The Fan: A Novel

By Peter Abrahams

Baseball sensation Bobby Rayburn’s major-league career is booming, and he just signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Sox. Knife salesman Gil Renard’s job is hanging by a thread and he just sold his most prized possession to stay afloat. All that keeps Gil going, in the face of divorce, destitution, and desperation, is rooting for the Sox–and the team’s new savior, Bobby Rayburn. But when his idol sinks into the worst slump of his career, Gil realizes he alone has the power to restore the slugger’s mojo. At the lowest point he has ever known, Gil finds his mission in life–a mission he will carry out no matter what it takes or who gets hurt.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307777881

Peter Abrahams

Peter Abrahams is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five books, including the Edgar Award-winning Reality Check, Bullet Point, and the Echo Falls series for middle graders. Writing as Spencer Quinn, he is also the author of the Chet and Bernie series—Dog on It, Thereby Hangs a Tail, and To Fetch a Thief. He and his wife live in Massachusetts with their dog, Audrey.

Reviews for The Fan

[kateiyzie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fast-paced story was engrossing despite it's baseball theme. Had many unexpected developments.

[stefany_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Fan is a fast paced thriller that will appeal to both to fans of the genre (no pun intended) and to the sports geek who wants to expand into other reading areas. The storyline is fast-paced with quite a bit of suspense and more than enough baseball and behind the scenes of professional sports for the sports enthusiast. The novel does a nice job of switching back and forth between the protagonist (a knife salesman who is down on his luck), the sports star (who also is battling through a career slump) and the media. It's an entertaining book that moves along pretty quickly and is really good for an escape from the day to day.Of course, if you've seen the film with Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, there aren't a whole lot of surprises in the book, but there are a few differences. The film actually did a really good job of capturing the feel of the book though and although there are some changes here and there, both the book and the film work at accomplishing their ultimate goals.

[kateisaac · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fast-paced story was engrossing despite it's baseball theme. Had many unexpected developments.

[mrtall_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This creepy baseball-based thriller reads fast, but it's quite memorable for its anti-hero, The Fan himself. Includes some of the most convincing scenes of male humiliation I've ever read. The only flaw: it's let down a bit by an implausible Hollywood ending.