Bobby Kellher to me is the main character. He was an editor for a New York newspaper and now wants to be a reporter. Now, with Shelter Island talking about a good recruit, Rytis Buzelis. Rytis Buzelis is the “Lithuanian Nightmare!” A five star recruit that runs into recruiting violations. Nadia Buzelis is Rytis’ mother, who belives Rytis could have a future. She is a very strong-willed person when it comes to interviews. She is trying to help Bobby Kellher get back into reporting.
I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the story. I also liked the sports part. I love sports and sports books. When the book talked about big coaches names, I thought that was interesting. The big conflict was there were recruiting violations. Also, when they are attemting to find out Bobby Kellher’s best friends murder.
Will Bobby ever find out Scott Harrison’s murderer? Or what school Rytis will commit to? Will he be suspended of fined from coaches mistakes? If you want to find out what the NCAA does, go to the library to pick up Winter Games by John Feinstein.
The book is located mostly in Shelter Island, NY. Shelter Island is a small island outside of New York. Bobby Kellher’s family owned a house there. It is winter in a present time period. Although it is a small town, excitement of one 5 star recruit fills the city ith joy.
There are many characters thar put an impact on the story. Bobby Kellher to me is the main character. He was an editor for a New York newspaper and now wants to be a reporter. Now, with Shelter Island talking about a good recruit, Rytis Buzelis. Rytis Buzelis is the “Lithuanian Nightmare!” A five star recruit that runs into recruiting violations. Nadia Buzelis is Rytis’ mother, who belives Rytis could have a future. She is a very strong-willed person when it comes to interviews. She is trying to help Bobby Kellher get back into reporting.
I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the story. I also liked the sports part. I love sports and sports books. When the book talked about big coaches names, I thought that was interesting. The big conflict was there were recruiting violations. Also, when they are attemting to find out Bobby Kellher’s best friends murder.
Will Bobby ever find out Scott Harrison’s murderer? Or what school Rytis will commit to? Will he be suspended of fined from coaches mistakes? If you want to find out what the NCAA does, go to the library to pick up Winter Games by John Feinstein.
February 22, 2010
Absolutely loved this book. John Feinstein is a phenomenal writer... the more of his books I read, the more I love his writing. This one (the logical precursor to his current series of YA sports mysteries) has it all: great sports writing, interesting characters, and a really good mystery with surprises until the very end. Highly recommend.
January 5, 2009
Liked it. Quick read. Interesting characters with a mystery surrounding the recruiting of a star HS basketball player. Cool setting on Shelter Island and NYC.
April 8, 2011
Excellent book! Very well written.
Currently reading
December 15, 2014This is great book. It keeps you on the edge of your seat about the whole time. You won't suspect who did it until they reveal it, that's how suspenseful it was.
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January 1, 2018Bookmarks Festival Author 2017.
About drafting basketball players.
About drafting basketball players.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews